Football 10/23/2025 11:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

President's Cup & Homecoming Saturday Night In Edmond

Central Oklahoma Hosts Northeastern State In Rivalry Game

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma returns home in Week 8 to host Northeastern State in the annual battle for The President's Cup. It's also Homecoming this week in Edmond. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday night from Chad Richison Stadium.

Central and Northeastern have played football for 110 years, but the rivalry took a new turn in 1998 when the teams began playing for The President's Cup. UCO owns a 17-9 advantage in the series since then. The winning team keeps the cup until it is won back by the opponent. The Bronchos have won the last 10 meetings – the longest streak in series history.

In 1915, Central defeated Northeastern 83-0 in the first meeting between the two programs. The Bronchos won the first nine meetings in the series and today owns a 54-27-2 advantage in the 83 all-time meetings.

Central Oklahoma is trending up on offense after a mild start. The Bronchos average 28.8 points per game on 453.4 yards of total offense. UCO averages 262.7 yards passing per game and Central is averaging 190.7 yards rushing per contest. UCO is third in the MIAA standings and the Bronchos rank third in the league in passing and rushing offense while ranking fourth in scoring.

Central Oklahoma Jett Huff was named MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week presented by FieldTurf following a big performance against Emporia State in Edmond last Saturday. Huff threw for 449 yards and five touchdowns as Central Oklahoma flew past Emporia State 56-22 in the MIAA contest. The junior All-American went 20-for-28 in the game, a 71.4 percent completion rate, and averaged 22.4 yards per completion in the game. Huff had touchdown passes 38, 44, 21, 8, and 26 in the game.

The 449-yard performance is the most in a game in the MIAA this season and the second most in Division II this season. It was the third 400-yard game of Huff's two-year career with the Bronchos, most of any player in school history. He had eclipsed 300 yards for the eighth time in his career and broke the school record for most 300-yard passing games in school history.

Huff has 4,803 passing yards and 45 touchdowns in 18 career games at UCO. He ranks first in career 300-yard games (8), first in career 400-yard games (3), and second in career touchdowns (45). His career passing yards rank sixth in school history as well.

Ashton Schumann is the primary target in the passing game. He has 45 receptions for 707 yards and four touchdowns this season. He ranks fourth in the country in total yards, sixth in yards per game. His 6.4 receptions per game ranks 13th in the country. Schumann recently became the 18th player in school history with 100 career receptions. He ranks 13th in school history now with 107 catches.

William Mason leads UCO's rushing attack with 598 yards and four touchdowns this season. The junior running back averages 6.5 yards per carry. Jaylen Cottrell has 375 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He averages 5.7 yards per rush. And Dev Mathews is averaging 5.9 yards per caerry with two scores on 242 yards this season.

Central Oklahoma's defense is giving up 27.8 points per game on 375.1 yards of total offense. Opponents average 237.1 passing yards and 138.0 rushing yards per game against the Bronchos. UCO is fourth in the MIAA in total defense and fifth in scoring defense.

Connor Johnson and Jack Puckett lead the UCO defense from their linebacker positions. Johnson has a team-high 41 tackles, including five in the backfield and one sack. He's also broken up three passes, is credited with three QB hurries, and has a blocked field goal attempt. Puckett has 38 tackles and did not play in the Pittsburg State game. He has a team-high 8.5 stops in the backfield including two sacks and has two pass breakups and two QB hurries this season.

Braden Waters is third on the team with 31 tackles, including 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage. Johnny Wilson is fourth with 26 tackles this season and has five tackles in the backfield including two sacks.

Cameron Done leads UCO with three sacks this season and Reese Roller is second on the team with 2.5 through seven games. The Bronchos have four players with two sacks, Puckett, Wilson, Wesley Hudson and Darius Hampton. Johnson, along with Lemuel Gordon, Servhant Counsellor and Ethan Stites, all have one sack.

Central Oklahoma had just two interceptions through the first six games of the season, but in Week 7, the Bronchos picked off four passes. A fifth interception was ruled incomplete with the DB out of bounds. The Week 7 win over Emporia was the first UCO game with four interceptions since 2017 against Central Missouri. UCO has 31 breakups on the season. Willie Rice leads the way with seven on the corner. Marcus Works has five breakups.

UCO specialist Joseph Kim is 7-for-12 on field goal attempts in seven games, including tying the Central Oklahoma record with a 51-yard field goal against Washburn. Kim is 4-5 from 30-39 yards, 2-5 from 40-49, and 1-2 on 50+ attempts. Davis Barr handles punting duties and is averaging 39.6 yards per punt on 33 attempts this season. Barr has seven inside the 20-yard line and four 50+ punts with a long of 62 on the year.

Central finishes the regular season with three November games and two are away from home. The Bronchos play at Nebraska Kearney Nov. 1, host Missouri Southern Nov. 8, and end the year at Missouri Western on Nov. 15 in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#90 Lemuel Gordon: DL; 6' 3"; Senior

#7 Wesley Hudson: DL; 6' 3"; Junior

#3 Jett Huff: QB; 5' 8"; Junior

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

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

#6 Dev Mathews: RB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#30 Jack Puckett: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#1 Willie Rice: DB; 5' 10"; Senior

#33 Reese Roller: LB; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

#90 Lemuel Gordon
: 6' 3"; Senior
: DL

#7 Wesley Hudson
: 6' 3"; Junior
: DL

#3 Jett Huff
: 5' 8"; Junior
: QB

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

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

#6 Dev Mathews
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: RB

#30 Jack Puckett
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#1 Willie Rice
: 5' 10"; Senior
: DB

#33 Reese Roller
: 5' 10"; Junior
: LB