Series History: Saturday's matchup will be the 27th all-time meeting between Ottawa University and the University of Saint Mary. The Braves hold a commanding 21-5 advantage in the series.

Three Straight: Ottawa enters the matchup having won three consecu tive games against the Spires.

Success in Leavenworth: The Braves are 9-3 all-time in road games against Saint Mary and have won their last three trips to Leavenworth.

Braves Quick Hits: 1-0 Start: Ottawa opened the 2026 season with a 33-13 victory over Kansas Wesleyan on Aug. 29.

No. 600: The victory over Kansas Wesleyan was the 600th win in Ottawa football program history, making OU just the third NAIA football program to reach 600 victories.

Quarterback Luke Edwards completed 16-of-32 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas Wesleyan. He did not throw an interception. AJ Moore caught a team-high six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, averaging 14.3 yards per reception. Moore, Rowdy Keith and Zayne Nowak each caught a touchdown pass in Ottawa's season-opening victory. Amiri Mumba scored twice on the ground against Kansas Wesleyan, accounting for 12 of Ottawa's 33 points.

Winning the Turnover Battle: Ottawa forced five KWU turnovers, recovering three fumbles and intercepting two passes. The Braves did not lose a fumble or throw an interception.

Cade Monroe recorded one of Ottawa's two interceptions in the opener and finished with nine tackles.

Ethan Yinger led the Braves with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops and one tackle for loss.

Special Teams Weapon: Joshua Iraheta averaged 42.9 yards on eight punts, with six landing inside the 20-yard line and a long of 49 yards. 

Flipping the Field: Ottawa averaged 25 yards per punt return against Kansas Wesleyan. Brian McKoy had a 37-yard return, while De'Anthony Curtis returned a punt 13 yards.

Red-Zone Production: The Braves scored on five of six trips to the red zone, with all five scores coming via touchdowns

Limiting the Passing Game: Ottawa held Kansas Wesleyan to just 51 passing yards, two passing first downs and no passing touchdowns. The Coyotes completed only 8-of-21 attempts and were intercepted twice.

Disciplined Football: The Braves were flagged only twice for 13 yards in the season opener.

The University of Saint Mary enters its second game of the 2026 season with an 0-1 overall record. The Spires opened the year on Aug. 29 on the road against Evangel University, falling 73-7. 

Saint Mary is averaging 237.0 yards of total offense per game, with 84.0 yards coming on the ground and 153.0 yards through the air. USM is averaging 7.0 points per game. 

Defensively, Saint Mary allowed 513 yards in its season opener, including 282 rushing yards and 231 passing yards. The Spires allowed 73 points against Evangel. USM finished its opener with 13 first downs and converted 6-of-21 third-down opportunities.
Saint Mary was 0-for-3 on fourth down. The Spires were penalized nine times for 114 yards. USM held the ball for 32:09, compared to Evangel's 27:51.

Garrett Hunnicutt handled the quarterback duties in Saint Mary's season opener. He completed 14-of-33 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown. Hunnicutt threw three interceptions and finished with a completion percentage of 42.4 percent. His longest completion went for 25 yards. Kameron Smith was Saint Mary's leading rusher against Evangel, carrying the ball 18 times for 62 yards and averaging 3.4 yards per attempt. His longest run went for 16 yards. Teralle Watson added 26 yards on nine attempts, while Damarkus McCoy rushed 10 times for 14 yards. As a team, Saint Mary finished with 84 rushing yards on 40 attempts, an average of 2.1 yards per carry.

Aaron Jones emerged as Hunnicutt's top receiving target in the opener. Jones caught five passes for 91 yards and one touchdown, averaging 18.2 yards per reception. His longest catch went for 25 yards. Watson finished with three receptions for 28 yards, while Savyan Powell caught two passes for 22 yards. Smith added one reception for 12 yards. Saint Mary had six different players record at least one reception against Evangel.

Amir Akins and DeGeorge Hudson led the Saint Mary defense with six tackles apiece in the season opener. Akins finished with six solo stops and a pass breakup, while Hudson recorded five solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Amari Akins also had six tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. Deante Nobles finished with four tackles and a team-high 1.5 tackles for loss. The Spires totaled 52 tackles and two tackles for loss as a team

Andres Cruz punted seven times for 284 yards against Evangel, averaging 40.6 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. McCoy provided Saint Mary's biggest play in the return game. He returned two kickoffs for 74 yards, including a long return of 61 yards. The Spires totaled 139 yards on nine kickoff returns. Joshua Bingham converted his only PAT attempt and missed his lone field-goal opportunity.