Football 10/24/2024 6:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

No. 9 Central Oklahoma Hosts No. 6 Pitt State

Homecoming Game Turns Into Top 10 Showdown In Edmond

EDMOND – Homecoming arrives at Central Oklahoma with one of the biggest games of the 21st century as the ninth-ranked Bronchos host sixth-ranked Pittsburg State Saturday at 2 p.m. at Chad Richison Stadium.

The game will air live on KOCB 34 in the Oklahoma City tv market, and 38 The Spot in the Kansas City market.

UCO is 7-0 this season, 5-0 in the MIAA, and ranked No. 9 in the latest AFCA Top 25. Pitt State is 6-1 overall, 5-1 in league play, and the two-time defending MIAA champs are ranked No. 6 in the same coaches' poll. Both teams appear in the D2Football.com Top 10, with UCO at No. 6 and Pitt State No. 3.

UCO ranks No. 1 in the country in scoring and total offense this season, No. 2 in pass offense, and No. 11 in rush offense, and the high-octane show all starts with quarterback Jett Huff. The sophomore from College Station, Texas has led the team to average 54.4 points per game at 582.3 yards per game, more than any school in the country. The Broncho passing attack ranks second at 354.4 yard per game, and the Broncho rushing attack ranks 11th at 227.9 yards per game. Huff himself ranks first in pass efficiency (189.7), second in passing TDs (24), third in passing yards per game (337.3), and fourth in total passing yards (2,361). In seven games with the Bronchos, the former Midwest City kid and Class 5A Division I state finalist in Texas is 167-for-228 passing the football. That 73.2 percent completion rate ranks No. 1 in the Division II.

Terrill Davis leads the UCO wide receiver room and he, like Huff, leads the country at his position. The junior has 56 receptions for 927 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games. Davis ranks first in the nation in receiving yards and yards per game (132.4). He ranks third in receptions per game (8.0) and receiving touchdowns. He's for now ninth in school history for receptions and yards in a single season, and third for TD grabs. Earlier this season, Davis twice set a single game record at UCO for receptions (14 and later 15), and he tied the school record with four TD catches in one game. Davis is also one of just three Bronchos ever to have multiple 200-yard receiving games in a season.

A bulk of the run production that makes UCO's offense No. 1 in the country is carried by junior running back Jaylen Cottrell, who ranks No. 1 in the country at 9.5 yards per carry this season. Cottrell is fourth in rushing touchdowns (10) and seventh in yards (823) and yards per game (117.6). He has scored four touchdowns this year from 60+ and has done so six times in his career. Cottrell was named MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week on Monday after a 200-yard game last Saturday at Northeastern State. It's the second time this season he's earned the weekly honor from the MIAA (Week 5).

Cottrell's 86 rushes leads the team, one more than William Mason. The sophomore running back has 85 carries for 489 yards and four touchdowns. His 5.6 yards per carry help in bunches. The Bronchos also run Quincy Thompson (16-130), who has two touchdowns, and Dev Matthews (11-35), who has one touchdown. Andrew Carney, a junior fullback, has 11 carries this season for 37 yards and five touchdowns – four from 1-yard out.

While Davis leads the way for the wide receivers, 13 different players have caught a pass this season and eight have scored. Ashton Schumann is second on the team with 38 receptions for 518 yards and four touchdowns. Jacob Delso adds 30 catches for 348 yards and five touchdowns. Christian Romero (10-117) and Cottrell (4-81) both have two receiving touchdowns this season and Dominique Dunn (14-258) and Madison Ridgeway (12-118) both have one TD catch.

Though UCO's numbers don't rank as high nationally on defense, the production is still a big part of the Bronchos' 7-0 start. UCO gives up 26.0 points per game and holds opponents to 421.9 yards of offense per game, splitting that mark with 304.4 passing yards and 117.4 rushing yards per game this season. The Bronchos have 47 tackles in the backfield through seven games, and 20 of those are quarterback sacks. Additionally, UCO's defense has 22 QB hurries, 36 pass breakups, and 11 interceptions.

Jack Puckett leads UCO with 50 tackles through seven games. The sophomore middle linebacker has 29 solo and 21 assisted stops. He leads the team with 8.5 tackles for a loss this season and has a team-high four sacks. Puckett adds three QB hurries to his menacing record as well as one forced fumble.

Dylan Buchheit has 40 tackles this season, which is the second most on the team. The sixth-year senior has made three tackles in the backfield, broke up three passes, forced two fumbles, hurried the QB once, and intercepted a pass once this season, doing just a little bit of everything for the team he's played for since 2019.

Connor Johnson has 38 tackles, six for a loss, and two sacks, Zane Adams has 33 tackles, five in the backfield, and four sacks, and Hunter Largent and Noah West have identical numbers with 27 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks.

David Williams also has 27 tackles and the safety has two interceptions and a forced a fumble. JK Moore has 21 tackles and joins Williams with a team-high two picks. Moore has six pass breakups and a forced fumble. Kobey Stephens has 20 tackles, 1.5 for a loss with a half-sack, one interception, and one pass breakup. Daniel Ekwese (19 tackles) also has six pass breakups and a fumble recovery, and Willie Rice has 15 tackles and six pass breakups with a forced fumble.

Adam Dorrel is 113-51 as a head coach and has an 18-11 record as head coach at UCO. Dorrel has 94 wins as a head coach in the MIAA, ninth on the league's all-time wins list. ADs 94 wins are the third-most for active head coaches behind Washburn's Craig Schurig (141) and Emporia State's Garin Higgins (112). Dorrel has a 73-16 career record in MIAA games.

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.

Pittsburg State owns a 14-5-1 all-time record in the series that began in 1915. Central won that contest 14-0 but is looking for its first win against Pitt State since 2015, a rousing 49-21 win on the final day of the regular season. The two schools played last season's finale and Pitt won at home, 20-10.

Pittsburg State has won 757 games, more than any other program in Division II history. Central Oklahoma has won 662 games, tied for the fourth-most in Division II history.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#18 Andrew Carney: RB; 6' 1"; Junior

#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

#22 William Mason: RB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

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

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

#18 Andrew Carney
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RB

#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

#22 William Mason
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: RB