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Opponent: Truman State
Time: Thursday, April 1; 5:00 PM
Location: Plaster Stadium | Bolivar, MO
 
Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist Football will host GLVC opponent Truman State for the opening game of the 2021 season. Due to COVID-19 and other school's cancelations this will be the only home game of the season.

Previous Season Recap
The Bearcats finished the 2019 season with a 3-8 (1-6 GLVC) record which included wins over Central State, Kentucky Wesleyan, and William Jewell. Southwest Baptist averaged 203.7 yards rushing per game and 154.9 passing yards per game. The 203.7 rushing yards was good enough for 3^rd best in the GLVC along with a conference leading pass defense that only allowed 211 yards per game. The Bearcats were also 3^rd best in returning punts with an average of 15.1 yards per return.
Southwest Baptist's offense was led by Brendan Smith with 692 yards rushing for 76.9 yards per game along with 737 passing yards on a 55% completion percentage for 81.9 yards per game. Bryce Cabrera and Eric Knight were the leaders at the running back position with 519 total yards and 514 total yards respectively. Smith shared time in the pocket with Dylan Mountain who pitched in 720 yards passing at a 60.2% completion rate and 3 touchdowns. Cutis Cuillard led all receivers on the Bearcats with 51 catches for 607 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cory Hanger led the defense with 65 total tackles, 17 pass break-ups, and 3 fumble recoveries for 56 yards. De'shawn Tone led the front line with 53 total tackles that included 12.5 tackles for loss.

Scouting The Bearcats
Robert Clardy will be entering his sixth season (2020-21) as the Head Football Coach and his 14th season overall on the Bearcats Football coaching staff. In 2016, Coach Clardy earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to their first ever conference title and NCAA National Playoff appearance after finishing the season 10-2 (7-1 GLVC). Clardy's Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the NCAA Division II AFCA poll, finishing 22nd in the final NCAA Division II AFCA poll, while earning their first ever regional and national rankings. On offense, the run game will continue to be strong, as SBU returns Eric Knight and Bryce Cabrera who carried the rock for the majority of the 2019 season. The team's leading receiver in Curtis Cuillard also returns for his senior campaign. The quarterback position will see a new face in Cooper Callis, a junior transfer from Fullerton College where he played in 9 games, throwing for 545 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 2019 season. Aaron Harris and TJ Morgan are both returning and look to lead the defensive side of the ball.

Scouting The Bulldogs
The Truman State Bulldogs look to pick up where they left in 2019, finishing 10-2 (5-2 GLVC). Their final game of the 2019 season was the America's Crossroads Bowl game, where they defeated Ohio Dominican University 21-7. Gregg Nesbitt returns as the head coach for TSU, his 11th season in the position. In his time with the Bulldogs, Nesbitt has recorded a 59-51 (42-38 conf.) record. TSU's leading rusher in Jordan Salima and their leading passer in Jaden Barr have both moved on from the team. Nolan Hair, a redshirt freshman, will be the new face under center for the Bulldogs along with sophomore Cody Schrader at the primary running back position who had the second-most rushing yards on the team last season. TSU's leading receiver in Jake Ellis returns for his senior season at the tight end spot. On defense, the Bulldogs return their leading tackler in Reed McBroom along with Ben Watson returning for the Bulldogs is back for his sophomore season.

The teams have met 30 times over the years with Truman state leading the series 26-4. Southwest Baptist picked up their last win over the Bulldogs in 2017 when they pulled out a close 21-17 win at Truman State.