ARKADELPHIA- When No. 10 North Alabama takes on Ouachita Baptist at A.U. Williams Field for Homecoming Weekend, it will be a crash course collision of two opposing philosophies.
For starters, the Tigers (4-2, 2-2 GSC) enter the weekend with the top scoring offense in the Gulf South Conference, averaging 37 points per game. The Lions (6-1, 3-1 GSC) make the 356-mile trek from Florence, Ala. to Arkadelphia with the GSC’s top defense, allowing just five points per contest. In other words, something has to give when the Lions and Tigers meet.
The Lions are overwhelming teams with a suffocating defensive unit that allows just 51 rushing yards per outing. Overall, North Alabama has given up just 41 points on the season in seven games. Defensive end Courtney Harris leads the defensive unit with 9.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and three forced fumbles in 2010. In the secondary, North Alabama has forced 11 interceptions, while allowing just two passing scores on the season. A trio of players have two interceptions for the Lions, including Hilliard Foster (37 tackles), Chad Daniel (10 passes defended) and Brent Vinson (75 return yards on two interceptions). Lions quarterback Lee Chapple leads the offensive unit with 1,693 yards and 13 touchdowns, with six interceptions. His top targets are Jarmon Fortson (413 yards, three touchdowns) and Donald Bowens (335; 3).
“To defeat a team like North Alabama, you can’t afford to have turnovers,” Ouachita Head Football Coach Todd Knight said. “The challenge we’ve made to our football team this week is to our offensive line and defensive line because it all starts there. Their defensive front is pretty dominant and so it’s a big challenge to our offensive line. I feel like our defensive line has to apply the same pressure and we have to be great in the kicking game. I feel like if we can do those things, we can compete with anybody.”
Through the first six weeks of football, it looked as if North Alabama was as perfect as it got within conference teams. However, while the defense held strong, offense was nowhere to be found in a 5-0 loss to No. 14 Valdosta State a week ago, producing just 101 yards of total offense for North Alabama. It was the Lions’ first loss on the season, after starting the conference season at 3-0. In the past two weeks, North Alabama has been forced into committing four turnovers and has produced only 123 yards rushing in both games combined. Protection has been a problem throughout the season, as the Lions have allowed 20 sacks in 2010.
The six hour trip to Arkansas shouldn’t play a factor in the outcome of Saturday’s matchup, as North Alabama will travel to six difference states throughout the 2010 schedule, including Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi.
For the Tigers, it’s a completely different outlook entering the Homecoming matchup. Ouachita enters Saturday coming off a bye week after playing brilliantly on defense against Arkansas Tech on Oct. 9 in a 28-7 victory, limiting the Wonder Boys to just 10 yards rushing and 152 total yards.
Ouachita senior quarterback Eli Cranor continues to find ways to ignite the Tiger offense with an innovative ability to create plays on the run. Cranor has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,594 yards and eight touchdown passes, while racking up 203 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Sophomore running back Daniel McGee ranks third in the GSC in rushing with 464 yards and seven touchdowns. In fact, Ouachita has rushed for over 100 yards in all six games of 2010. Defensively, sophomore Terrence Garrett leads Ouachita with 35 tackles, while sophomore defensive end Alonzo Newton adds 3.5 sacks. While the rushing defense took the headlines in the 28-7 victory over Arkansas Tech a week ago, by allowing just 10 yards rushing, the Ouachita secondary has allowed just one 200-yard passer all season long (Harding; 255 on Sept. 25) in sporting the GSC’s top passing defense.
Even in defeat for Ouachita, it’s hard to pin point a definitive explanation for what went wrong in both a 37-31 loss to Arkansas-Monticello and 21-19 defeat to Valdosta State. The Tigers didn’t lose the turnover battle, while producing 100 yards of offense more than their opponent and also overwhelmingly holding an advantage in time of possession.
Ultimately, the difference came in the inability to convert on third down opportunities with a combined 10-of-30 mark (33 percent), more penalties (176 yards on 16 penalties) and less defensive pressure, leading to less sacks (1 sack in 2 games; 14 on the season).
With the common opponent in Arkansas Tech, North Alabama recorded 265 yards of offense (59 yards rushing, 206 passing) in a 28-0 victory, while Ouachita had 344 yards total (177 rush, 167 pass) in their 28-7 win. An aspect that both schools wish they didn’t share in common is penalties. North Alabama has been flagged for 575 yards on 65 penalties, while Ouachita enters with 405 yards on 45 penalties.
When putting the North Alabama and Ouachita Baptist offensive charts side-by-side, you’ll see a difference in percentage balance between passing and running the football. For North Alabama, the Lions have produced 73 percent of their offense through the air, while running with the football for 27 percent of production. The Tigers bring a much more balanced approach to action, passing for 61 percent of their offense, while rushing for 39 percent of yardage gained. With an ability to effectively run the football, Ouachita averages a time of possession of 32:42, ranking third best in the GSC.
“Time of possession usually means that you can run the football,” Knight said. “I think Jay (Derby) always goes into the week with the mindset that we have to be balanced. We’ve got a good core of receivers; we’ve got a quarterback that has a great arm and a great mind that can do a lot of things for us offensively with our check system. We’re going to try to be balanced, but naturally you can’t beat a good team if you can’t run the football. Coach (J.R.) Eldridge feels like they’ve got a great plan on the defensive side of the ball to try and stop the things they do well and not give up points.”
In the end, turnovers will play an important role in the outcome. Fortunately for Ouachita, this is a positive aspect. The Tigers rank second in the conference with a plus-7 turnover ratio, while North Alabama sports a plus-5 ratio, despite giving up four turnovers in their past two contests. It also marks an important checkpoint for both teams, as North Alabama is still very much in the hunt for the GSC crown, while the Tigers have the ability to jump back into the NCAA Playoffs conversation with a victory in the matchup.
“When you have a plus-7 turnover ratio, it probably means you’ve got more wins than losses”, Knight believes. “If you don’t turn it over, you win football games. This is a huge game for us. We’re looking forward to a lot of people coming back to campus for Homecoming. With a victory, it would put our program right in the middle of the elite GSC teams.”
