Ottawa enters its matchup against No. 8 Friends with a 3-2 overall record. The Braves opened the season with three consecutive victories before dropping their last two contests. 

The Braves scored a season-high 61 points in their 61-20 victory over Sterling. Ottawa suffered its first defeat of the season against (RV) Southwestern, falling 30-14 on the road. The Braves enter the Friends matchup following a 14-10 loss to No. 15 McPherson. Ottawa is averaging 32 points and 355.2 yards of total offense per game. The Braves have scored 160 points while allowing 92 through their first five games. Ottawa is 1-1 on the road this season.

Ottawa ranks 25th nationally in passing yards per game, averaging 254.8 yards through the air. The Braves also rank 23rd nationally in total points scored with 160. Ottawa's passing offense is averaging 254.8 yards per game and has accounted for 12 touchdowns through five contests. Luke Edwards has completed 48 of his 85 passing attempts for 706 yards and eight touchdowns without throwing an interception. Edwards is averaging 176.5 passing yards per game in four appearances. Elijah Ribaudo has completed 52 of 85 passes for 568 yards and four touchdowns. Ribaudo has a 61.2 percent completion percentage. Ottawa's quarterbacks have combined to complete 100 of 170 passes for 1,274 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Braves have completed 58.8 percent of their passing attempts.  

Ottawa has rushed for 502 yards and nine touchdowns through five games. Malakai Hudson leads the Braves with 144 rushing yards on 20 attempts. Hudson is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and has scored one rushing touchdown. Amiri Mumba has rushed for 116 yards and leads Ottawa with five rushing touchdowns. Anthony Powell has 110 rushing yards on 23 attempts, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Rowdy Keith has added two rushing touchdowns. Ottawa is averaging 100.4 rushing yards per game.   

Jayden Johnson leads the Braves with 327 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 25 receptions. Johnson is averaging 81.8 receiving yards per game and 13.1 yards per reception. De'Anthony Curtis has caught 20 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Curtis is averaging 15 yards per reception and has a team-long 68-yard reception. AJ Moore has recorded 23 receptions for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Hagan Johnson has seven receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown. Rowdy Keith has eight receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown. Ottawa has three receivers with at least 265 receiving yards this season. Jayden Johnson, Curtis and Moore have combined for 68 receptions, 892 yards and nine receiving touchdowns.     

Ottawa has allowed 18.4 points per game through its first five contests. The Braves have forced 14 turnovers, including seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Ottawa has recorded 12 sacks and 35 tackles for loss. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 47.8 percent of their passing attempts. The Braves have allowed 158.4 passing yards per game. Ottawa has recorded 23 pass breakups and five forced fumbles. The defense has also blocked two kicks. 

Cade Monroe: Leads Ottawa with 42 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. Ethan Yinger: Has recorded 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Jacob Hill: Has 31 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. Ibrahimi Mahdi: Has recorded 28 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Gabe Watson: Has 27 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. Kage Castling: Has contributed 25 tackles, including 20 assisted tackles. Donovan Martin: Has recorded four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Kadyn Hodson: Has one interception returned 54 yards, one sack and one blocked kick.    

Ottawa's defense has forced 14 turnovers through five games. Seven different Braves have recorded an interception. Yinger, Monroe, Hill, Daniel Walker, Abdullhi Mahdi, Ethan Gardner and Hodson have each intercepted a pass. Yinger leads the Braves with two fumble recoveries. The Braves have recovered seven fumbles while their opponents have recovered three. Ottawa has committed nine turnovers, giving the Braves a plus-five turnover margin.     

AJ Moore has recorded a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Hagan Johnson leads Ottawa with 145 kickoff return yards on seven returns. Brian McKoy has returned two punts for 37 yards, averaging 18.5 yards per return. Joshua Iraheta is averaging 40.5 yards per punt, with nine punts placed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Ike Prengel has connected on three field goals, including a season-long 43-yarder. Prengel has converted 15 of his 17 extra-point attempts and has scored 24 points. Ottawa is averaging 23.8 yards per kickoff return.   

