Ottawa lost its first road game of the season last Saturday to Avila University, 39-9 at The Z in Kansas City, Mo. OU had 91 yards rushing and 155 yards through the air for 246 yards of offense. Avila finished with 387 yards of total offense, 239 rushing and 148 yards passing.
The Braves are averaging 100 yards rushing per game, 150.5 yards passing per game, 250.5 yards per game and scoring 7.5 points per game. The defense is allowing 355 yards per game, 139.5 yards rushing per game, 215.5 yards passing per game, and 34 points per game.
Jared Daniels leads the Braves in rushing (122 yards) and is averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
Noah Shoeman is OU's leader in passing yards with 129. He has a passing efficiency of 117.4.
Jermaine Ziegler and
Cory Jones are the Braves' leaders in receptions with nine. Ziegler leads OU with 76 receiving yards while Jones has 68.
Jensen Riffel and
AJ Hemphill led OU with 13 tackles apiece.
Santino Gee has 11 and both
Devin Johnston and
Kyle Reynolds have 10 tackles.
Ottawa is ranked 55th in the NAIA in rushing per game (100), 49th in yards per rush (3.3), eighth in fourth down conversion (5-8), 22nd in fourth down conversion percentage (.630), 18th in field goals (3-5), 42nd in field goal percentage (.600), 36th in red zone percentage (.750), 36th in fumbles recovered (2), 40th in defensive interceptions (2), and 46th in interception return yards average (7.5).
Saturday is the 88th meeting between Ottawa University and McPherson College. OU leads the series, 61-26. The Bulldogs won the meeting last season on Sept. 18 in McPherson, 33-14. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Oct. 18, 1929 in McPherson. MC won the game, 21-0. Ottawa has a record of 33-7 against McPherson in Ottawa. The Braves have won five straight at home against the Bulldogs. The last time OU lost to McPherson at home was on Oct. 20, 2007. McPherson won the game 17-14.
McPherson College was picked to finish fifth in the KCAC by both the media and the coaches.
The Bulldogs have opened the season with an overall record of 0-2 and a KCAC mark of 0-2. McPherson has lost both of its games by a total of two points. Sept. 3, L 14-13 at Bethel | Sept. 10, L 17-16 vs. Tabor
In the loss to Tabor, McPherson was down 17-3 headed into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored its first touchdown of the game at the 14:38 mark to cut the deficit to 17-10. McPherson got within one with a 65 yard pass from Tristan Szabo to Aidan Frieson, 17-16. The extra point kick failed. McPherson then recovered the onside kick. But the drive stalled on the Tabor 30 yard line and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs.
McPherson is averaging 336 yards per game, 103.5 yards on the ground and 232.5 yards through the air. The MC defense is allowing 215.5 yards per game, 94 yards rushing and 121.5 yards passing. The Bulldogs are averaging 14.5 points per game while holding opponents to 15.5 points per game.
Tristian Szabo leads McPherson in passing yards per game (232.5). He has throwing three touchdowns and is completing 46.6 percent of his passes. Szabo and Jonathan White led the Bulldogs in rushing with 77 yards. Aidan Frieson is MC's leader in receptions per game (4.0). He is averaging 100.5 receiving yards per game. Christopher Roshell and Jaquez Wilson lead McPherson in tackles with nine apiece. Roshell also has one interception.
The Bulldogs are ranked 45th in the NAIA in offensive yards per game (336), 42nd in passing yards (465), 35th in passing yards per game (232.5), 47th in passing yards per attempt (6.4), 24th in passing yards per completion (13.7), 45th in passing touchdowns (3), 44th in passing first downs (20), and 20th in fumbles-lost (5-4).
