When the Wildcats have the ball

By Doug Gann | 446Sports

PINEVILLE, La. — The Wildcats have their share. Now they get a chance to take the whole thing.

Saturday at Wildcat Stadium, Louisiana Christian can finish an unbeaten Sooner Athletic Conference schedule, claim the outright championship and secure the league’s automatic playoff berth. The opportunity comes at home, on Senior Day, against a nationally ranked opponent with plenty of reasons to believe it can spoil the afternoon.

LCU is No. 9 in the NAIA Media Poll, 9–1 overall and 7–0 in the SAC. OUAZ is No. 20, bringing a 7–2 record and a 6–1 conference mark to Pineville.

That 7–2 record needs some context. Both OUAZ losses are officially listed as forfeits after the university self-reported using an ineligible player in its first two games. The Spirit lost 48–0 at Montana Tech in the opener, then beat Wayland Baptist 56–14 on the field. Both are now recorded as 2–0 forfeit losses. OUAZ has won all seven games since.

The stage is set for the 446Sports National Game of the Week, and when the Wildcats have the football, the matchup starts with two numbers.

LCU has rushed for 29 touchdowns against SAC opponents. OUAZ has allowed one.

That puts the challenge squarely in front of the Wildcats’ offensive line and the two backs who have helped carry this team to the doorstep of an outright title. Louisiana Christian has made a living moving people and making defenses pay for the attention its running game demands. Saturday will require the Cats to keep doing it against a front that has spent most of the fall taking that option away.

The Cats bring the two leading rushers

Datlan Cunningham leads the SAC in total season rushing yards with 880. Jaterrius “Joe” Johnson is right behind him with 855. First and second in the league, sharing the same backfield and giving LCU two reasons to keep handing the football off.

They have combined for 1,735 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Cunningham has scored 14 times on the ground and averages 5.9 yards per carry. Joe has eight rushing touchdowns and averages 6.5. That is production the Wildcats can build an afternoon around.

Last Saturday at Arkansas Baptist, Cunningham ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns, earning the SAC’s offensive weekly award. Johnson added 139 yards and another score. LCU finished with 427 rushing yards in the 62–13 victory.

OUAZ will bring a much different problem. The Spirit is allowing only 71.2 rushing yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry. Against SAC opponents, that rushing average drops to 45.3 yards allowed. LCU has averaged 285.7 rushing yards against the same seven conference programs.

There is a big difference between a back reaching the linebackers with his shoulders square and a back having to make his first move two yards behind the line. The Wildcats need Cunningham and Johnson attacking defenders with momentum. OUAZ wants them spending that first move just trying to get back to the line of scrimmage.

Watch those early carries. A four-yard gain may not make the highlight reel, but it leaves LCU with choices. Stack enough of them together and the Spirit has to decide whether it can keep defending the run with the people already there or bring somebody else down to help.

That is when the rest of this offense gets its opportunity.

Give Perkins time to make it count

Bryce Perkins has thrown for 2,038 yards and 21 touchdowns against seven interceptions. EJ Scott has caught 43 passes for 770 yards and eight scores. Omarius Davis has 35 catches for 689 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Wildcats can hurt a defense outside, too. LCU has thrown 20 touchdown passes against five interceptions in SAC play. OUAZ has intercepted eight conference passes while allowing six touchdown throws. If the running game pulls an extra defender toward the line, Perkins has the receivers to punish that decision. He also has to recognize when the opening closes. This secondary has made opponents pay for mistakes.

But the protection has to hold long enough for it to happen.

OUAZ has recorded 33 sacks. Labarron Kennedy Jr. leads that effort with seven, while Corey Floyd Jr. has 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. Defensive back Kenny White has contributed three sacks and nine tackles for loss. LCU’s protection has to account for disruption coming from more than the obvious places.

Texas Wesleyan felt it last Saturday. The Spirit collected six sacks, three by Kennedy, and held the Rams to 46 rushing yards. Brayden Faber added a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown. OUAZ can make a stalled possession expensive.

LCU has allowed 17 sacks this season. Against this group, the Wildcats need their protection calls, their help from the backs and Perkins’ decisions working together. A clean pocket gives him a chance to challenge the secondary. When the pocket breaks down, getting to the next snap with the football still in LCU’s hands matters.

We have seen how quickly this offense can turn a close game. At Wayland Baptist, the Wildcats led 24–21 late in the third quarter when Johnson broke a 41-yard run and Scott followed with a 34-yard touchdown catch. Joe later scored from 62 yards out. LCU finished with 590 yards in a 44–27 victory.

That is what makes this offense dangerous. OUAZ has to keep solving the running game and still be ready when the Wildcats take their shot. LCU’s job is to earn those opportunities and make the Spirit pay when they arrive.

The numbers back up the billing

Louisiana Christian is averaging 51 points as a team, with its offense producing 493.3 yards per game. OUAZ is allowing 11.1 points and 222.6 yards. The Wildcats have scored at least 31 points in every game. Since its opening loss at Montana Tech, the Spirit has held eight straight opponents to 17 or fewer, including four shutouts.

The NAIA’s November 5 statistical notebook placed OUAZ first nationally in scoring defense and total defense, second against the run and fifth against the pass. LCU stood fourth in scoring, eighth in total offense and third in fourth-down conversion percentage. Those national positions preceded last Saturday’s games; the school totals in this preview include them.

Against the same seven SAC opponents, LCU has averaged 536.9 yards of offense and 7.7 yards per snap. OUAZ has allowed 206.4 yards and 3.4 per snap. The Wildcats are used to gaining ground in chunks. The Spirit is used to making the next first down feel a long way off.

Within conference play, LCU leads the SAC in scoring, total offense and passing efficiency. OUAZ leads the league in scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. Both units have earned the attention this matchup is getting.

Fourth down brings another test: LCU has converted 11 of 15 attempts. OUAZ’s opponents have converted one of 18.

Picture that decision near midfield with a drive finally gathering some momentum. The Wildcats have trusted their offense to keep possessions alive. The Spirit has made a habit of ending them. Those are small samples, but they give us another reason to watch what LCU does on the down before the decision.

Third-and-short keeps the whole offense involved. A sack, a penalty or a run stuffed in the backfield can hand OUAZ the kind of passing situation its rush wants. For the Wildcats, staying on schedule is how the running game, the protection and the receivers get to work together.

LCU has already had to grind through a tougher offensive afternoon. Nelson held the Cats to 144 rushing yards and a 3-for-15 performance on third down. LCU still won 31–23. Saturday calls for that same ability to keep working when the first answer is not the right one.

That is where I keep coming back to the men up front. Give Cunningham and Joe room to get moving. Give Perkins the time to put the ball where Scott and Davis can do something with it. Make OUAZ defend the full offense for four quarters.

The Cats have earned the opportunity to finish this championship at home. Their offense has the weapons to help make it happen. Saturday, the work starts at the line of scrimmage.

No. 20 OUAZ at No. 9 Louisiana Christian. Saturday, November 14, Wildcat Stadium in Pineville. Join 446Sports for pregame at 1:30 p.m. Central and kickoff at 2 p.m. It is the 446Sports National Game of the Week.

Tomorrow, we flip the matchup and preview the OUAZ offense against the LCU defense.