Harding, SAU in spotlight

One of the unique aspects of the 12-team Great American Conference is the jump-right-into-the-deepend nature of the football schedule.

There’s no buffet of Division II pastries for top teams to pick and choose from before reaching the meat of the schedule.

Everybody plays everybody in the GAC, 11 consecutive weeks of nonstop conference games.

And this week, it just so happens that the team picked to finish first in preseason (Harding) plays host to the team picked to finish third (Southern Arkansas).

That both teams opened with impressive victories last week — Harding 41-17 at Henderson State and SAU 38-0 over Arkansas Tech in Magnolia — makes for fun talk, but not a do-or-die situation for either team.

“We’re trying to climb up the ladder, and they’re at the top of the ladder,” SAU Coach Bill Keopple said. “That’s where we want to be.”

Harding Coach Paul Simmons said the Bisons, ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II, are fired up about playing the Muleriders, who defeated Harding 35-24 last season in Magnolia.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at First Security Stadium in Searcy.

“Our kids know it’s a big football game,” Simmons said. “They really put it on us last year. We’re certainly looking forward to it.”

It’s the GAC game of the week, and it will give the winner a game up in the standings and a tiebreaker advantage, but with No. 19 Ouachita Baptist (1-0) looming down the road, along with treacherous trips to the Oklahoma outposts of the GAC and against other instate rivals, trophy hoisting will have to wait until early November.

Harding showed last season that an early season loss or three doesn’t necessarily ruin a season. The Bisons started 0-3, then won their final eight GAC games to sneak into the playoffs and advanced to the Division II semifinals in an 11-4 season.

SAU lost 2 of its first 4 games as preseason favorites, and ended up at 7-4, finishing outside the playoff bracket and short of Division II bowl festivities.

Don’t tell Keopple and Simmons that Saturday’s game is not important, even though nothing definitive will be determined.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN3, and both programs are eager to have their helmets shine in the glare of nationwide visibility.

“It’s big for our league and it’s big for our school,” Keopple said.

“It’s a huge deal for recruiting,” Simmons said. Keopple Simmons