Game Notes PDF Format

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M football team returns home to host No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.  The Buffs are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUC is 6-1 and 4-1 in league play.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at www.gobuffsgo.com.  The game also will be broadcast on Lonestar FM 98.7 throughout the Texas Panhandle with Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets having the call, while Kent Johnson will insight from the sideline.
 
OPENING DRIVE NOTES

• WT is coming off a disappointing 45-3 loss at then-No. 5 Midwestern State last week, where WT trailed 10-3 late in the second quarter and gave up two touchdowns in 24 seconds in the final minute of the first half for a 24-3 deficit and had just three possessions and 19 yards of offense in the second half.
• Texas A&M-Commerce enters as one of the top defenses in the nation holding teams to 319.1 yards per game (37th nationally, 1st LSC) and 16.0 points per game (14th nationally, 1st LSC).The Lions downed Angelo State 34-20 last week in Commerce.
• WT leads the LSC and is second nationally in kick return defense, holding teams to 13.11 yards per return, while TAMUC is second in the LSC in kick return defense at 14.86 yards per return, good for seventh nationally.
• TAMUC leads the all-time series with WT 17-14 and has won the last three meetings marking the longest winning streak by the Lions since winning six-straight from 1988-1997.TAMUC won last year's meeting 36-0 in Commerce, handing WT it's first shutout loss since 2002.
• The Buffs rank third nationally in fewest penalties with just 29 on the year, while ranking second in fewest penalties per game (3.63), third in fewest penalty yards (238) and third in fewest penalty yards per game (29.75).
• Buff senior punter John Cummings leads the LSC in punting at a 41.6 clip, ranking 14th nationally, while the team is 27th nationally in net punting at 37.08 yards per punt.
• TAMUC's offense is just as prolific as its defense as the team is fifth nationally in passing offense at 334.9 yards per game, 17th in scoring offense at 40.6 points per game, while ranking third nationally in completion percentage at 0.713.

 
INSIDE THE SERIES

• TAMUC leads the all-time series 17-14 and has won the last three meetings, including a 36-0 victory last season in Commerce.
• WT leads the series 7-6 in Canyon, but TAMUC won there in 2015, 38-30.Prior to the last three meetings, WT had won six-straight.
• TAMUC has outscored WT 122-41 in the last three meetings and handed WT its worst loss in the series last year, 36-0, marking the first time WT had been shutout since 2002.
• The Buffs have outscored the Lions 797-633 in 31 meetings in series history.

 
MEET THE COACHES

• WT head coach Hunter Hughes is in his first season at the helm of the Buffs as he was hired from Colorado State-Pueblo on Dec. 13, 2016 as the 28th head coach in WT history.
• Hughes spent 10 years as Defensive Coordinator at CSUP where he guided the ThunderWolves to the program's first national championship in 2014 with a 13-0 shutout of Minnesota State.Hughes had a tremendous track record at CSUP as one of the top defensive units in the nation.
• He was named Footballscoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year finalist in 2014 and his "D" led all of Division II in scoring defense (12.8 ppg) INT's (29), defensive touchdowns (7) and turnovers gained (43).
• Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Colby Carthel is 42-15 in his fifth season at the helm of the Lions as he has completely revamped a struggling program.  Carthel has guided the Lions to back-to-back-to-back LSC regular season titles.

 
A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE WOULD . . .

• Give WT a 4-5 record on the year and a 2-4 mark in Lone Star Conference play
• Give Coach Hughes his fourth win at WT
• Be the 508th win in program history (507-505-22)
• Hand Texas A&M-Commerce a potentially deadly loss in terms of NCAA postseason chances as the Lions currently are eighth in the initial NCAA Super Region Four rankings
• Give WT two more points in the Highway 287 Challenge Cup
• Give WT its second win over a ranked team this season (1-2) as the Buffs downed then-No. 7 Colorado State Pueblo, 24-21 in Canyon on Sept. 9
• Be the 111th win on Lone Star Conference play for the Buffs (110-105)
• Give WT a 6-2 record on Oct. 28 since 1946 and a 5-1 on this date at home

 
 