Series Quick Hits
- Ottawa and Friends will meet for the 74th time in program history.
- The Braves lead the all-time series 39-33-1.
- The two programs first met on October 24, 1914, with Friends defeating Ottawa 21-2.
- Ottawa earned its first victory over Friends on October 24, 1925, defeating the Falcons 13-0.
- The Braves recorded 13 consecutive victories over Friends from 1957 through 1967.
- Ottawa's largest victory in the series came in 1963 when the Braves defeated the Falcons 60-9.
- The only tie in the series occurred on October 10, 1970, when the teams finished in a 21-21 deadlock.
- Ottawa won seven consecutive meetings from 2009 through 2015.
- The Braves recorded three consecutive victories over Friends from 2020 through 2022.
- Ottawa's most recent victory over the Falcons came on October 22, 2022, when the Braves earned a 28-13 road win.
- Friends has won the last three meetings between the programs.
- In the most recent meeting on October 4, 2025, No. 6 Friends defeated Ottawa 28-7.
- Ottawa will face a nationally ranked Friends team for the fourth consecutive season.
No. 8 Friends University enters the matchup with Ottawa University undefeated at 5-0. The Falcons have outscored their opponents 330-82 through five games, averaging 66 points per contest while allowing 16.4. Friends has won all five games by at least 28 points, including three victories by 45 or more points. The Falcons are 2-0 at home. Friends enters the matchup following a 59-24 road victory over Evangel University on September 26. 

The Falcons lead the NAIA in total points (330), points per game (66.0), total offense (2,682 yards) and rushing yards per game (448.8). Friends ranks fifth nationally in total offense per game (536.4 yards) and second in first downs (134). The Falcons have committed five turnovers while forcing 14 through their first five games. Friends operates a run-heavy offense, averaging 448.8 rushing yards per game. The Falcons have rushed for 2,244 yards and 29 touchdowns through five games. Friends averages 8.0 yards per rushing attempt.  Seven Falcons have rushed for at least 200 yards this season.

Elon Conley leads Friends with 316 rushing yards on just 22 carries, averaging 14.4 yards per attempt. He has scored four rushing touchdowns. Nick Cordova has rushed for 315 yards and three touchdowns on 51 attempts. E'derian Sykes has accumulated 312 rushing yards and leads Friends with seven rushing touchdowns. Joey Millspaugh has rushed for 304 yards and four touchdowns in four games. He averages 13.8 yards per carry. Walker Overman has rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns while also contributing in the passing game.

Friends has completed 15 passes for 438 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Falcons average 87.6 passing yards per game and have not thrown an interception this season. Walker Overman - 8-of-22 passing for 201 yards. - Five passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. - 35 rushing attempts for 243 yards. - Three rushing touchdowns. - Longest rushing attempt of 65 yards.

Elon Conley - 22 carries for 316 yards. - Four rushing touchdowns. - Averaging 14.4 yards per carry. E'derian Sykes - 46 carries for 312 yards. - Seven rushing touchdowns. - Averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Nick Cordova - 51 carries for 315 yards. - Three rushing touchdowns. - Averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Joey Millspaugh - 22 carries for 304 yards. - Four rushing touchdowns.- Averaging 13.8 yards per carry.

DJ Pearson: Three receptions, 89 yards and two touchdowns. Kade Clifton: Three receptions, 86 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Wineland: One reception, 74 yards and one touchdown. Samuel Becker: Three receptions, 68 yards and three touchdowns. 

Friends allows 275.8 yards of total offense per game. The Falcons surrender 117.8 rushing yards and 158 passing yards per contest. Opponents are averaging just 3.2 yards per rushing attempt. Friends has recorded 53 tackles for loss and 17 sacks. The Falcons have intercepted six passes and recovered eight fumbles. Friends has limited opponents to a 29 percent conversion rate on third down. The Falcons have allowed just four rushing touchdowns through five games. Friends has recorded 15 pass breakups and four forced fumbles. Opponents have scored 82 points against Friends, averaging 16.4 per game.  

Tyson Wallace - Leads Friends with 34 tackles. - 18 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles. - Five tackles for loss. - Two sacks. - One forced fumble and one pass breakup Cooper Skrobecki - 30 total tackles. - Four tackles for loss. - One sack. - Two interceptions for 63 yards. - One forced fumble.- One fumble recovery returned 76 yards.
Cale Milleson - 20 total tackles. - 5.5 tackles for loss. - Leads Friends with 3.5 sacks. - One fumble recovery. .

Connor Tillman handles both kicking and punting responsibilities for Friends. - Tillman is 40-of-46 on extra-point attempts and 2-of-2 on field goals. - His longest field goal is 29 yards. Tillman averages 35.4 yards per punt. Michael Lopez has returned five kickoffs for 230 yards, averaging 46 yards per return. Lopez has scored on a 90-yard kickoff return. He has also returned 10 punts for 225 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown. Lopez has scored five total touchdowns this season, including three rushing touchdowns and two special teams touchdowns.