KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – For the second consecutive time, Truman will be the GLVC representative in the America's Crossroads Bowl in Hobart, Indiana on Saturday. The Bulldogs will have a familiar foe across the sidelines as they will take on Hillsdale (Mich.) College. The two squared off in Kirksville back on September 18 as part of the GLVC/GMAC scheduling alliance and the Bulldogs won 38-24 at Stokes Stadium.
The game will be streamed on the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN.com) and broadcasted live on the Indiana Sports Network. Ticket Information and pre-game tailgate/party information is also available by clicking the links on the side of this story.
Truman is led by Harlon Hill (Division II Player Of The Year) nominee
Cody Schrader and a stout defense that has held opponents to 19.5 points and 341 yards of total offense per game. The Bulldog rush defense is ranked within the top 10 of Division II schools (8th) allowing on 80.4 yards on the ground per game.
Schrader put up the second most rushing yards in a Truman season with 1,855, which was also tops among all Division II running backs. He had a rushing touchdown in each game this season with 22 total, again good for second in Bulldog single-season history and gained over 100 yards in 10 of the 11 games played.
The Chargers started the season 0-3 but since that loss to Truman, have reeled off wins in six of their last eight games. They defeated the GMAC's last bowl representative, Ohio Dominican 21-17 in their season finale. Hillsdale has intercepted 20 passes this season, good for second among Division II teams and are one of the fewest penalized teams at just over 3.5 flags per game for 32 yards.
In that earlier meeting between the two schools, Truman jumped out to a 21-3 first quarter lead off a 25-yard pass from
Nolan Hair to
Zach Zerwig, a 10-yard pass from Hair to
Matt Hall and an 88-yard rush from Schrader. That was the longest play from scrimmage this season by the Bulldogs and four-yards shy of the longest running play in Truman history.
The Bulldogs added a 46-yard field goal by
Josh Scheiderer and an 11-yard TD reception by
Dante Ruffin in the second quarter to take a 31-3 lead into the locker room.
Jake Tuttle had his only rushing touchdown of the season near the end of the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up 38-3. Hillsdale scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to trim the final margin down to 14 points.
Schrader finished with 173 yards on only 14 carries (12.4/rush) and the Bulldogs outgained the Chargers 473 to 297. Jake Burger got the start at QB for Hillsdale and completed 21-of-36 for 213 yards but was sacked four times.
Besides playing each other, the two teams have three common opponents this season in Indianapolis, Missouri S&T and Tiffin and are both 2-1 against the three. Both Truman and Hillsdale beat Missouri S&T (TSU 38-21 /HC 38-31) and Tiffin (TSU 38-35 /HC 24-21) and both lost to Indianapolis (TSU 13-10/HC 35-31)
This is the fourth bowl appearance by the Bulldogs and first time they have gone to the postseason in consecutive years. Truman, then Northeast Missouri State, played in the 1961 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri and won 22-8 over Parsons (Kan.). In 1980, the Bulldogs defeated Pittsburg (Kan.) State in the Moila Shrine Bowl in St. Joseph, Missouri. Last full regular season, Truman downed Ohio Dominican 21-7 in the inaugural America's Crossroads Bowl.
About the Bulldogs:
Offense:
The GLVC Co-Offensive Player of the Year,
Cody Schrader, is the workhorse of the Truman offense that has averaged over 200 yards rushing per game this season. Schrader has a rushing touchdown in each of the 11 regular season games, 22 total this season and 1,855 yards to lead Division II in rushing. In addition, Schrader has put up 2,069 all-purpose yards when you add in his 22 catches for 214 yards and a touchdown.
Truman's single-season rushing leader was the 1996 Division II Player of the Year Jarrett Anderson with 2,140 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. Schrader would need 286 yards to break the single-season rushing record at Truman. His single-game high this year was 278 in three quarters of work against Missouri S&T on October 9
th. Schrader is 135 yards away from becoming only the sixth running back in school history with 3,000 career rushing yards.
Quarterback
Nolan Hair is 11-4 as the starting quarterback with four games in the spring and all 11 games in the fall season. He has thrown for 2,791 yards with 28 touchdowns in those 15 games and completed 60% of his passes. This season, Hair has thrown for 1,973 yards with 19 touchdowns and added 158 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Truman has had 13 different players catch passes from Hair this season led by
Dante Ruffin's 37 and
Matt Hall's 33. Ruffin has five receiving touchdowns and 421 yards this season while is also the active leader in receiving yards with 1,337 on 117 receptions. Ruffin cracked the career top 25 at Truman in his last game and sits in 21
st position. He can move past Charles Blakley for 20
th with 27 yards.
