Football 11/14/2024 1:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

No. 8 UCO Hosts Emporia State In Regular Season Finale

Bronchos Welcome Hornets Aiming For Outright MIAA Title

EDMOND – No. 8 Central Oklahoma wraps up the 2024 regular season Saturday afternoon with an MIAA matchup against Emporia State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

A win for the Bronchos (9-1, 7-1) gives UCO its first MIAA title outright. Central has already clinched a share of the league championship. Emporia State comes to Edmond with a 7-3 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the MIAA.

"We obviously don't want to share the title but we also are working to make sure we can stay at home in the playoffs," third-year UCO head football coach Adam Dorrel said. "We've got a chance to do that and that's really our focus. If we can win and get another home game, the rest takes care of itself."

Central Oklahoma is currently ranked fourth in the NCAA Super Region III rankings. The top four teams earn a home playoff game. Higher seeds host in the rounds following. UCO has not made the playoffs since 2003 and has not hosted a playoff game since 1998.

Dorrel is in his third season as head coach at UCO. He went 11-11 in the first two, with an alternating 9-2 home record and a 2-9 road record. But this year has been different. The Bronchos started the year 7-0 and have won two straight since suffering their only loss of the season. Dorrel is 4-1 in Edmond this fall and finished the regular season 5-0 on the road.

UCO enters the final weekend ranked among the best in the country. Aside from the national polls, UCO is up there statistically in several offensive categories.

Central Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in the country in total offense (533.8 yards per game), No. 2 in the country in scoring (46.7 points per game), No. 3 in the country in pass offense (332.0 YPG), and No. 16 in the country in rush offense (201.8 YPG).

The Bronchos also have the second-most first downs (263) of any team in the land and rank 13th nationally in converting on third down (47.8 percent of the time).

While UCO's defensive numbers don't rank as high nationally, Dorrel is particularly proud of the efforts on that side of the ball.

Central gives up 27.8 points and 440.9 yards of total offense per game. UCO splits that mark with 294.1 passing yards allowed and 146.8 rushing yards allowed per game.

UCO does rank No. 1 in the MIAA in forced fumbles with 10 this season. A forced fumble saved the game in a win at Missouri Western two weeks ago and another one last Saturday setup a go-ahead touchdown in the win at Washburn.

Central Oklahoma's offensive success starts with the play of quarterback Jett Huff. The sophomore has thrown for 3,071 yards and 30 touchdowns this season, going a combined 227-for-345 (65.8 percent) in 10 games played.

He ranks third nationally in passing yards, fourth in touchdowns, and fifth in completions per game. Huff has already set the single season record for touchdown passes at UCO and is on the verge of the passing yards mark. Huff ranks third on that list, six yards behind second place and 303 yards off the record.

A big part of the passing game's success is Huff's connection with Terrill Davis, who is re-writing another page of the UCO record book. Davis has 74 receptions for 1,194 yards and 14 touchdowns. He ranks second in the country in yards and third in TDs. He is also fourth nationally in receptions per game.

Davis set the record most catches in a single game (14) and then had another with (15). He owns the record for most touchdowns in a single season and currently ranks fifth in both receptions and yards for a single season. Davis has two, 200-yard games this season, which is also a school record.

In his third season, Davis ranks fourth in career touchdowns (18), fifth in career receptions (132), and ninth in career receiving yards (1,932) at UCO.

But Davis is not the only weapon for Huff. Ashton Schumann has 54 receptions for 671 yards and six touchdowns. Jacob Delso has 38 receptions for 451 yards and five touchdowns. Dominique Dunn (19-312) and Madison Ridgeway (18-245) both have one score each. In total, 13 players have a reception and eight have a receiving touchdown.

Jaylen Cottrell, who has 12 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns, is a junior running back that leads the rushing attack for the Bronchos. Cottrell has 123 carries for 957 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. His 7.8 yards per carry average ranks first in the country. His total yards ranks 17th.

William Mason also has 115 carries for 648 yards and four touchdowns. The duo are the highest ranked teammates among the MIAA rushing leaders. Andrew Carney is also a factor with 16 carries for 49 yards and six rushing touchdowns this season.

Leading the way on the defensive side of the ball is Jack Puckett, a sophomore linebacker and team captain. Puckett has 75 tackles, including a team-high 10.5 behind the line of scrimmage. He also has a team-high five sacks on the year, three QB hurries, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble.

Connor Johnson and Noah West also start at linebacker and have 58 and 36 tackles respectively. Johnson has nine behind the line of scrimmage including three sacks. West has 6.5 behind the line including 3.5 sacks. Both have one forced fumble each.

The starting defensive line is made up of Zane Adams, Hunter Largent, and Johnny Wilson. Adams, who was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week last week, has a group-high 51 tackles, with five behind the line including four sacks. He also has one forced fumble and blocked a field goal attempt as time expired last week to win the game.

Largent has 40 tackles, six for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. Wilson has 26 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, and 1.5 sacks.

Dylan Buchheit, David Williams, and Kobey Stephens lead the defense from the backend, while JK Moore and Willie Rice hold down the corners.

Buchheit has 60 tackles, second behind Puckett on the team. He also has three in the backfield. Buchheit fills up the stat sheet with three pass breakups, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Williams adds 47 tackles, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions.

Stephens has 29 tackles on the year, but he also leads the team with three interceptions and he has five pass breakups. Stephens' impact on special teams is even bigger. The senior safety has two punt returns of 90 yards or more and one kickoff return for 98 yards and three total touchdowns.

Moore and Rice both lead the team with 10 pass breakups each. Moore has two picks as well as a forced fumble.

Along with Stephens' role on special teams, the offensive specialists have been big for UCO too.

Grayson Miller is sixth nationally at 44.4 yards per punt this season. He has a long of 65 yards and 15 punts of more than 50 yards. Nicky Quevedo is 7-for-12 on field-goal attempts this season with a long of 47, twice. One of those two was a game-winner in overtime in Week 9 at Missouri Western.

Central Oklahoma holds the lead by the narrowest of margins in the all-time series with Emporia State. ESU won the first meeting back in 1928, and also won last season's contest in Emporia. The Bronchos are ahead 12-11-1 in the 24 all-time meetings. UCO is 6-5 against Emporia in Edmond, including a 21-13 win last time the two faced off at Chad Richison Stadium.

Following the completion of Saturday's game, and all others in the country, the NCAA Selection Show will air Sunday at 5 p.m. (CST) on ncaa.com. Seven teams will be selected for the Super Region III tournament set to begin Nov. 23.

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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