In front of the University of Arkansas at Monticello football team is a chance to win a third straight game. That’s not what the record in longtime Coach Hud Jackson’s mind indicates.
“We’re 0 and 0,” Jackson said. “This Saturday is the biggest game of the season.”
That’s not to say next week’s game won’t be.
“We constantly live in the moment, week to week, possession to possession,” Jackson explained succinctly.
Week-to-week preparations may change, but the pendulum is swinging in the Boll Weevils’ direction after defeating Arkansas Tech in Russellville and Southern Nazarene for their homecoming. A win Saturday at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee will give the Weevils (2-3 overall and Great American) something that’s escaped them for four years now — a third straight victory.
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Kickoff at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex is at 2 p.m., with KHBM-FM 93.7 broadcasting the game. UAM owns a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series, having beaten the Bison 24-20 last Nov. 2. That was the Weevils’ last win until two weeks ago.
The players Jackson and his staff have counted on to shine through are shining. After taking on four reigning or eventual Great American players of the week in a three-week span, two Weevils have earned the honor the past two weeks — quarterback Tavion Faulk and now linebacker Ghee Evans.
Evans also won the national D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Week honor this week after collecting 4 sacks and totaling 17 tackles (12 solo) against Southern Nazarene.
The Weevils, coming off their best defensive game of the season in holding Southern Nazarene to 9 points and 238 total yards, are handling the turnaround quite well in their locker room, according to Evans.
“Even though some guys have played together since high school, this is a new team,” he said. “We have to learn to play together. We’re clicking. I feel like no one can stop us.”
That’s the attitude Jaylen Sulton senses in the running back room. The Weevils are stronger in their run game by committee, evidenced by their 205 yards on 39 carries last Saturday. They totaled 354 yards against Southern Nazarene.
“I’m used to a faster pace of game, and honestly, I felt like it slowed down a little bit,” Sulton said, asked about the early-season adjustments. “I got used to it, and I feel like they’re just now getting to see the beginning of the run game, because we’re going to dominate and it’s 100% guaranteed we’re going to dominate.”
Sulton previously played with Faulk at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi. Evans’ teammate at East Mississippi CC, wideout Chasden Collins, set season highs in rushing yards (73) and longest rush (30) against Southern Nazarene.
Oklahoma Baptist (1-4) won its only game against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 27 but have been humbled by Southwestern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist in the past two weeks.
The Bison only average 16.2 points per game, 3.4 fewer than the Weevils, and are last in the conference in total defense at 450.6 yards per game. They’re ahead of the Weevils in total offense 374-340, as both teams will bring two of the top four players in the category to the same stage. UAM’s Faulk is second in the Great American at 239 per game, and Oklahoma Baptist’s TJ McMahon, a graduate student who previously played at Marshall and Rice, is fourth at 205.4.
Oklahoma Baptist’s Deuce Wise (256 yards and 3 touchdowns on 74 attempts) has the most rushes in the conference this season. Faulk (1,116 yards and 8 touchdowns passing) and McMahon (1,007 yards, 3 TDs) are two of only three 1,000-yard passers in the Great American so far, trailing Henderson State’s Andrew Edwards (1,296 yards, 11 touchdowns).
UAM last won three straight in 2021 defeating Arkansas Tech, Southwestern and Northwestern en route to a 5-6 record. The Weevils had started each of the following three seasons 2-0, but never reached a trifecta.
Dealing with pressure and stressful scenarios in practice has helped the Weevils overcome a three-game slide to start this season.
“I’m going to find ways to get better and do things different from we did in the past,” Jackson said. “Momentum can be the most amazing quality, and if you don’t have it, it can be the most detrimental thing.”