Jake Ellis is second on the active list with 1,154 yards on 93 catches and is tied for the school record for career touchdown receptions with 22.
The Bulldog offense is first in Division II in fourth down conversions at 85% (11/13). They are second in rushing yards per game in the GLVC at 211.0 and have won 35 of their last 36 games when running for over 200 yards in a contest dating back to the 2010 season. Indianapolis broke that streak when they defeated the Bulldogs 13-10 with Truman having 201 yards on the ground that day. The Bulldogs are averaging 34.8 points per game.
Truman has scored on 35-of-39 trips inside the redzone (90%) which is good for second in the conference and have touchdowns on 32 of those 39 trips.
Defense:
The Bulldog defense is eighth in Division II and first in the GLVC in rushing yards allowed at 81.4 per game. Truman trailed UINDY in total defense at allowing 341 per game and they are first in scoring defense at 19.5 per contest.
Two out of nine opponents have gained over 100 yards rushing this season with Quincy posting the highest total of 169 yards on 51 attempts. The lowest allowed on the ground was 24 in the season opener against Davenport (Mich.). Lindenwood's Robert Giaimo is the only individual this season to gain 100 yards rushing (102) against the Bulldog defense. The 82 yards allowed per game this season and 895 total rushing yards is the fewest allowed by a Truman team since the 1963 season.
Truman has forced 13 turnovers in their last five games 19 total this season.
The top four tacklers for Truman this season have been
Isaiah Estes (85),
Ben Watson (80),
Peyton Carr (79) and
Ben Thomas (77). Carr and Thomas have five of the team's 12 interceptions with Thomas leading the squad with 11 pass breakups.
Truman averages 7.3 tackles for loss per game and 2.8 quarterback sacks.
Ulysses Ross leads the charge with 13.5 tackles for loss this season with
Robert Greco second at 11. Ross also has the team lead in sacks with 5.5 and
Michael Neisler second at five.
Special Teams:
Truman special teams have again been "special" this season. They are second in the conference in kickoff returns and ninth nationally and first in the league and fifth nationally in kick return defense.
Josh Scheiderer is averaging 54.3 yards per kickoff with 10 touchbacks.
Scheiderer is 7-of-13 on field goal attempts with a long of 46 this season. He has converted on 46-of-48 point after touchdown attempts. Scheiderer has 266 career points which ranks him fourth on the career scoring list at Truman. His 39 field goals is second all-time and he is the leader in PAT kicks made with 147.
Punter
Taylor Cornish is the GLVC leader in punting with a 40.4 yards per boot mark. He has 45 punts on the season with three touchbacks, 15 fair catches and 18 inside the opponents 20. His long this season was 65 yards.
Jaylen Jefferson is second in Division II after leading the nation in kickoff return yards at 33.7 per attempt and has two kick return touchdowns. He has 15 returns for 506 yards.
Ben Thomas has 15 punt returns for 176 yards (11.7/return) with a long of 26.
All-Conference Accolades:
Truman placed 18 players, the most since the 1982 season on the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference team that was released on Monday.
Cody Schrader was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year and the split was eight defensive players, seven offensive players and three special teams players.
Schrader was a unanimous first-team selection and joining him on the first team was defensive back
Ben Watson, defensive tackle
Robert Greco and defensive utility player
Collin Alves. Second team choices were
Matt Hall (TE),
Ben Thomas (DB),
Jacob Morris (FB),
Isaiah Estes (LB),
Michael Neisler (DT),
Nick Biesemeyer (OL),
Dane Eggert (OL),
Ben Miller (DT),
Taylor Cornish (P) and
Josh Scheiderer (PK).
Dante Ruffin (WR),
Ulysses Ross (LB) and
Justin Watson (OL) were honorable mention.
Miscellaneous Tidbits:
- A win on Saturday would be the ninth this season for Truman and make them 4-0 in bowl games all-time.
- The Bulldogs have won nine or more games seven times dating back to the first one in 1933.
- This is the second time in school history that Truman has won eight or more games in two consecutive full seasons*. Truman was 10-2 in 2019. The last time was an 8-1 record in 1960 and a 9-1 mark in 1961.
- Since losing the first three games at the start of the 2018 season, the Bulldogs are 27-8 overall (.771).
