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OUAZ Athletics

Football Notes Week 8

Football

Football Game Notes -- Week 8

THE GAME
There will be a lot on the line at Spirit Field on Saturday night as No. 9 OUAZ (6-0, 6-0 SAC) welcomes No. 18 Langston (6-0, 5-0) to Surprise. The two remaining undefeated teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference will play for the inside track to the conference title when they kickoff at 7 p.m.

OUAZ is the only team in the SAC, with six conference wins entering the weekend. They lead Langston by one-half game with four weeks remaining in the season. 

The Spirit holds a 2-1 record all-time against the Lions, and they are 1-0 in games played at Spirit Field. After Langston won the first meeting in 2018, OUAZ has won two straight in the series.

OUAZ is 2-0 in the program's history in the team's seventh game of the season, including a 27-7 win over Langston during the 2019 season. Saturday will be the first time the Spirit has played a game on October 23. OUAZ is 4-0 all-time coming off a bye week.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Tickets for Saturday's game are available now through the OUAZ online ticket office at OUAZSpirit.com/tickets. Gates will open at 6 p.m., with kickoff at 7 p.m. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to Spirit Field and the gravel lots lining Tierra Buena Ln. across from the stadium. Gameday temperature is forecasted for 79 degrees with partly cloudy skies.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the OUAZ Digital Network, with Gordon Spencer calling the action. Fans can view the broadcast on their computer or mobile device at 
OUAZSpirit.com/watch and any Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, or Roku device by downloading the GSAC Sports Network.

OUAZ AT HOME
The Spirit return to Spirit Field with a 14-4 record and winners of five straight at home. They have won nine of the last 11 games in Surprise, dating back to the 2019 season. OUAZ outscores its opponents by nearly 25 points per game at home, and they are plus-147 during the five-game home winning streak.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • With a win, OUAZ will extend its current winning streak to 11 straight victories. The Spirit hasn't lost since the opening game of the 2020 season, and the recent run is a program record.
  • An OUAZ win would improve the Spirit to 3-1 all-time against Langston. It would also move them to 2-0 in home games in the series.
  • A win on Saturday would improve OUAZ to 9-0 all-time in games played during October.
  • During its current winning streak, OUAZ has outscored its opponents 446-202 overall. In the five home games during the winning streak, the Spirit has a 244-97 scoring edge.
  • OUAZ has scored at least 30 points in a game 28 times in the program's first 33 games. The Spirit has scored 50-plus points in a game nine times, including twice this season.
  • Points have been aplenty for the Spirit in the first half of games this season. OUAZ has outscored the opposition 197-34 during the first 30 minutes in the season's first five games. Those 197 points would rank 34th in the NAIA in total points this season.

SPIRIT NOTES
OUAZ enters Saturday as the No. 2 scoring team in the NAIA at 52.0 points per game. The team's 312 total points scored are third-most in the nation.
  • The Spirit has scored 40-plus points in every game this season. It's the longest such streak to begin a season in program history.
  • This is also the first time in program history the team has scored at least 40 points in six straight games during any part of the season.
  • OUAZ has scored at least 28 points in each of the team's last 11 games dating back to the start of the 2020 season. That is the longest stretch of 28-plus points in a game since reaching the mark in each of the team's first 15 games in program history.
The Spirit is the No. 2 team in the NAIA in total offense by averaging 534.5 yards per game this season.
  • The team set the program record with 652 yards of offense in the opener against Lyon. It was just the third time in program history they gained 600-plus yards of offense in a game and the first time since the 2018 season.
  • OUAZ has gained at least 500 yards in five of the six games this season while surpassing 400 yards in every game.
  • The team is 17-2 all-time when gaining 500 or more yards, and they have won 15 straight.
The passing game is where OUAZ has done the majority of its damage this season. The team currently averages 341.2passing yards per game to rank fourth in the NAIA.
  • The team has accounted for at least 250 passing yards in each of the first six games while four times throwing for over 300 yards.
  • The Spirit helped establish this year's total passing yards by throwing for a program-record 486 passing yards from three different quarterbacks in the season-opening win over Lyon College.
While the passing game gets a lot of the notoriety, the Spirit averages 193.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 17th in the NAIA.
  • OUAZ ran for a season-high 270 yards in the win over Arizona Christian. It was the second straight week they gained at least 250 yards rushing and only the sixth time in program history.
  • The Spirit ranks ninth in the NAIA by averaging 5.3 yards per rush while sitting tied for ninth with 18 rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, OUAZ has given up 128 points through six games, and the team ranks 32nd in the NAIA in scoring defense at 21.3 points allowed per game.
  • The Spirit has held three opponents under 20 points this season, and they are 14-1 all-time when that happens.
The Spirit is allowing 391.0 yards of total offense per game this season. That has them ranked 62nd in the nation in total defense.
  • OUAZ started the season by holding Lyon to 225 yards of offense. That was the fewest yards allowed in a game since holding Doane to 186 in the 2019 season opener and the third-fewest ever allowed at Spirit Field.
  • The Spirit limited Texas College to 340 yards of offense to snap a run of four straight opponents reaching 400 yards of offense. 
The opposition is currently averaging 165.3 rushing yards per game against the Spirit defense. That ranks OUAZ 62nd in the NAIA in rushing defense.
  • All six opponents have rushed for over 100 yards, and it's 16 straight games going back to the 2019 season.
  • The Spirit has allowed over 200 yards rushing in two games this season, including 204 at Louisiana College.
  • The 249 rushing yards gained by SAGU were the most allowed by the Spirit since the 2020 season opener.
OUAZ enters Saturday ranked 63rd in the country by allowing 225.7 passing yards per game this season.
  • The Spirit began the season by holding Lyon and SAGU to a combined 287 passing yards.
  • The 369 passing yards by ACU are the third-most ever allowed in a game by the OUAZ defense.
  • Before allowing 291 passing yards to Texas Wesleyan, OUAZ had held four straight opponents – and five of the previous six – under 200 yards passing dating back to last season.
  • The opposition is averaging just 6.0 yards per pass attempt and completing 52.4percent of its pass attempts.
  • The Spirit opposing quarterbacks have a quarterback rating of 105.0.
OUAZ is currently plus-8 in turnover margin with 15 total takeaways. 
  • The team is currently tied for fifth in the NAIA in turnover margin while ranking tied for 20th in takeaways.
  • The Spirit has scored 66 points following turnovers while allowing just 20 points from their seven giveaways.
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