The 2012 Truman Football season will begin just as it ended the 2011 campaign only the stakes are higher as the Bulldogs head to Bolivar, Mo. to open with Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.
The opener will also be the lid lifter for conference games this season as 10 of the 11 Bulldog contests will be Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association games.
Truman defeated SBU 24-8 in the season finale a year ago with 17 points coming in the final six minutes of the second quarter.
About the Bulldogs:
Head Coach Gregg Nesbitt begins his third season on the Truman sideline after two straight 4-7 campaigns.
The Bulldogs return 47 juniors and seniors, 59 total letterwinners and 18 starters from 2011. Of the starters returning, five are on offense, 10 on defense and both punter and place kicker are back.
• The Bulldogs have played 946 games all-time. The Bulldogs are 534-378-34 (.582) all time.
• Truman is 4-2 in overtime games. All six games have been played at Stokes Stadium with the last being on Oct. 24, 2009 against Emporia State (Truman lost 30-24).
• The Bulldogs have finished .500 or above in 70 of the 104 seasons of football played at the University and have had five wins or more in 62 seasons.
• Truman is the winningest NCAA program all-time in the state of Missouri with the .582 win percentage. The University of Missouri has the most wins with 625 with the Bulldogs second with 534.
• Truman’s 534 wins is eighth all-time in Division II.
Returning All-Americans:
Truman features four players that have earned all-America honors during their career.
Senior defensive back Richie Schumacher was a third team BeyondSportsNetwork All-America selection after finishing third in Division II in tackles with 130.
Junior place kicker Derek Koon was also a BSN All-American earning a nod on the honorable mention list going 15-of-17 in field goals and converting on 22-of-27 point-after attempts.
Senior punter Eric Phillips was a second-team Don Hansen Division II All-America in 2011 after averaging 42.9 yards per punt, good for sixth in Division II. For his career, Phillips has averaged 39.0/yards per punt with a long of 75.
Senior defensive back Michael Elliott returns after earning a third-team Don Hansen selection in 2010 and taking last season off due to injury. Elliott led the defense as a junior with 91 total tackles and has six career interceptions.
Offensive Notebook:
•Truman averaged 23.0 points per game in 2011, up slightly from 22.1 in 2010.
•The team gained 1,389 yards on the ground (126.3/g), 2,422 yards passing (220.1) for a total offensive mark of 3,811 (346.4/g). That total was the most by a Bulldog team since the eclipsed 4,000 yards of total offense in the 2007 season.
•The longest play from scrimmage last year was a 69-yard rush by J.B. Clark against Missouri Southern and a 61-yard pass from Clark to Kurt Loyd against Central Missouri.
•The Bulldogs turned the ball over 24 times with 16 interceptions and eight fumbles. Of those turnovers, opposing teams scored 11 times (10 touchdowns and one field goal).
•The most yards gained in a single game last season was 615 against Lincoln (Mo.). 396 of those yards were rushing on that day while 304 yards passing against Central Missouri was the highspot in that department.
•Truman converted in the redzone 80% of the time in 2011. They were 28 of 35 with 16 touchdowns.
•The average starting position was their own 34 yardline.
•The offense was 34% on third downs in 2011. They were 48% on third and short (less than three yards) and 33% on fourth down conversions.
Defensive Notebook:
•Truman allowed 32.5 points per game last year; up a half-point from 2010.
•The team allowed 2,188 yards on the ground (198.9/g) , 2,703 yards passing (245.7/g) for a total defensive mark of 4,891 (444.6/g). That was the most yards allowed since the 2008 season.
•The longest play from scrimmage last year was an 83-yard rush by Andre Smith of Fort Hays (Kan.) St. and an 80-yard pass from Missouri Western’s Travis Partridge to Tarrell Downing.
•The Bulldogs defense forced 27 turnovers last season with nine interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. Of the 27 turnovers, 10 resulted in scores for the Bulldogs with two scores directly credited to the defense.
•The most yards gained in a single game last season was 632 by Missouri Western. The Griffons had a season-high 361 yards passing while Fort Hays (Kan.) St. had the high mark in rushing yards with 314.
•Opponents converted in the redzone 72.3% of the time in 2011. They were 34 of 47 with 28 touchdowns.
•The average starting position was their own 30 yardline.
•The opposing offense was 39% on third downs in 2011. They were 71% on third and short (less than three yards) and 45% on fourth down conversions.
Special Teams Notebook:
•Sophomore Derek Koon was 15-for-17 in field goals in 2011 with a career long 42 yards against Fort Hays State and Central Missouri. Koon was 7-for-8 in field goals over 30 yards after making just 2-of-8 during his freshman season. He has also converted on 22-of-27 extra point attempts.
•Koon made 12 straight field goals to start the season, breaking the school record of Scott Bresaw’s 10 set in 1990 and tied Bresaw’s 1990 single-season record of 15 field goals made. Koon also broke Josh Barcus’ (Pittsburg State) MIAA record for consecutive field goal. Koon’s streak snapped when he missed a 51-yard field goal against Missouri Southern. That record was broken by Missouri Western’s Greg Zuerlien also during the 2011 season.
•Junior Eric Phillips was second in the MIAA and sixth nationally in punting with a 42.9 yards per punt average. Along with redshirt freshman Jacob Lamp, helped the Bulldogs to a team ranking of seventh in Division II in net putting at 37.2 yards per punt.
•The Bulldogs blocked two punts last season, one of which went for a touchdown. Richie Schumacher got the block and fell on the ball in the endzone for six against Pittsburg State, while Will Mosquera blocked a Lincoln punt for a safety.
Academic Success:
• The Bulldogs had 48 players earn distinction on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last year, the most of any conference program. To be eligible, a player must have a cumulative grade-point average above a 3.00. The team had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.02 following the 2012 spring semester and an average ACT score of 24.
• Truman had an 88% Academic Success Rate in football according to data released by the NCAA last year. It was the highest ASR rate in the MIAA and one of the top percentages of all Division II public institutions. The Truman Athletics department had an overall ASR of 95%.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will open up Stokes Stadium in Kirksville for the first time in 2012 by hosting Lincoln (Mo.) University on Saturday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Truman notched their first shutout since 2004 with the 53-0 blanking of the Blue Tigers last season.
Truman/Southwest Baptist Series:
•This will be the 23rd meeting between Truman and SBU since the series started in 1988. Truman has won 19 games against the Bearcats and nine of the last 10.
•In the 10 meetings since 2000, the average combine score between Truman and SBU has been 62.0 points.
The high point was in 2007 in Bolivar when Truman won 55-31 while the lowest point total was a 26-0 shutout in Kirksville in 2004.
•SBU’s three wins in the series came in odd-numbered years. They won 37-25 in 1991, 18-16 in 1999 and 38-36 in 2005, all in Bolivar.
•This will be the first time the two teams have opened the season against one another, they have played five times to close the year with Truman going 5-0.
•The August 30 date will be the earliest start to the conference football season in the 100 years of the league.
Courtesy Truman State University