For the first time since 1986, the Truman Bulldog football team will play a game in the St. Louis metro area as they will step outside of conference play to travel to McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill. on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs are 1-3 while the Bearcats are looking for their first win of the season while making the transition to NCAA Division II Football.
The ‘Dogs are coming off a 54-30 loss to #20 Central Missouri last Saturday as all three losses this season have come against ranked opponents.
Quarterback J.B. Clark threw for a season-high 304 yards with Kurt Loyd catching four passes for 113 and Dallas Grier adding eight receptions for 95 yards but the Bulldog defense allowed a season-high 571 yards by the Mule offense and touchdowns on five of their first six possessions.
McKendree is in an unfamiliar position after failing to the NAIA’s fifth-ranked team, William Penn (Iowa), 21-0 in their last time out. It was only the third time since the program had been revived in 1996 that the Bearcats were shutout and first since 2008, a span of 33 games.
The Bearcats are 18-5 the last two seasons with trips each year to the NAIA playoffs but this is the first 0-3 start since the program came back in 1996 following a 46-year absence.
This is the first ever meeting between McKendree and Truman.
The last time Truman played a game in the St. Louis metro area was a two-year series with Southeast Missouri State that was played in 1985 and 1986 at Busch Memorial Stadium.
Five Things To Watch:
1 – Set The Tone Early
The Bulldogs have been outscored in the first quarter by 20 (49-29) and in the first half by 66 (115-49) through the first four games.
Truman is also 4-of-13 on third down in the first quarter and 9-of-33 (27%) in the first half.
In Truman’s win, they gained 156 yards in the first quarter but in the three losses they have given up on average 141 yards on defense in the first 15 minutes of play.
2 – Avoid Costly Fouls
The Bulldogs are third in the MIAA in pentaly yardage against at 57.2 yards per game, however in the last two contests,
Truman has been flagged 16 times, with 5, 15-yard fouls and two on special teams.
The team has had two interception returns for touchdowns negated due to the yellow flag in the last two games.
3 –Finish Drives
Truman is scoring in the redzone at a 76% clip but it’s the redzone touchdowns that have eluded the offense this season.
The Bulldogs have six redzone scores in 17 opportunities whereas the opposition has 13 TDs in 21 redzone chances.
Despite playing in one less game, McKendree has four redzone touchdowns in 12 chances while allowing 12 touchdowns in 14 redzone possessions.
4 – Watch For The Run
The Bearcats come into the game fairly balanced with 129 yards gained on average on the ground and 146 yards through the air, however those numbers are slightly skewed over the past five years of McKendree Football.
The Bearcats have averaged 260 yards rushing and just 104 yards per game passing since 2006 and has averaged 50 rush attempts per game.
Through four games, Truman is allowing 260 yards on the ground this season after limiting opponents to 145 per game a season ago.
5 – Don’t Overlook Opponent
After four grueling weeks of MIAA football, including three opponents ranked in the AFCA top 25, this will be the first non-conference game of the 2011 season.
The Bearcats are 0-3 this season with two of their three defeats have come against NAIA ranked in the top five in the nation (St. Francis-Ind. at number two and William Penn-Iowa at number five).
McKendree is making the transition to Division II and will join the Great Lakes Valley in football in the coming years after two straight trips NAIA national tournament and nine in the past 14 seasons.
Defensively, the Bearcats have been stingy allowing just 297 yards per game.
Offensive Notebook:
• Senior transfer J.B. Clark completed 78-of-157 pass attempts (49.7%) for 986 yards. He is fourth in the MIAA in passing with a 227.3 per game average.
His long pass is 61 yards to Kurt Loyd against Central Missouri.
• Clark passed for nearly 4,000 yards in 19 starts with 37 touchdown passes while a member of the Lehigh University (FCS) squad.
He did not play in the 2010 season after recovering from an injury.
• Sophomore Conrad Schottel was 3-of-7 for 17 yards in his season debut against Northwest. For his career, Schottel is 16-of-39 and has not thrown a touchdown pass.
• Senior Harnish Ayora leads the team in rushing with a 42.2 yards per game average.
He’s gained 169 yards on 36 carries for a 4.7 average. For his career, Ayora has 768 yards rushing and a 3.6 yards per carry average.
• Senior Donald Harvey is second in rushing with 104 yards on 25 carries and Will Mosquera third with 91 yards on 28 attempts.
• Senior Anthony Brown leads the receiving corps with 22 catches for 285 yards and two touchdowns.
Brown is tied for second in the MIAA in receptions per game at 6.3 and 3rd in yards per game with 82.5
• The Bulldogs are 13-of-17 (76%) in redzone opportunities in 2011 with six touchdowns.
Last season, the team was 80% successful in the redzone with 36 scores (25 touchdowns).
In 2009, they were just 67% in the redzone with only 16 touchdowns in 36 opportunities.
• For the season, Truman is 33% in third down situations. They are 7-of-17 (41%) in short yardage third down situations (under three yards).
• Truman is averaging 4.9 yards per play and 340.5 yards per game in total offense in 2011.
The Bulldogs averaged 4.8 yards per play and 324.2 yards in 2010 and were at 4.2 and 278.0 in 2009.
• Last year the team rushed for 1,933 yards, the most by a Bulldog squad since 1997’s 2,015 yards.
The team has not had a 1,000 yard season rusher since Jerard Leverson in 2003 (1,012).
• The best single-game performances last year for the team were both against Nebraska-Omaha (336 rushing and 218 passing).
Defensive Notebook:
• Junior Richie Schumacher is second in Division II in tackles per game with 13.75. He has 55 tackles after registering 61 in 2010 in 11 games.
He trails conference member Alex Whitehill of Fort Hays State for both the national and conference lead in tackles (15.5/g).
• The defense had 19 takeaways in 2010 with one going for a touchdown return (Michael Elliott against Missouri Southern).
The Bulldogs offense scored on the ensuing possession on just six of those turnovers.
Truman was third in the MIAA in turnover margin.
This season, the Truman defense has nine takeaways with 16 points as a result of those turnovers.
Dennis Walls has an interception return for a score.
• The Bulldogs have allowed 494.2 yards in total offense by opposing teams this season and is allowing 6.5 yards per play.
Last year, the Bulldogs allowed 387 per game and 5.9 per play.
• The ‘Dogs have allowed 1042 yards on the ground (260.5/game) with Fort Hays State’s Andre Smith posting the single-game high with 204 yards on 21 carries.
• The pass defense has given up 233 yards per game and opposing quarterbacks have completed 80-of-119 passes (67%).
In 2010, the pass D allowed 242 yards per game and opposing qbs completed 59.8% of their passes.
• Opposing teams are 16-of-21 (76%) in the redzone with 13 touchdowns while last season, opponents were 36-of-42 (85.7%) with 29 touchdowns and seven field goals.
• On third downs, opponents are 28-of-57 (49%) and 74% when facing a third and less than three yards. In 2010, opponents were only 34% successful which was second in the MIAA.
Teams were 50% from inside of three yards but just under 30% when faced with a third and greater than seven.
On fourth down, opponents were just 10-of-28 (36%).
Courtesy: Truman State University
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