By Sports Editor, Isaac Bourne
Win streaks are meant to be broken.
The ninth-ranked Ouachita Tigers took down the reigning national champion, Harding Bisons 17-13 in a thriller for the ages Saturday evening in a game that saw the first-ranked Bisons’ record 25-game win streak end at the hands of the Tiger defense.
Against a team that averaged 61 points per game going into the matchup, the Ouachita defense held the Bisons to just 13 points, shutting out the NCAA DII-best offense in the second half. Led by graduate linebacker Dawson Miller, the Tiger defense held running back Braden Jay to 2.3 yards per carry when the junior phenom entered the matchup averaging 19.1 per touch. The most astonishing number, however, is the Bisons mere 1-12 on third downs in the game, a pure display of excellence shown by the Tigers in the most crucial of moments.
On the offensive side, Ouachita once again did what critics deemed impossible.
Not a single team, even the nearby Henderson State Reddies, had obtained a lead over Harding all season. Not only did Ouachita take a lead over the Bisons, but they scored the most points on Harding by a GAC opponent in almost over an entire calendar year (Southern Arkansas scored 20 on them on October 21, 2023).
Quarterback Eli Livingston had a balanced game in the air and on the ground for Ouachita, picking up 109 yards and 44 yards in those aspects respectively, but the play by wide receiver, Connor Flannigan, truly put the Tigers over the top. Flannigan caught for 62 yards while also recording his first passing touchdown of his career, floating a ball to Livingston to take the final lead of the game in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers now have themselves some breathing room in the Great American Conference as they now sit as the lone undefeated squad at 7-0 with a road matchup at Arkansas Tech in Russellville next Saturday. Likely one more win for coach Todd Knight’s team will put them in the playoffs, but with the Battle of the Ravine on the horizon, the brakes are far from being pumped on this season for the ages.
