The East Central University football team will look to get its first win of the season, as they travel to Bethany, Okla., to face Southern Nazarene, one of the other teams from the Great American Conference who has not claimed a win yet in 2016.  The teams will battle for the first win of the year, Saturday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at SNU Football Stadium.

Game Notes

The Broadcast: ECU's radio home for Tiger football is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Mike Manos returns to broadcast the games for his 20th consecutive season. Manos has worked 203 Tiger games since taking over the play-by-play duties in 1997.

The Coverage: Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video and the KXFC radio broadcast on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the football schedule page.  You can also download the KXFC radio app for your smartphone by searching '105.5 the X Factor.'

The Voice of the Tigers: Mike Manos has been the Voice of the Tigers on 105.5 The X-Factor radio broadcast for the past 20 seasons.  Last year Manos marked his 200th Tiger game since taking over the play-by-play duties in 1997, what is thought to be a record for broadcasters of ECU Football.

The Series: The all-time series with the Crimson Storm is a short one, with just five previous meetings.  All five games have been won by the Tigers, including a 2-0 record when playing on the road.

Scouting Southern Nazarene: SNU comes into the weekend with a 0-2 record and having scored just seven points during the 2016 season.  The Crimson Storm have struggled to score and have allowed 109 points in two games.

SNU has tallied just 230 total yards for the year, with 194 on the rush and 36 passing, while allowing 682 on the rush and 287 passing (969).

Quarterback Jacob Spady has gone 7-of-10 passing (34 yards) and is also the team's leading rusher with 88 yards (11 attempts).  Reese Carlson is the main receiver so far, with three catches for 20 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Crimson Storm have eight players with double-digit tackle totals.  Breyon Jackson leads the team with 18 (10-8) and Trystan Slinker adds 17 (11-6), with one tackle-for-loss (five yards).

Last Time Against the Crimson Storm: In the last meeting with SNU, the Tigers came away with a 69-0 victory at Koi Ishto Stadium (Sept. 19).

Of the returning players for ECU, Tre'von Jackson had a strong day, with 10 carries for 85 yards.  Seth Handley added seven carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.  David Moore caught three passes for 63 yards and two TDs.

Lexus Jackson is the top returning defender with five (1-4) total tackles, 2.0 TFL (four yards) and one interception for 36 yards.

Ranking Among the Nation's Best: While the Tigers have not claimed a win for the year, the team is ranked in the top-25 in the NCAA in passing offense and passing yards allowed per game.  ECU is No. 23 with 307.5 passing yards per game and No. 10 with 114.5 passing yards allowed per game.

Four members of the team are also individually ranked in the top-25. Jarod Haynes is currently ranked No. 1 in field goal percentage (1.000) and No. 16 in field goals made per game (1.5).  Jackson Lamb is also ranked in two categories, at No. 15 in completion percentage (.700) and No. 21 in passing efficiency (163.2).

Dezmon Jackson adds a No. 14 ranking for fumbles recovered (1) and David Moore is ranked No. 9 in receiving TDs (3).

GAC Poll: ECU was picked to finish seventh in the annual GAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Tigers finished with 65 points and earned one first-place vote.  

The Tigers return 61 players, including four offensive and three defensive starters.  The list of starters includes senior David Moore, who already holds the records for receiving touchdowns in a single season and career and was the first ECU player to record over 1,000 reception yards in a single season.

Moore Returning: Senior wide receiver David Moore returns to the team after setting several records in 2015 and earning several postseason honors.

Moore has already started to receive honors for the 2016 season, as he was named to Football Gameplan's 2016 Preseason DII All-America Third Team Offense list.  The 2015 All-GAC First Team and all-America selection is one of six players to earn a spot on the three teams.

Defensive Depth: One of the areas that the Tigers will have great depth and experience is on the defensive side of the ball.  Last year was a growing season for the defense, who saw big changes including a new defensive coordinator just weeks before the start of the year.

The Tigers will be bolstered by the return of Vernon Johnson and Lexus Jackson.  Johnson will come back to the field after a very promising start in 2015 before an injury sidelined him.  Jackson took up the slack and earned All-Great American Conference honors as a defensive back.

The defensive line as a whole is expected to produce, as in 2015 the Tigers had so many options it allowed them to role the players through every three or four plays, yet each player still got valuable experience in each game.  That depth will continue this season, giving ECU several options to keep their legs fresh throughout the game.

Next at Koi Ishto Stadium: The next time fans can see the Tigers in action at Norris Field at Koi Ishto Stadium will be Saturday, Sept. 24 for the annual Homecoming game.  ECU will host Oklahoma Baptist for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

This year's homecoming theme is Orange is the New You.