Football 10/16/2024 6:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Visits NSU For The President's Cup

Central Oklahoma Owns A 53-27-2 All-Time Advantage Against In-State Rival

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – No. 11 Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State go head-to-head for the 83rd time in the battle for The President's Cup Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

UCO heads to Tahlequah in Week 7 with a 6-0 overall record and a 5-0 record in the MIAA. NSU is 1-5 this fall.

For more than 100 years, the two schools in the Regional University System of Oklahoma have faced off on the football field, and since 1998, the game has been played for The President's Cup. The trophy is held by the winner each year. This season, the game is a non-conference game as Northeastern State moved to play as an independent school in football only. NSU remains an MIAA member in all other sports.

Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State played for the first time in 1915 and have met on the gridiron 82 times in the last 109 years. UCO owns a 53-27-2 advantage in the series. The Bronchos won the first meeting 83-0, and the first nine overall. Central also has won the last nine meetings dating back to 2014.

Central Oklahoma made a long-awaited return to the national rankings this season and moved up to No. 8 in the D2Football.com Top 25 and No. 11 in the AFCA Top 25 this week. UCO looks to crack into the Top 10 in both this week, and it will mark the first time since 2004 the Bronchos are in the Top 10 in the coaches' poll.

Adam Dorrel is 112-51 as a head coach and has a 17-11 record as the head coach at Central Oklahoma. Dorrel has 93 wins as a head coach in the MIAA, which puts him in ninth place on the league's all-time wins list. ADs 93 wins are the third-most for active head coaches behind Craig Schurig (140) and Garin Higgins (112). Dorrel has a 72-16 career record in MIAA games.

UCO ranks No. 1 in total offense in all of Division II at 577.8 yards per game. The Broncho passing attack ranks second in the country at 360.3 yard per game, and the Broncho rushing attack ranks 11th at 217.5 yards per game. UCO is second in the country at 52.8 points per game The highly rated offense begins with the quarterback play of Jett Huff. The sophomore himself ranks No. 2 in the country in pass completion percentage (74.6), No. 2 for total offense (351.2), and third in the country in passing yards per game (340.3). Huff also is No. 1 in the country in passing efficiency (189.8) and No. 3 in passing touchdowns (20). In four games with the Bronchos, the former Midwest City kid and College Station High School Class 5A Division I state finalist in Texas has 2,042 yards passing to go with 20 TD strikes. Huff is 150-for-201.

Terrill Davis, a junior from Choctaw, Oklahoma who was named MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week, leads the country in receiving yards (835) and receiving yarsds per game (139.2), and he ranks second nationally in receiving TDs (nine) and receptions per game (8.7). He's set a UCO record for receptions in a single game (14) and then broke it in Week 6 with 15 catches. Davis has also tied the school records for receiving touchdowns in one game (four) and most 200-yard receiving games in one season (two).

With the production of Jaylen Cottrell in the backfield, Central Oklahoma has a solidified Big 3 on offense with Jett Huff and Terrill Davis. Cottrell leads the country with an average of 8.7 yards per carry. He's up to 621 yards (13th in DII) and his seven rushing touchdowns ranks 14th nationally. Cottrell, who had two 80-yard touchdowns when the season started, has a 79-yard score, a 67-yard score, and a 61-yard score on the ground this season. The junior running back also has four 100-yard rushing games already this season, halfway to the school record of eight 100-yard games in a single season.

While Davis leads the way for the wide receivers, 13 different players have caught a pass this season. Ashton Schumman is second on the team with 35 receptions for 420 yards and three touchdowns. Jacob Delso adds 27 catches for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Dominique Dunn (12-224) and Madison Ridgeway (11-98) are also options. Christian Romero (6-84) and Cottrell (4-81) both have two receiving touchdowns this season.

Though UCO's numbers don't rank as high nationally on defense, the production is still a big part of the Bronchos' 6-0 start. UCO gives up 20.8 points per game and has allowed just one score in the first quarter through the first six games of the season. Central Oklahoma holds opponents to 401.5 yards of offense per game, splitting that mark with 284.8 passing yards and 116.7 rushing yards per game this season. The Bronchos have 38 tackles in the backfield through six games, and 15 of those are quarterback sacks. Additionally, UCO's defense has 19 QB hurries, 33 pass breakups, and nine interceptions.

Central linebacker Jack Puckett leads the team with 39 tackles while Dylan Buchheit has 33. Linebacker Connor Johnson has 29. Puckett has a team-high 5.5 behind the line of scrimmage, while Johnson has 5.0 stops behind the line. Noah West, who has 22 total tackles, also has 4.0 behind the line. Central has 15 sacks in six games this season. Zane Adams leads the team with 3.5 sacks. West and Hunter Largent both have 2.5 sacks, and Johnson has 2.0. Central also has nine interceptions in six games, with eight different players grabbing at least one ball out of the air. JK Moore leads the team with two, while Kobey Stephens, Buchheit, David Williams, Kazeyn Bird, Curtis Miller, and Kaunor Ashley all have one pick this season.

For Central's special teams play, punter Grayson Miller has been a target seeker for the Bronchos. The junior has 18 punts in six games and is booming kicks 47.5 yards per punt. Miller has nine punts of 50 or more yards. He booted a 65-yard kick in Week 1, a 63-yarder in Week 3, and then another 60-yard punt in Week 5. Miller's 47.5 yards per punt would rank No. 1 in the country, however, he doesn't meet the minimum standards to be listed. Miller has just 18 punts, and NCAA statistics require a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.

Nicky Quevedo earned MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week after scoring 12 points for the Bronchos in Week 6. The senior All-American is 6-for-8 on field goal attempts this season and 39-for-42 on PATs. Quevedo also has 54 kickoffs at 59.9 yards per kick with 24 touchbacks.

Central Oklahoma in Week 8 is back in Edmond and it's Homecoming for the Bronchos. UCO hosts Pittsburg State at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Central has back-to-back road games to start the month of November – at Missouri Western and at Washburn – before wrapping up the regular season Nov. 16 vs. Emporia State in Edmond.

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Players Mentioned

#31 Zane Adams: DL; 6' 1"; Senior

#13 Kazeyn Bird: LB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#10 Dylan Buchheit: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#0 Jaylen Cottrell: RB; 6' 2"; Junior

#8 Terrill Davis: WR; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Jacob Delso: WR; 6' 0"; Senior

#5 Dominique Dunn: TE; 6' 3"; Junior

#21 Connor Johnson: LB; 6' 3"; Senior

#97 Hunter Largent: DL; 6' 2"; Senior

#19 Grayson Miller: P; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#31 Zane Adams
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DL

#13 Kazeyn Bird
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: LB

#10 Dylan Buchheit
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#0 Jaylen Cottrell
: 6' 2"; Junior
: RB

#8 Terrill Davis
: 6' 0"; Junior
: WR

#1 Jacob Delso
: 6' 0"; Senior
: WR

#5 Dominique Dunn
: 6' 3"; Junior
: TE

#21 Connor Johnson
: 6' 3"; Senior
: LB

#97 Hunter Largent
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DL

#19 Grayson Miller
: 5' 10"; Junior
: P