KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Riding a four-game winning streak and with their only loss coming by one point in week one, the Truman State Football team will host Southwest Baptist at Stokes Stadium on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. The Bearcats tripped the Bulldogs up in Bolivar last season 27-21as SBU quarterback Cooper Callis threw for 401 yards.

Truman won their fourth straight with a 36-14 win over Missouri S&T to cap off a successful homecoming week on the Kirksville campus on Saturday. The Bulldogs jumped on the Miners for 17 first quarter points and led 30-8 at the halftime break. Two blocked punts, two interceptions plus 82 yards rushing from back Shamar Griffith and 168 yards passing for Nolan Hair led the team to the win. 

It was the 599th win for the Bulldog program in 113 years of football at the school and the 75th head coaching win at Truman for Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt. Truman, with its next win, will become the eighth NCAA Division II program to win 600 games, joining Pittsburg State (733), Tuskegee (703), Hillsdale (656), Carson-Newman (646), Central Oklahoma (646), West Chester (623), Texas A&M Kingsville (623) and Northwest Missouri (614). 

Southwest Baptist features one of the top three offenses in the GLVC with a 33.2 points per game average and 427 yards per game mark. SBU is 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in the conference with a loss at Indianapolis (44-17) and most recently at win against William Jewell 44-21. The Bearcats put up 532 yards of total offense in their win and Cooper Callis completed 33-of-41 pass attempts for 442 yards and four touchdowns. He also was the leading rusher with 72 yards on eight carries. 

Last year in Bolivar, Truman struck first after a 14-play drive to start the game but SBU answered with 17 straight points and led 17-7 at half. The Bulldogs trailed 24-21 after three quarters and held SBU to a field goal with 8:05 left to play making it a one-possession game. Ben Thomas intercepted Callis with 2:14 to play near midfield and following a 14-yard pass reception to Tate Crane and first and 10 at the SBU 28. The Bearcat defense broke up the final two pass attempts with the last one coming with 47 seconds left to preserve the win. 

That victory by SBU snapped a four-game winning streak by the Bulldogs. However Truman still leads the overall series 28-5 dating back to 1988.

Around The Region:

The Bulldogs are one of nine teams in the NCAA Super Region 3 (comprised of 39 schools within the MIAA, GAC, GLIAC and GLVC) with one or no losses on the season after seven weeks. Five of the teams are undefeated and are ranked in the top eight of the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll. Ferris (Mich.) State, Grand Valley (Mich.) State are 1-2, followed by Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), Pittsburg (Kan.) State and Indianapolis at five, seven and eight respectively. Other regional teams in the national poll are Northwest Missouri at 16th and Davenport, Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State, Truman and Emporia State all receiving votes.

Game Recap: Truman State 34, Missouri S&T 14

The Bulldogs won their fourth straight against the longest continuous rival Missouri S&T on Saturday.

After a three-and-out start by the Miners, Mason Huskey blocked the ensuing punt which was recovered by Brock Jones at the Miners 13 yard line for Truman's first possession of the game. Three plays later, Tate Crane hauled in a 10-yard pass from Nolan Hair for the early 7-0 lead. 

Isaiah Estes picked off a pass on the next S&T drive and Grant Ross converted from 40-yards out for the field goal.

Collin Sutton made his presence felt in the Bulldogs third drive of the game as he ran for 34 yards and moved the ball into S&T territory. Sutton would record his first TD pass of his Bulldog career when he hit Tanner Lain for a three-yard touchdown pass.

The backbreaker came at the end of the first half. Facing a fourth and 13 with 13 seconds left, Hair hit Matt Hall for a 37-yard catch and run touchdown that extended the Bulldog lead out to 30-8.

The second half saw Lain block a second S&T punt that Denim Cook recovered at the Miners' 11 and Ryan Olivas picking off a pass and returning it 25 yards to the S&T 16. 

It was the 75 Truman coaching win for Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt and the 50th win in a conference game during his tenure. 

Truman Tidbits:

Truman went 12-4 in 16 games played during the 2021 calendar year and 9-3 during the traditional fall season. The Bulldogs had the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year in Cody Schrader, who led Division II in rushing yards with 2,075 and touchdowns with 25 before entering the transfer portal and signing with the University of Missouri-Columbia. Robert Greco and Ben Watson, both defensive players are returning 2021 first-team all-GLVC members. In total, the Bulldogs had 178 players selected to the all-league list and will return 60 letter winners and 23 starters from 2021.

The Bulldogs were picked second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches poll behind perennial champion Indianapolis and ahead of McKendree, Southwest Baptist, Missouri S&T, Quincy and William Jewell.

Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt is in his 13th season on the sidelines of Truman State, the second most by any previous coach in school history. The team has gone 32-9 in there last 41 games (.780) with two America's Crossroads Bowl championships.

Punter Taylor Cornish is quickly moving up the Bulldog career punting charts this season. Cornish is now seventh in both punt yards with 5,447 yards and  in punt attempts as a Bulldog with 138. In those boots, Cornish has a career average of 39.5, the fourth career best of any Bulldog punter to date.

In 21 games as a starter, Nolan Hair has completed 61.5% of his passes for 3,840 yards and 36 touchdowns. He is 14th on the Truman career passing list and tied for eighth with Tom Hays on career TD passes. Hair is two back of Don Cummings for seventh, and three behind Steven Thompson for sixth.

Six Bulldog defenders have over 100 career tackles led by 185 by Ben Watson in 33 career games. The others are Isaiah Estes with173/31 games, Ben Thomas 161/29 games, Peyton Carr with 115/20, Kendall Hutchison (101/21) and Robert Greco (100/40).

Thomas has nine career interceptions, one away from cracking the top 10 in Truman career interceptions. He will join Tommy Hernandez, Steve Ernst, Marcus Yokeley and Mike Dahlberg with his next pick. Ryan Olivas has eight career INTs.

Robert Greco is just two tackles for loss from cracking the top 10. Greco has 26 TFLs, two behind Ernie Myerson, Derek Kent, Eliah Lockart and Devin Gillespie.

Offensive coordinator Jason Killday's squad was first in the GLVC last season in scoring offense and averaged 6.27 yards per play, the second most in school history.

Defensive coordinator Kellen Nesbitt has been by his dad's side for all 13 seasons and has held opponents to an average of 22.3 points per game. Last season, the defense held the opposition to 19.3 points and only 77.3 yards on the ground per game.

Since 2018, Truman has returned seven kickoffs for touchdowns and three punts for scores. The last opponent to score on a kickoff was 2016 by William Jewell. 

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will go out on the road to William Jewell next Saturday for a 3 p.m. kickoff. The Cardinals are 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in the GLVC and will host Missouri S&T this week. Truman posted a 52-0 shutout win over William Jewell last year in Kirksville.