GAME 10 – Eastern Oregon (1-9) at SOU (3-6)
1 p.m. Saturday | Raider Stadium | Ashland, Oregon
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ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University football team's season has been defined by getting close but not close enough against the Frontier Conference's best. This week's finale with one-win Eastern Oregon represents a chance to end on a high note while also serving as a reminder that things could always be worse.

The Raiders (3-6 overall, 3-6 FC) and Mountaineers (1-9, 1-8) kick off their 82nd all-time meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday at Raider Stadium. It'll be the final game for 13 SOU seniors, and against a team that has tried on six different quarterbacks while managing just 11.4 points per game and 16 total over its last four.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Senior receiver Ben Graziani scored two touchdowns in his return from injury, but SOU came up a score short in a 24-17 loss to No. 23-ranked Carroll (Mont.) at Raider Stadium. With two minutes left, Garrett Worden's hit on Raider quarterback Blake Asciutto behind the line of scrimmage knocked the ball loose at SOU's 18-yard line. Tucker Jones recovered, giving the Saints the ball and ultimately their first win in Ashland since the 2001 NAIA quarterfinals. The Raiders had gotten themselves back in the game after falling behind 17-3 early. With 12 seconds left in the second quarter, Asciutto hit Graziani – who'd missed SOU's last six games – in the corner of the end zone for a two-yard score. Their second connection from five yards out tied the game with 13:33 left in the fourth. The Saints answered methodically with a six-minute, 12-play, 76-yard drive, completed when Jack Prka found Chris Akulschin wide-open for a seven-yard TD at the 7:15 mark.

AROUND THE FRONTIER: Carroll's win at SOU set up a heavyweight clash between the Saints and College of Idaho on Saturday for the Frontier championship. The Saints enters one game behind C of I in the standings, but if they win to force a share of the title they'd own the tiebreaker (based on total points allowed) and get the Frontier's automatic bid for the 16-team NAIA Championship Series, which begins next week. The Yotes have already clinched at least a share of the title for the fourth consecutive season. C of I is ranked No. 11 heading into the matchup, and Carroll sits at No. 21. Those are the Frontier's only Top 25 teams after Montana Tech dropped out with a 27-21 home loss to Montana Western and Rocky Mountain slipped up with two losses in the last three weeks. Both teams sit at 6-3.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: The Raiders needed several breaks to go their way to contend for the title, or at least a couple for a chance to get over .500. Instead, they've gotten none and are locked into sixth place in the standings. Here's where things went wrong:

• Sept. 17: The Raiders were rolling and up 24-21 on College of Idaho entering the fourth quarter, but the Yotes scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions following a 92-minute lightning delay. C of I won, 42-24.
• Sept. 24: The Raiders lost three fumbles to Carroll in the first half to put themselves in a hole, but got back in the fight and trailed 20-14 with Carroll facing 4th-and-1 and two minutes remaining. The Saints not only converted but ran for a 41-yard TD and won 26-14.
• Oct. 22: Freshman tailback Gunner Yates had a 215-yard day, and his third rushing TD cut the SOU's deficit to 28-21 in the third quarter at Montana Tech. He left due to injury with the Raiders threatening to tie on their next drive, and they went on to lose 45-21.
• Oct. 29: The Raiders were in position to knock off the Frontier's top team again, leading C of I 24-21 with three minutes left after a 30-yard field goal. The Yotes answered by driving 80 yards and ran in the game-winning score with 22 seconds left.
• Nov. 5: Two Ben Graziani TD receptions brought the Raiders back from a 14-point deficit and left them tied with Carroll in the fourth quarter. The Saints responded with a TD midway through the period and won 24-17 after shutting the Raiders down on their last two drives.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. EOU: The Raiders are 57-21-3 all-time against the Mountaineers with a 12-7 edge in Frontier games. They split each of the last three season series, and the Raiders are going for their first sweep of EOU since 2017. They won in a 42-14 blowout on Oct. 1 in La Grande behind Gunner Yates' three touchdowns and a 39-yard Marve Nyembo fumble return TD. Since the teams started matching up in FC play during the 2012 season, SOU is 8-1 against EOU in La Grande, 3-5 in Ashland and 1-0 on neutral ground.

BRIEFLY:

• Senior linebacker Jake Regino is set to become the first Raider to lead the Frontier in tackles since Laurence Calcagno did it in 2014. With 103 total, he has a 20-tackle cushion atop the leaderboard. His average of 11.4 is the third-best in the NAIA, and he also ranks sixth in the Frontier with 8 ½ tackles for losses.
• Christian Graney ranked second among Frontier players in receptions in 2019 and '21, and he enters the final game this season with 45 – just two behind leader Trevor Hoffman of Montana Tech. He's also second in reception yards (657) and reception touchdowns (5), one off the Frontier lead in the latter category. His 165 career receptions put him at No. 3 on SOU's all-time list.
• Despite missing six games, Ben Graziani is tied with Bryce Goggin for seventh in Frontier reception TDs at four apiece. Goggin, an all-conference pick last year, has totaled 201 receiving yards in SOU's last two games combined.
• SOU ranks 16th in the NAIA in yards per rush (4.6) after ranking 93rd a season ago (1.9). Individually, Gunner Yates ranks second in the Frontier in yards per rush (6.3) and third in rushing TDs (8). Since becoming a starter, he's accumulated nine total TDs in five outings, averaging 99.4 rushing yards on 14.8 carries per game.
• Blake Asciutto is one of two FC quarterbacks with 2,000-plus passing yards, sitting at 2,067. He's tied for the Frontier lead with 18 TD passes.
• The Raider offensive line has given up just 11 sacks a year after surrendering 28. Only one Raider team has allowed fewer (2012, 4) during regular season play in the Frontier era.

HOME HISTORY: SOU enters the weekend with a 107-67 all-time record at Raider Stadium. Against FC teams as the designated home team, the Raiders are 35-14 – including a 24-3 record against unranked squads. They're 1-3 at Raider Stadium this season, however, and 5-8 dating back to the start of 2019.

ABOUT EOU:

• Since entering Raider Stadium on Oct. 2 of last year with a 3-1 record and a No. 18 ranking, the Mountaineers have lost 14 of 16 games. This year, they've scored one or no offensive TDs seven times. They've used several quarterbacks per game in recent weeks and are completing just 43 percent of their passes for 4.8 yards per attempt, with more than twice as many interceptions (18) as TDs (8).
• The running game has been nearly as diverse. Aiden Patterson is logging 6.4 yards per attempt, and Anthony Peterson is at 26.2 per game with a team-high 45 carries.
• Zak Donato (70 tackles, 7 ½ TFL, 2 interceptions) stars on defense. They're yielding 33 points per game, more vulnerable to the pass (7.2/attempt) than the run (3.8/attempt).
• Tim Camp is the Frontier's longest-tenured head coach in his 15th season with a 79-76 record. He's six years removed from bringing the Mountaineers to the NAIA semifinals.