OUAZ FOOTBALL GAME 10 NOTES
• The 16th-ranked OUAZ football team closes the regular season on Saturday, November 16 when they travel to Waxahachie, Texas, to play Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU).

• The game will kickoff at 10 a.m. (AZ) from Lumpkins Stadium which is located south of Dallas.

• OUAZ enters the game coming off a bye following their first loss of the season on November 2. The Spirit are 8-1 overall and 4-0 on the road.

• OUAZ is tied with Langston atop the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with their 6-1 record. The Spirit will win the conference championship – and the inside track to a NAIA National Football Series invite – with a win on Saturday.

• SAGU leads the series with the Spirit after the Lions secured a 56-34 win last season at Lumpkins Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW
• SAGU will broadcast the game live on their broadcast channel. Fans can access the stream on game day at OUAZSpirit.com/watch.

• Live stats will also be available through DakStats with a link available at OUAZSpirit.com/stats.

SOONER ACTION
• OUAZ is 6-1 in SAC play entering the final game of the season on Saturday. They can clinch the first conference championship in program history with a win on Saturday.

• The Spirit are 11-4 all-time in SAC games after having their 10-game conference winning streak snapped against Lyon on November 2.

GAME 10 HISTORY
• Entering the 10th game of the season, OUAZ holds a 1-0 all-time record in the season's 10th game after last season's 35-29 win at Texas Wesleyan.

• The team's current 8-1 record in the best record through nine games in the team's history after the Spirit were 6-3 at this point last season.

• The Spirit will play the season's 10th game on the road for the second straight year when they visit SAGU on Saturday.

LOOKING BACK
• OUAZ jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter against Lyon on November 2. The Scots then scored the final 15 points of the game to upset the then 12th-ranked Spirit.

• In their first loss of the season, OUAZ gained 393 yards of offense and held Lyon to 292 yards. Neither team had a turnover.

• Kristopher Ewens ran for 214 yards to establish the school record for rushing yards in a game for the second straight contest. He also became the first player in program history with 100-plus rushing yards in three consecutive games.

NATIONAL POLL
• After slipping to No. 19 in the November 4 poll, the Spirit moved up to No. 16 in the current poll that was released on November 11.

• They received 165 points from the voters to climb three spaces and match their largest move this season.

• Of the teams in this week's poll, only Keiser (Fla.) has gained more positions (25) in the poll since the preseason release than the Spirit (16).

CHECKING THE COMPUTERS
• This week's edition of the Massey Ratings have the Spirit at No. 32. That is their lowest rating since they were 36th on September 2.

• The current CompughterRatings.com rankings have OUAZ at No. 21. That is down 11 spots from their highest ranking on ninth on October 21.

• The Peter Wolfe have the Spirit at No. 10, which is also their lowest rating of the season in the ratings that started on October 14.

• OUAZ has remained at No. 2 in the NCCAA ratings in every rating since the regular season started. The NCCAA uses the Massey Ratings system to determine in ratings.

WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
• With one week remaining in the regular season, OUAZ has received 11 of the 33 player of the week awards given by the SAC this season.

• A spirit player has received a weekly award form the SAC following seven of the team's nine games played this season.

• Austin McCullough (offense) and John Williams (special teams) have three awards apiece and are tied for the most weekly awards from the SAC this season.

• An OUAZ player has also earned a NCCAA player of the week award seven times this season.

• McCullough (offense) and Christian Woo (defense) have each received two weekly honors from the NCCAA.

OFFENSIVE POWER
• OUAZ enters the regular season finale third in the NAIA in scoring offense at 46.6 points per game.

• The Spirit have scored at least 40 points in six of their nine games this season and they have reached 70-plus points twice.

• They trail only Morningside (58.8) and Kansas Wesleyan (49.9) for the lead.

• OUAZ has scored 161 points in the second quarter of games this season. In comparison, they have only allowed the opposition to score 157 total points.

• OUAZ also ranks third in the country by averaging 495.0 yards per game. The Spirit have gained 500-plus yards in a game five times this season and they have totaled 420-plus yards eight times.

• At 319.9 passing yards per game, the Spirit rank fifth in the NAIA this week. They have six games with 300-plus passing yards on the season.

• The team's 31 passing touchdowns are tied for fifth in the NAIA behind only the 32 by Kansas Wesleyan.

• OUAZ currently sits fourth in the NAIA by averaging 25.7 first downs per game and they rank second by converting 50.7 percent on third down.

• The Spirit are eighth in the nation with their plus-11 turnover margin. They are 10th nationally at plus-1.20 turnovers per game.

DON'T OVERLOOK THE DEFENSE
• OUAZ opponents are scoring just 17.4 points per game this season having allowed more than 21 points just twice while limiting four opponents to only seven points.

• The Spirit lead the SAC and sit 16th in the NAIA in scoring defense with one game to play.

• The opposition is throwing for 174.0 yards per game with six teams being held under 200 passing yards.

• The Spirit are 21st nationally in passing defense and eighth in the NAIA with a 96.2 opponent passer rating.

• OUAZ ranks 13th in the NAIA with 30 total sacks and 11th in getting 3.3 sacks per game. 

• For the season, OUAZ has 26 takeaways to rank sixth in the country. They have recovered 14 fumbles while getting 12 interceptions.

ABOUT SAGU
• SAGU will enter the season finale at 0-9 overall and still looking for their first win of the season. They are 0-7 in SAC games and the Lions have lost 11 straight games dating back to last season.

• SAGU is 0-5 at home on the season with six straight losses at Lumpkins Stadium when going back to 2018.

• Ryan Smith is in his third season as head coach at SAGU with a 13-17 overall record.

• The Lions hold opponents to 290.1 total yards per game where they rank 16th in the NAIA. They are 13th by limiting the opposition to 162.3 passing yards per contest.

• They have two of the top kick returners in the nation in Justin Allen and Christian Cross. Allen averages 29.4 yards per return to rank second in the NAIA while Cross is eighth at 26.7 yards per return.

LOOKING AHEAD
• OUAZ will learn its postseason fate on Sunday when the NAIA announces the 16-team field for the Football Championship Series.

• The National Championship Qualifier Reveal will air live on the NAIA Facebook page on Sunday at 5 p.m. (AZ).