GAC Week 5 Rankings and Selections
GAC WEEK 5 RANKINGS
RK.-PV. TEAM (RECORD; WEEK 4 RESULTS)
- ↔ 1. HARDING (4-0; defeated Ouachita 28-27)
- ↔ 2. HENDERSON STATE (4-0; defeated SAU 20-7)
- ↔ 3. OUACHITA BAPTIST (2-2; lost to Harding 28-27)
- ↔ 4. SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (1-3; lost to Henderson 20-7)
- ↑ 6. ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO (1-3; defeated Arkansas Tech 30-27)
- ↓ 3. ARKANSAS TECH (2-2; lost to UAM 30-27)
ALL GAMES THIS WEEK ON SATURDAY, OCT. 3
HOOTENS.COM GAME OF THE WEEK
HARDING (4-0) at East Central (4-0): Harding pulled out a heart-pounding win last week over OBU in Arkadelphia. Harding’s Kaleb Walker made a game-changing play with the game tied late in the fourth quarter by stripping the ball from OBU’s Tre Nichols at the Tigers’ 11. Three snaps later, Andrew Miller punched in his third touchdown of the day. Ouachita came back to score and went for the win on a 2-point attempt, but Harding’s Deion Campbell batted the pass away in the back of the end zone to preserve a 28-27 victory. The Bisons knock off undefeated East Central in Oklahoma this week.
WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS (Predicted winner all caps and highlighted in orange)
SW Okla. State (1-3) at HENDERSON STATE (4-0): Henderson State controlled the clock and dominated the line of scrimmage in a physical road victory over Southern Arkansas. The Reddies struck twice in the second quarter to carry a 14-0 lead into halftime. SAU did not score until midway through the fourth quarter, hampered by a massive time-of-possession imbalance (41:27 to 18:33) and HSU’s overwhelming 260-to-72 rushing advantage. The Reddies move to 5-0 behind Austin Ledbetter and a balanced offense.
OUACHITA BAPTIST (2-2) at Oklahoma Baptist (2-2): OBU lost a heart-breaker to Harding, the No. 2-ranked team in Division II, last week. Tre Nichols escaped pressure on a fourth-down scramble with under a minute left and hit Carter McElhany for a dramatic 67-yard touchdown to pull the Tigers within 1 point. Ouachita went for the win on a 2-point attempt, but Harding’s Deion Campbell batted the pass away in the back of the end zone to preserve the 28-27 victory. OBU bounces back and wins the battle of the Baptists.
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (1-3) at NW Okla. State (0-4): Southern Arkansas struggled to move the football in last week’s loss to Henderson. The Muleriders finally found their way into the end zone in the fourth quarter, but it was too late. It was Coach Brad Smiley’s first loss to Henderson in 5 meetings. SAU heads to Alva, Okla., and gets back on track with a victory.
UAM (1-3) at Southern Nazarene (0-4): Arkansas-Monticello rallied from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit to beat Arkansas Tech and pick up its first win under first-year Coach Gary Goff. The Boll Weevils, leading 30-27 down the stretch, picked up 2 crucial first downs to burn the remaining time. Back-to-back wins will have Boll Weevils fans fired up if they beat Southern Nazarene.
Arkansas Tech (2-2) at SW OKLA. STATE (3-1): Arkansas Tech could not hold a 17-0 lead at home last week against UAM, and the Wonder Boys travel to Durant, Okla., this Saturday. Southeast is one of the stronger Oklahoma schools in the GAC. Arkansas Tech plays well on the road, but Southeast Oklahoma wins with its home-field advantage.