Football 9/29/2021 8:46:00 AM

#18 Truman Bulldogs Welcome 2019 League Champion Lindenwood For Family Night

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The spotlight is a little bit brighter this week on the Truman Bulldogs as they cracked the elusive American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll with a number 18 ranking this week. They were also ranked #22 in the D2Football.com media poll.

The last time Truman was in the AFCA poll was after a 6-0 start in 2019 and that week's opponent was the Lindenwood Lions. Fast forward two years and the Bulldogs are 4-0, a national ranking and the opponent will once again be Lindenwood.

In 2019, the Bulldogs led by 17 early in the fourth quarter but watched the Lions roar back with 21 points, the final 14 coming in the last 1:16 of the game to hand Truman their first loss of the season 28-24.

Again, fast forward to last Saturday. Truman trailed by 18 early in the third quarter and scored the next 21 points, with 14 coming in the last 3:29 of the fourth quarter to upend #12 Tiffin 38-35. Cody Schrader and Dante Ruffin each had two touchdowns with Schrader gaining 164 yards on the ground and scoring the go-ahead TD with 26 seconds left. Ruffin caught seven passes for 65 yards, including a 31-yard grab on fourth and five on the winning drive.

Schrader earned his second GLVC Offensive Player of the Week award and is leading the conference and is third in the nation in rushing yards per game at 158.5. He is averaging 6.1 yards per attempt and has eight touchdowns on 104 touches. Truman as a team is averaging 184 yards per game on the ground but while the running game has received the conference and national attention, the equal balance of the offense has been the key. Quarterback Nolan Hair has used 10 different receivers this season and thrown on average of 171 yards per outing. Hair has competed 60% of his passes and tossed seven touchdowns.

The Lions are the 2019 GLVC Champions and bypassed the spring season. They have won two straight, including a 28-16 road win at Findlay (Ohio) last Saturday. Lindenwood returns both the GLVC Offensive Player and Defensive Player of the Year from 2019 in quarterback Cade Brister and linebacker Drew Sears.

Brister has completed 66% of his passes for 821 yards while also rushing for 169 and seven touchdowns. In the 2019 season, Brister threw for 3,779 yards with 39 touchdown passes and gained another 552 on the ground with seven rushing scores.

This will be the third time these teams have met despite the close proximity of the schools. Lindenwood was a long time NAIA member before making the jump to NCAA Division II in 2012. That season, the Bulldogs and Lions met at Stokes Stadium in the season finale with Lindenwood winning 38-13, in what was Truman's finale in the MIAA. The Lions moved to the GLVC in the 2019 season.

About the Bulldogs:
Truman completed their non-conference slate with a 4-0 record and have won 10 straight non-conference games dating back to 2018. The longest non-conference winning streak is 15 games dating back to the 1931-1935 seasons. That streak began with a 32-0 win over Chillicothe Business before ending in a loss to Saint Louis University.

Of the 10 non-conference wins, three came against Division I FCS teams (Drake/Valparaiso) and seven against Division II opponents. The Bulldogs won six of the 10 games on the road and this year have travelled nearly 4,000 miles to win three road games. The other win was at home over Hillsdale (Mich.).

The Bulldogs are one of 23 teams in Division II that are undefeated thus far. They are tops in the GLVC in total defense at 304.8 allowed per game and fifth in total offense at 355.8.
Truman is 11^th nationally against the run with allowing 61 yards per night and number three nationally in kick returns at 32.2.

Speaking of kick returns, Jaylen Jefferson leads the nation with an average of 42.2 yards per chance. Jefferson has two kickoffs returned for touchdowns through the first four games and another return of 81 yards. For his career, he has 1,171 kick return yards on 37 attempts (31.6/per) and three TDs. His 37 attempts are tied for the fewest in the Bulldog career top 10 in kick returns but his yardage is good for seventh most.

The rest of the special teams has been highlighted by kicker Josh Scheiderer and punter Taylor Cornish. Scheiderer has the Bulldogs third in the GLVC in kickoff coverage at 41.7. All three of his made field goals have come from 40 yards or more and all five attempts have been outside 37 yards. He is 15-of-16 in point after tries.

Cornish has Truman atop in net punting average at 37.5 per boot. Cornish is averaging 40.6 and Truman has allowed 15 returns for 0.8 yards per.

The defense has registered 10 quarterback sacks and 32 tackles for loss this season. Five Bulldogs have over 20 tackles apiece led by Ben Thomas with 28, Peyton Carr at 24 and Ulysses Ross with 23. Ross leads the squad with 5.5 tackles for loss and is the leader of that group with Carr (4.0), Bennett Swope (4.0) and Jack Marth (3.5). The team has forced five fumbles, recovering three and picked off three passes.

As mentioned above, Schrader has been the workhorse of the Bulldogs with 104 carries in the first four games (26/game) and has only lost 13 yards while gaining 647. He is at 283 carries in his 21 games played with 22 touchdowns and 1,644 yards. A total of 15 Bulldog running backs in the school's history have rushed for 2,000 yards or more in their career.

Nolan Hair is 7-1 as the starting quarterback with 16 career touchdown passes to six interceptions. He has thrown for nearly 1,500 career yards in eight games and completed 58.5% of his passes. This season, his top targets have been Dante Ruffin, Matt Hall, Zach Zerwig and Jefferson and Schrader out of the backfield.

Ruffin has 19 receptions this season and 99 for his career. He has three of the seven TD receptions. Ruffin has 1101 receiving yards and eight career touchdowns.

Jake Ellis is the active leader in receiving yards with 1,154 and is currently tied for the school record in TD receptions with 22. This will be Ellis' 40^th career game and he has 93 receptions with a long of 58.

Jacob Morris is the other veteran on the offensive unit and is a four-time all-GLVC performer as a full back. Morris is also making his 40^th game appearance on Saturday and was credited last week with recovering the onside kick that set up the winning touchdown.

Up Next:
Truman's oldest rival in the GLVC in terms of football will be the opponent next Saturday as the 'Dogs travel to Rolla to face Missouri S&T. It will be the 84^th meeting between the two schools with Truman holding a 53-24-4 advantage. The teams met in the spring with the Bulldogs winning 42-31. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Peyton Carr: DB; 6' 0"; Freshman

#98 Taylor Cornish: P; 6' 4"; Junior

#83 Jake Ellis: TE; 6' 7"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#6 Nolan Hair: QB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

#10 Matt Hall: TE; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#4 Jaylen Jefferson: RB; 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#30 Jacob Morris: FB; 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent

#41 Ulysses Ross: LB; 5' 10"; Freshman

#11 Dante Ruffin: WR; 5' 11"; Senior

#99 Josh Scheiderer: K/P; 5' 11"; Junior

#7 Cody Schrader: RB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#14 Bennett Swope: DE; 5' 11"; Junior; National Letter of Intent

Players Mentioned

#17 Peyton Carr
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: DB

#98 Taylor Cornish
: 6' 4"; Junior
: P

#83 Jake Ellis
: 6' 7"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: TE

#6 Nolan Hair
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#10 Matt Hall
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: TE

#4 Jaylen Jefferson
: 5' 9"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: RB

#30 Jacob Morris
: 5' 11"; Senior; National Letter of Intent
: FB

#41 Ulysses Ross
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: LB

#11 Dante Ruffin
: 5' 11"; Senior
: WR

#99 Josh Scheiderer
: 5' 11"; Junior
: K/P

#7 Cody Schrader
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB

#14 Bennett Swope
: 5' 11"; Junior; National Letter of Intent
: DE