Football 9/22/2021 3:30:00 PM

Football Game Notes -- Week 4

THE GAME
Week four sees No. 16 OUAZ (3-0, 3-0 SAC) make its first-ever trip to Pineville, La., where they will face Sooner newcomer Louisiana College (0-4, 0-2) on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for noon (Central) / 10 a.m. (Arizona) from Wildcat Field.

The matchup brings two teams that have started the season in opposite directions. OUAZ is unbeaten and tied atop the SAC standings, while Louisiana searches for its first win in its first season in the NAIA.

Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs. It will also be the first time the Spirit has ever played a team from Louisiana.

OUAZ has a 3-0 record in the season's fourth game, with Saturday marking the first time they have played the fourth game on the road. The Spirit is 1-0 when playing a game with a 3-0 overall record. They have never played a game on September 25.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Tickets are available for the game through the Louisiana College website at LCWildcats.com.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION
Louisiana College will stream the game live with the broadcast available at OUAZSpirit.com/lcwildcats.

OUAZ ON THE ROAD
OUAZ enters its second road game of the season at 1-0 and has won three straight road games dating back to last season. The Spirit is 10-3 on the road in the program's history, and they have won eight consecutive conference road games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• With a win, OUAZ will extend its current winning streak to eight straight victories. That would tie the program record for consecutive victories that was set during the 2019 season.
• An OUAZ win would give the Spirit its first-ever win over Louisiana College and against teams from the state of Louisiana.
• A win on Saturday would improve OUAZ to 8-3 all-time in games played during September. The Spirit has currently won six straight games played in the month.
• During its current winning streak, OUAZ has outscored its opponents 297-143 overall. In the three road games during the winning streak, the Spirit has a 105-80 scoring edge.
• OUAZ has scored at least 30 points in a game 25 times in the program's first 30 games. With the 76 points scored in the opener against Lyon, the Spirit has now scored 50-plus points in a game nine times.
• Points have been aplenty for the Spirit in the first half of games this season. Through two games, OUAZ has outscored the opposition 107-14 during the first 30 minutes. Those 107 points would rank 27th in the NAIA in total points this season.

SPIRIT NOTES
OUAZ enters the fourth game as the No. 3 scoring team in the NAIA at 54.3 points per game. Only Morningside (58.3) and Cumberlands (57.0) average more points per game than the Spirit.
• The Spirit has scored 40-plus points in the first three games of the season for the first time in program history.
• This is only the third time OUAZ has reached 40-plus points in three straight games and the first time since doing it four consecutive times during the 2019 season.
• OUAZ has scored at least 28 points in each of the team's past eight games dating back to the start of the 2020 season. That is the longest stretch of 28-plus points, reaching the mark in each of the team's first 15 games in program history.

The Spirit is also the No. 3 team in the NAIA in total offense by averaging 529.7 yards per game through the first three games.
• 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 gained 500-plus yards in both of the team's first two games, and it's just the third time that has happened since doing it five consecutive times during the 2018 campaign.
• The team is 14-2 all-time when gaining 500 or more yards, and they have won 12 straight.

The passing game is where OUAZ has done the majority of its damage this season. The team currently averages 366.7 passing yards per game to rank fourth in the NAIA.
• The 1,100 passing yards are the most the team has thrown for in the first three games of the season in program history.
• It is also the third-most passing for a three-game span at any time during the program's three-plus years.
• The Spirit helped establish this year's mark 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 163.0 rushing yards per game, ranking 34th in the NAIA.
• OUAZ has picked up 140-plus rushing yards in each of the first three games this season. It's just the third time that has happened in the history of the program.
• At 4.9 yards per attempt, the Spirit ranks 21st in the NAIA. They have four runs that have gone for 20-plus yards.

Defensively, OUAZ has given up 69 points through two games, and the team ranks 38th in the NAIA in scoring defense at 23.0 points allowed per game.
• The Spirit has won its last two games despite allowing at least 28 points in each contest. OUAZ is now 7-6 all-time opposition puts 28-plus points on the board.

The Spirit is allowing 353.3 yards of total offense per game through two games. That has them ranked 47th 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.
• With SAGU gaining 427 yards and Texas Wesleyan going for 408 yards of offense, the Spirit is now 8-6 in program history when the opposition gains at least 400 yards of offense.

The opposition is currently averaging 160.7 rushing yards per game against the Spirit defense. That ranks OUAZ 56th in the NAIA in rushing defense.
• All three opponents have rushed for over 100 yards, and it's 13 straight games going back to the 2019 season.
• While Texas Wesleyan ran for 117 yards on Saturday, it was 130 yards below the Rams season average entering the game.
• The 249 rushing yards gained by SAGU were the most allowed by the Spirit since the 2020 season opener.

OUAZ enters Saturday ranked 35th in the country by allowing 192.7 passing yards per game this season.
• After holding Lyon and SAGU to a combined 287 passing yards, OUAZ gave up 291 passing yards to Texas Wesleyan on Saturday.
• Before last week, 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 5.5 yards per pass attempt and completing 53.3 percent of its pass attempts.
• The Spirit opposing quarterbacks have a quarterback rating of 105.2.

OUAZ is currently plus-3 in turnover margin with seven total takeaways.
• Those takeaways have accounted for 24 OUAZ points while they have allowed 14 points from their turnovers.

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