University of Fort Lauderdale (0-4) at 9/10 Hardin-Simmons (2-0)
Saturday, Oct. 3 - 1 p.m.
Shelton Stadium - Abilene, Texas
Jesse Burleson Show - https://youtu.be/GnvDDIExmqw
Jairdyn Anderson Player Profile - https://youtu.be/oIaqXcK7Y4o
Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons will return to game action for the first time in 21 days, since the win at UW-La Crosse. The Cowboys will have a final game before conference play starts next week against McMurry. The Cowboys did have an exhibition two weeks ago against Clutch City and were able to get a lot of players in the game and last week had an opportunity week to get better.
On The Air
Hardin-Simmons' games will be broadcast on FloCollege this season. All home games and ASC conference road games will be on Flo. Al Pickett is in his 22nd season in the Cowboys' play-by-play chair and 23rd overall on the broadcast team. Former Cowboy quarterback and basketball player Cody Coil, a veteran sports reporter, will be the color commentator for this season.
In The Polls
Hardin-Simmons jumped in the rankings and is now ranked No. 9 in the D3football.com poll and No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Cowboys have been ranked for 133 consecutive weeks, including 74 weeks in the top 10.
Up Next
The Cowboys will head across town to open conference play against McMurry in the Wilford Moore Trophy game. The Cowboys have won 24 of the 25 meetings that the two teams have played for the Trophy, dating back to 1998. Overall, HSU has a 35-4 record against the War Hawks and have won 11 straight. The last three games have come down to the final second and four of the last five have been decided by a touchdown or less.
A Cowboy Win Would
• Be the 531st in school history.
• Be the 21st straight regular-season home win.
• Be the 119th in the
Jesse Burleson era.• Be the first win over a team from the state of Florida.
Last Time Out
The Cowboys dominated on the line of scrimmage to beat UW-La Crosse in Wisconsin, 28-20. HSU had three turnovers on offense and also muffed a punt resulting in another score. Offensively, the Cowboys only had the ball nine times on the day and scored four touchdowns, ended three drives on turnovers and punted twice (one with :19 left in the game). The Cowboys went 15-of-21 on third-down in the contest and averaged 6.4 yards per play. Defensively, the Cowboys allowed just 317 total yards, including 41 on the ground. HSU came up with four sacks for the second straight week and pressured quarterback with seven more quarterback hurries. UWL threw the ball 51 times in the contest, but averaged just 5.4 yards per pass.
Knockout Punches
Your best players have to step up in your biggest games and
Wes Douglas had a fourth quarter to remember in a road win against a ranked team. Douglas went over a defender to haul in an 8-yard touchdown catch that gave the Cowboys a 21-10 lead with 7:19 to play. After a UWL FG, and facing a third down at their own 29-yard line where a punt would give UWL the ball back with a chance to tie the game, the Cowboys essentially put the game away. After throwing several screens on the inside throughout the game with varying degrees of success, coach Whitehead called up the fake out of the same look and Douglas was wide open and raced 71 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-13 with 2:32 to play. He finished the day with six catches for 130 yards, which was his fourth career 100-yard effort.
Stop The Run, Attack The Quarterback
HSU has totally shut down the running game of its first two opponents, and both had been traditionally running teams in the past. HSU has allowed just 80 total yards on the year on the ground and are allowing just 1.7 yards per rush. Once teams have become one-dimensional, the pass rush has been an all out assault with eight sacks over the first two games. By contrast, HSU had just 20 sacks in 11 games last year. Not only have the sacks come but the Cowboys have also counted 15 quarterback hits on plays that didn't result in sacks. The two opponents have thrown for 559 yards in two games, but have averaged just 6.2 yards per attempt. Seven players have at least a half-sack on the year and freshman
Tyett Morris leads with two sacks and four quarterback hurries.
Next Man Up
The Cowboys were prepared to use a running back by committee approach, but
J.T. Washington jumped to the top of the list and had 84 yards and a touchdown in the first game of the season. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury last week in practice and is out. Transfer
Cayden Jones stepped up big at UWL and carried the ball 26 times for 131 yards and a score.
Guy Powell and
Aidan Rios also had carries at running back and talented freshmen
Tank Scott and Jerrion Hall are waiting in the wings.
Thompson Continues To Impress
Ty Thompson had a very similar stat line to week one. He was very efficient going 21-of-29 for 256 yards and had three touchdown passes. He also made plays with his feet and went for 62 yards on 12 carries. He ranks 22nd nationally in total offense at 315.3 yards per game, his 72.1 completion percentage ranks 20th and he is 23rd with 511 passing yards.
Let's Get Rowdy
Rowdy Rowan had a solid game at UWL with nine tackles and was named the ASC defensive player of the week. The grad student is playing corner for the first time this season. He played as a receiver his first three years and was also a standout on QRF. He switched to corner two springs ago and was in contention for the starting spot when he injured his knee in fall camp and missed the season. He is back and starting at corner and is tied for the team lead with
Kaiden Roden (who was his high school teammate at Quinlan Ford) in tackles.
First Downs, Turn Into Touchdowns
The Cowboys rank 11th nationally in third-down conversions on the season at 59.5 percent. The Cowboys went 15-for-21 last week at UWL and under
Jesse Burleson, HSU is 56-0 when they convert more than 50 percent of its first downs in a game. Thompson has completed eight third-down passes for first downs and ran for three more over the first two games.
We Don't Want To Use Him - But He's Clutch When We Do
Kaden Turner is one of the top punters in the country and brings an added element for the Cowboys. The goal is to never punt but he came through clutch on both of his kicks on Saturday. On the first drive of the second half, the Cowboys had a three-and-out and were backed inside their own 20 when he nailed a 50-yarder to flip the field. UWL then went three-and-out. The only other punt came with :17 to play. HSU had the ball at the UWL 43 with a fourth-and-three and decided to punt. He had a high hanger that was fielded at the 10 and returned just one yard, essentially ending the game. He is averaging 47 yards on his five punts this season and three have been 50+. He has also put two inside the 20.
About Fort Lauderdale
The University of Fort Lauderdale is a member of the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association. They are non-denominational Christian school. On the year the Eagles are 0-4 on the year. Last week they trailed nationally-ranked NAIA school Southeastern, 17-14 late in the first half before eventually falling 45-14. Offensively, they are averaging 11.25 points per contest and allow 36.3 points per game. They average 190.8 yards per game and allow 399 per contest. Koden Brown is the quarterback and he has 586 yards amd two touchdowns on the year with five interceptions. He is also the leading rusher with 72 yards. Dante Desantis leads the defense with 28 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Mike Kelly has 28 tackles.
Head Coach Jesse Burleson
Jesse Burleson is in his 16th season as head coach of the Cowboys. HSU is coming off four consecutive NCAA Division III playoff appearances and three straight American Southwest Conference championships. Burleson enters the season with a 118-36 record at Hardin-Simmons. His 118 victories rank 16th among active Division III coaches.
