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   ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - With the 2005 football season half over, University of Arkansas at Monticello head football coach Gwaine Mathews has quickly developed a reputation for being brutally honest about the play of his football team.

   However, even Mathews was able to see a few bright spots in last week’s 52-21 loss to Southern Arkansas.

   "Offensively, we keep getting better and better," Mathews said. "I think that if both Von Mixon and Tim Harris weren't hurt down the stretch, we could have matched SAU point for point."

   Still, the team’s most notable struggles have come on defense, and the Muleriders exploited the UAM defense's weakness, racking up 329 yards on the ground. The Weevils will hope for an improved performance out of their defense this week as they travel to Arkadelphia for a match-up with the Tigers of Ouachita Baptist University.

   The Weevils will also hope that Tiger tailback Josh Holcomb doesn’t duplicate his performance last season at UAM when he carried 26 times for 206 yards on a rainy, sloppy day at "Convoy" Leslie-Cotton Boll Stadium.

   Saturday’s contest, the 65th meeting in a series which dates back to the 1914 season, will pit the two worst scoring offenses in the Gulf South Conference against the two worst scoring defenses in the Gulf South Conference.

   "Offensively, OBU is looking for their identity," Mathews said. "When they run the ball, they're a very good team. When they go with four wideouts, they’re limited as to what they can do."

   Holcomb leads the Tiger offense on the ground, averaging 63.6 yards per game. While Holcomb may struggle on offense, he leads the conference in kick return average on special teams, netting 34.0 yards per return.

   Taylor Carter is the Tigers' leading passer, averaging 186.0 yards per game and completing 58.9 percent of his passes to a talented receiving corps. Slade Camp leads the OBU receivers with a 52.2 yard per game average and five touchdowns. Defensively, OBU's Adam Federle leads the Tigers with 46 tackles on the season.

   The Tigers have been plagued with many of the same things on defense which have hurt the Weevils all year, namely an inability to stop the running game. With Holcomb's struggles thus far, OBU's defensive problems may be more of a benefit to the Weevils than UAM's defensive struggles may be to OBU. While the Weevils' 282.2 rush yards allowed per game is worst in the Gulf South Conference, the Tigers are only averaging 94.6 yards per game, worst in the GSC.

   The Weevils have been pleasantly surprised with the emergence of Scott Carpino and Tim Harris. Carpino had six carries for 60 yards and one touchdown in the loss to Southern Arkansas while Harris has amazed crowds with acrobatic catches in the Weevils' last three games.

   Kickoff from A.U. Williams Field in Arkadelphia is set for 1:30 p.m.

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