The Braves fell 27-21 to Sterling College at Smisor Stadium last Saturday. OU is now 13-19 all-time against Sterling in Sterling. Ottawa had 247 yards of offense, 151 yards through the air and 96 yards rushing. Sterling finished the game with 227 yards passing and 127 yards rushing for 354 yards of offense.

In the loss to Sterling, Taylor Eggers went 14-for-23 through the air for 151 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Jordan Clay rushed for 63 yards on 22 attempts. Keavian Long led OU with six receptions and De'Anthony Curtis had a 70 receiving yards. Long finished the game with two touchdowns and Curtis had one touchdown. Ethan Fuentes and Christian Coggs led OU with 10 tackles apiece. Fuentes had one sack and Coggs finished with two sacks.

Through eight games Ottawa is averaging 254.5 yards of offense per game, 119.4 yards rushing and 135.1 yards passing. OU is averaging 14.1 points per game. Opponents are scoring 29.3 points per game and averaging 388.9 yards of offense per game. They are rushing for 218.5 yards and throwing for 170.4 yards.

Taylor Eggers leads OU in passing. He is 102-for-211 through the air for 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns. Eggers has thrown 14 interceptions. Jordan Clay is Ottawa's leader in rushing. He has rushed for 409 yards on 119 attempts. Clay has rushed for four touchdowns. He is rushing for 51.1 yards per game. De'Anthony Curtis is the team's leader in receptions with 37. He has 366 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and is averaging 45.8 receiving yards per game. AJ Hemphill is OU's leader in tackles, averaging 10.3 tackles per game. He has 1.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Ethan Fuentes is second on the team in tackles with 58. He has 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Christian Coggs is third on the team in tackles with 46. He has two sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.

Ottawa is ranked 38th in the NAIA in rush attempts (278), 11th in penalty first downs (20), 41st in third down conversions (41-111), 15th in kick returns (No.-Yards) (35-683), 42nd in kick return average (19.5), 33rd in punts (No.-Yards) (37-1346), 51st in average per punt (36.4), 38th in red zone touchdown percentage (67%), 40th in penalties (47), and 31st in penalty yards (391).

Saturday is the seventh meeting between Ottawa University and Avila University. Avila leads the series, 5-1. The Braves defeated Avila for the first time last season. OU won the game 42-17 at The Z in Kansas City, Mo. Ottawa is 0-2 against Avila at AdventHealth Field. The first time the two teams met was on Oct. 20, 2018 in Kansas City, Mo. Avila won the game, 25-21.

Avila lost its seventh straight game last Saturday in overtime to Tabor. The Eagles fell 41-28 to the Bluejays. Tabor scored first, taking a 35-28 on its first possession of the overtime period. On Avila's first play, the Eagles threw a pick six and Tabor took the 41-28 victory.

In the game against Tabor, Avila had 372 yards of offense. They threw for 244 yards and rushed for 128. The Eagles averaged 5.1 yards per play. Tabor had 311 yards of offense, 151 yards passing and 160 yards rushing. They averaged 5.3 yards per play.

Through eight games, Avila is averaging 264.9 yards of offense per game. They are passing for 215.1 yards and rushing for 49.8 yards per game. The Eagles are scoring 16.3 points per game. Opponents are scoring 37.9 points per game. They are averaging 408.3 yards of offense per game, 227.3 yards rushing and 181.0 yards passing.

The Eagles have had two quarterbacks play this season. Eli Williams is 101-179 through the air for 1,025 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. He is completing 56.4 percent of his passes and is averaging 170.8 passing yards per game. Nick Sanford II is 59-117 through the air for 673 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. Sanford has completed 50.4 percent of his passes and is averaging 96.1 passing yards per game.

Eli Williams also leads Avila in rushing. He has rushed for 242 yards on 70 attempts and two touchdowns. Williams has also fumbled four times, losing two. He is averaging 40.3 rushing yards per game. Kareem Chambers leads the team in receptions with 38. He has 437 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and is averaging 54.6 receiving yards per game.

Jay Wright is Avila's leader in tackles with 56. He has three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and one recovered fumble. Joshua Robinson is second on the team in tackles with 41. He has one interception. Antonio Moore is AU's leader in sacks with 3.5.