Heading into its eighth game of the season, the Southwestern University Pirates are still piecing together their depth chart and schemes on the fly as they deal with a litany of injuries across almost every positional unit. 

On Saturday, Southwestern will host the East Texas Baptist University Tigers and a three-year starting quarterback in senior Brian Baca, who might know the Southwestern schemes better than the Pirates' makeshift lineup. 

"Their quarterback is one of the best players in the conference," Head Coach Joe Austin said. "He's really talented and experienced. He knows exactly what is asked of him, where to go, and what to do. He's really polished." 

To illustrate the extent of injuries, the Pirates began the season with 19 linebackers but are now down to eight. The secondary has also been in flux, though remained relatively stable in performance despite changes in players and roles, thanks in part to the leadership of team captain Josiah Minnifield. 

Injuries and poor field position have tested the elasticity of the Pirate defense like an overworked rubber band, stretching to its limits but snapping back to form just enough not to break. 

"We've been a bend-but-don't-break defense but I think we have a lot of room for improvement, even with all the players who've been off the field," Austin said. "There were a lot of assignment errors were weren't very happy with and a lot of guys not running to the football and tackling as well as they should." 

With only three games remaining, the Pirates are trying to get to a point where they can stop plugging leaks and start moving forward. 

"We talked early in the week about getting back to our main theme, which is constant improvement," Austin said. "We need to get better with our technique and our assignments, eliminate the mistakes we've had, and play with a little more energy." 

Series History

Southwestern has a slim margin of error against East Texas Baptist. Since the football program's reinstatement in 2013, the Pirates have not won a game against the Tigers, going 0-6. 

Last year, the Pirates surrendered 433 passing yards to Baca, who capitalized on five Southwestern turnovers to lead the Tigers to a 51-21 victory. 

Two weeks ago, the McMurry War Hawks gave East Texas Baptist all it could handle in a 19-21 loss. Last week, the Pirates nearly gave McMurry all it could ever want, putting the ball on the ground 10 times, losing eight, in a 29-25 Southwestern win. 

Scouting

"Offensively, we've struggled with things all year long. Last week, it was obviously turnovers," Austin said. "We had a lot of assignment errors that led to some of the fumbles with people not being where they were supposed to be.

"It's tough to be good on offense when you don't know who to block and you can't hang on to the football." 

Southwestern, the third-ranked rushing offense in the conference at 226.3 yards per game, will face an East Texas Baptist team that gives a little on the ground, ranking seventh in the ASC giving up 202.1 yards per game. 

The Pirates prefer to keep the ball on the ground but use a variety of options, attacking from different positions. In recent weeks, however, the Pirates have struggled with blocking assignments and will be tested against a Tigers' defense that ranks second in the ASC in tackles for losses with 8.4 per game. 

"The pressure is on everyone," Austin said. "We target multiple receivers and hand the ball off to several running backs. Whosever turn it is needs to do a good job with it. 

"And the supporting cast needs to lay the foundation of the play with its blocking. That's knowing where to go and doing a good job at the point of attack." 

Controlling the point of attack will be key for the Pirates on the other side of the ball, where East Texas Baptist balances out the most prolific passing quarterback in the conference with a strong running back in Jeremiah Robertson, who ranks third in the ASC in rushing yards (642) and has scored the most rushing touchdowns (9). 

"Defensively, I think we're going to do a pretty good job against their passing," Austin said. "The key for us will be tackling in the run game. We can't let them do both." 

Doing well can be a relative term. The Tigers have capable receivers, if not the same game breakers they've had in the recent past. Baca will have some success, it's just a matter of budgeting for what he can be expected to do and not giving up anything else. 

It also means giving the defense some help with sustained drives and points on the board. 

"We're going to have to score," Austin said. "Because ETBU is going to have some success. It's imperative our offense is able to answer." 

The Pirates spent the week focusing on its plays, trying to nail down the details. Which isn't ideal this late in the season but still a far cry from having to teach players their position from scratch. 

"When most of your time is spent on training the next quarterback, the next linebacker, the next safety, it almost gets to the point where you're plugging leaks more than laying foundations," Austin said.