LOOKING AT #9 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE

• The Lions enter as one of the top teams in the Lone Star Conference across the board and nationally.TAMUC is third nationally in completion percentage at an astonishing .713 clip, while ranking fifth in passing offense (334.9), 14th in scoring defense (16.0), 17th in scoring offense (40.6), 10th in passing efficiency (169.71), 24th in passing efficiency defense (103.76) and 27th in team tackles for loss at 7.9 per game.TAMUC is 11th in fumbles lost, losing just three all year.
• TAMUC is second in the LSC to WT in kickoff return defense at 14.86 per return ranking seventh nationally, while the Lions are eighth nationally in kickoff returns at 26.27 per return.The Lions also stiffen in the red zone as they are 35th nationally in red zone defense at .714, while ranking 29th in red zone offense at .882.
• Individually, the Lions are stacked as quarterback Luis Perez dominates the LSC and ranks very high nationally.He is second nationally in completion percentage (.730), second in completions per game (26.71), seventh in passing efficiency (175.8), third in passing touchdowns (26), 11th in passing yards (2,254), fifth in passing yards per game (322.0), fourth in points responsible for (164) and 14th in total offense at 313.4 yards per game.
• Not only is it Perez highlighting the offense, the Lions have some outstanding receivers in Darrion Landry who ranks 24th nationally in receiving touchdowns with seven, while Buck Wilson also is 24th with seven receiving scores.Punt returner Shawn Hooks ranks 14th nationally in punt returns at 13.6 per return, while TAMUC has an outstanding kicker in Kristov Martinez who is fifth nationally in field goal percentage at .889 and 30th in field goal per game at 1.14.
• On defense, the Lions are stacked as Brucks Saathoff leads the team with 39 tackles, 22 solo stops, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.Neema Behbahani is second in tackles with 31, while recording 2.5 tackles for loss.Kieston Carter leads the team with five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.He has 14 tackles on the year with eight solo stops.
• The defense is holding teams to 319.1 yards per game, which ranks 37th nationally, while averaging 7.9 tackles for loss, which ranks 27th nationally.TAMUC is fifth in the LSC in sacks at 2.29 per game.The defense is holding teams to just 119.1 yards on the ground, ranking third in the LSC and 35th nationally, while holding teams to 130 first downs, ranking 29th nationally.
• TAMUC is 25th nationally in turnovers lost with nine, while ranking 43th nationally and second in the league in turnover margin at 0.71.
• Punter Tristan Perry is fourth in the LSC in punting at 40.0 yards per punt, while WT senior John Cummings leads the league in punting at 41.6 per punt.On special teams, TAMUC has four blocked kicks this season, ranking second in the league and 18th nationally.The Lions also have two blocked punts on the year.
• The Lions rank eighth in the initial NCAA Super Region rankings and, if the season ended today, would not qualify for the NCAA postseason.TAMUC is at WT, then hosts UT Permian Basin and travels to Tarleton State to close the season.TAMUC will need to win all three to have a chance to make the postseason.

 
BUFF NEWS AND NOTES

• WT is coming off a disappointing 45-3 loss at No. 5 Midwestern State last week as the game was called with 5:07 remaining in the fourth quarter due to lightning in the area.
• The Buffs hung tough almost to halftime, trailing 10-3 late in the second quarter, but a touchdown and then a muffed kickoff leading to another touchdown gave MSU a 24-3 lead at intermission as the Mustangs scored two touchdowns in a matter of 24 seconds in the final minute of the half.
• WT had just three possessions in the second half, a punt and two interceptions, while totaling 19 yards for the half and 228 for the game on 29 plays.
• The Buffs are third nationally in fewest penalties at 29, while ranking second in fewest penalties per game at 3.63.WT is third in fewest penalty yards (238) and third in fewest penalty yards per game (29.75).
• WT is second nationally in kick return defense, holding teams to just 13.11 yards per return. The Buffs are 27th nationally in net punting at 37.08.
• Saturday's loss to Midwestern State marked the first time this season of the Buffs not scoring a touchdown, while the Buffs have had two-straight years of a game not scoring a TD (L, 36-0 at Texas A&M-Commerce, 2016) and fourth time since 2005.
• WT sophomore Kevon Thomas leads the LSC in interceptions per game at 0.4 as he has a team-high three picks on the year.
• Senior punter John Cummings leads the LSC in punting at 41.6 per kick as he is 14th nationally.Cummings has 39 punts for 1624 yards, along with 11 over 50 yards and 13 inside the 20.
• Senior linebacker Daelin Young leads the LSC in sacks per game at 0.98 and is 16th nationally.He has seven sacks for 53 yards on the year, while recording nine tackles for loss for 58 yards.
• Junior defensive back Chazz Slatinsky is second in the LSC in fumbles recovered with two for 10 yards.
• Freshman kicker Alex Schrag hit a career-long 53-yard field goal at Midwestern State on Saturday.It was the Buffs' first make from 50-plus yards this season and the first since former Buff Conner Hollabaugh made a 52-yarder against Tarleton State in 2015.Schrag is fifth in the LSC in field goals made per game at 1.13, while ranking seventh in field goal percentage at 0.529 on 9 of 17.He is a perfect 10 for 10 in extra-points.
• Five Buffs nominated for CoSIDA Academic All-Region honors as Cummings, Myklebust, Slatinsky, senior Dillon Vaughan and junior Michael Whitfield.Vaughan earned first team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors last season.