When last we saw Ouachita Baptist, the Tigers were pulling off one of the biggest wins of the college football season regardless of classification.
Ranked No. 9 at the time, Ouachita Baptist ended No. 1 Harding's 25-game winning streak back on Oct. 19. The defending Division II national champions, Harding entered the game averaging a national-best 461 rushing yards per game while ripping off wins of 59-0, 59-7, 63-3, 66-0, 57-3, and 62-0, but Ouachita Baptist limited the Bisons to 218 rushing yards and shut them out in the second half.
That win pushed OBU to No. 5 in the Division II coaches poll, and a 38-7 win over Arkansas Tech last week nudged them even higher, to No. 3.
That made Thursday night's result all the more shocking.
Undefeated and ranked third in the country, Ouachita Baptist bit into a rotten apple on Halloween night, losing 18-17 to Southern Nazarene, who entered the game 0-8 on the season.
Ouachita Baptist led 10-3 midway through the second quarter and 17-6 with 11:33 left in the third, then promptly fell asleep at the wheel. SNU booted a 41-yard field goal to make the score 17-9 late in the third quarter, then converted a 43-yarder early in the fourth to pull within five.
Meanwhile, the Ouachita Baptist exited the game after scoring to open the second half. The Tigers' next five drives went interception, turnover on downs, three-and-out, interception, and three-and-out.
That gave Southern Nazarene the runway to do this.
FINAL SCORE | FB | @NCAADII
— Oklahoma Local Sports Network (@OklahomaLocalSN) November 1, 2024
🚨 MAJOR UPSET ALERT 🚨
Southern Nazarene 18@SNUFootball (1-8)
#3 Ouachita Baptist 17@OuachitaFB (8-1)
This day will live on forever within the Southern Nazarene program! The Crimson Storm pick up their 1st win of the season and 100th win in… pic.twitter.com/Y02TCWrAoR
That was Southern Nazarene's only touchdown of the game. The same team that opened their season with a 59-0 loss to Harding beat the only team to beat Harding.
In their last-gasp drive, Ouachita Baptist reached the SNU 40-yard line, but an offensive pass interference penalty pushed them back into their own territory and a Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete.
"We've had a rough year," SNU head coach Dustin Hada said. "For this to happen on a short week, credit to the coaching staff and the guys. We finally played a fairly error-free game with great effort. Our coaches did an outstanding job on getting ready for a really, really talented football team. I can't say enough about our coaching staff, I can't say enough about these players. It's been a rough road. They really got with it today and they deserve every bit of it."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.