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CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M will host No. 24 Texas A&M-Commerce on ESPN3 on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Buffalo Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
 
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
After forcing a season-high six turnovers in Saturday's win over Eastern New Mexico, WT ranks ninth in the nation in turnover margin and fumbles recovered. The Buffs have also been good about holding onto the ball as they rank 12th in turnovers lost. 
 
Saturday's matchup will put two of the top special teams in the nation on the same field. The Buffs kickoff return team that ranks sixth in the nation (14.5/yards) will be put to the test from TAMUC's Dominique Ramsey who currently leads the nation in kickoff returns (37.5/yards). Sophomore Tobias Harris is no slouch himself as he ranks first in the punt returns (25.8/yards) and second in combined kick return yards (773). 
 
WT is one of the top fourth down teams in the nation with their 16 conversions tied for the second-most in Division II football. Only Glenville State (17) has converted more fourth down than the Buffs as they are 16-for-20 this season when going for it on fourth down. 
 
Juwan McCall and Semaj Mitchell are tied for the team lead in receptions with 25. The two seniors have been Nick Gerber's top targets this season combining for 50 receptions, 696 yards and nine touchdowns.  Mitchell is coming on his best two-game stretch as a Buff with 10 receptions for 194 yards and three scores while McCall recorded back-to-back 100-yard receiving games earlier in the season. 
 
Hayden Dennis and Frank Honang are less than 13 tackles away from becoming the first duo to record over 100 tackles under Hunter Hughes. Dennis ranks third in the conference and seventh in the nation in total tackles with 88. The redshirt junior has also recorded a career-high eight tackles for loss and a sack. Honang's 87 tackles are the fourth-most in the conference and ninth-most in the nation. The Saginaw product also ranks fourth in the nation with forced fumbles (4). 
 
SCOUTING NO. 24 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
Texas A&M-Commerce enters the week ranked No. 24 in the American Coaches Football Association (AFCA) Top -25 after a convincing 62-21 victory over Western New Mexico on Saturday. On the season, the Lions are 5-2 overall and 4-1 in LSC play.
 
The Lions come into Saturday scoring 38.0 points per game led by quarterback Miklo (meek-low) Smalls. The redshirt sophomore ranks fifth in the nation in completion percentage (71.6%) and ninth in passing efficiency (169.0).  He has passed for more than 200 yards in six of seven games including a 243-yard, four touchdown performance against ENMU. Smalls like to spread the ball around as six receivers have 10 or more catches including Ryan Stokes with a team-high 31 or 440 yards and four touchdowns. 
 
The rushing attack is led by Antonio Lealiiee (LAY-lee-ay-ay) who is averaging 7.1 yards per carry. He has carried the ball 77 times for 544 yards and five touchdowns with no other running back having more than 23 carries. 
 
Senior Terrell Collins has recorded a team-high 44 tackles this season including 3.0 tackles for loss. Elijah Ellis has caused problems for opposing offensive lines with 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Dominique Ramsey has recorded a team-high two interceptions but does most of his damage on special teams. The junior ranks first in the nation in kickoff returns (37.5) and fifth in punt returns (15.7. 
 
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
WT is 14-19 all-time against the Lions including 7-6 in games played in Canyon. They have dropped five straight in the series after winning six straight from 2003-2013. 
 
The Buffs last defeated A&M-Commerce in Canyon on Sept.  21, 2013 behind a 508-yard, four touchdown performance from Dustin Vaughan.
 
MIKE JONES NAMED LSC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK
Senior defensive back Mike Jones was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Buffs to their first win over Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M. since 2012.
 
Jones was instrumental in bringing the Wagon Wheel back to Canyon as WT forced six turnovers and held the Greyhounds to their second-lowest rushing total of the season (239). The San Diego, Calif. native recorded 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He forced his first fumble in a Maroon & White uniform in the fourth quarter with a hit on ENMU's Paul Terry in the red zone sealing the victory for the Buffs.  
 
THROUGH THE AIR AND ON THE GROUND
Gerber did it all for the Buffs in their win over the Greyhounds on Saturday as he accounted for four touchdowns. He became the first Buff quarterback to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in the same game since 2011.

The redshirt sophomore enters the ninth week of the season with a QB rating of 120.8 completing 132-of-241 passes for 1,518 yards for 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Prior to last week, he has thrown for over 200 yards in four straight games. 
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Junior wide receiver Chase Sojka recorded two receptions for nine yards on Saturday putting him over 1,500 for his career. The Shreveport, La. native transferred from East Texas Baptist where he had 101 receptions for 1,273 yards and 11 touchdowns from 2015-16.  This season, he has recorded 21 catches for 234 yards with a long of 38 coming against UT Permian Basin. 
 
Honang's four forced fumbles are the most by a Buff since Curtis Slater had five in 2013. Slater finished that season with 94 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and four sacks along with four interceptions. 
 
For the first time in more than a decade, WT has had three different players rush for five touchdowns. Jordan Johnson has a team-high six scores followed by Duke Carter IV and Gerber with five. Four different Buffs have also recorded multi touchdown games on the ground as well.
 
THIS DAY IN BUFF HISTORY
WT is 4-4 all-time in games played on Nov. 2 dating back to the 1946 season when they defeated Northern Arizona 20-0  in Canyon. 
 
After winning four of their first five games on the second day of November, the Buffs have lost three straight including a 39-38 setback to ENMU in 2013. 
 
AFCA DIVISION II POLL
The Buffs were back to receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 after defeating ENMU on Saturday.  There was minimal movement in the poll as the Top 24 teams all won. Tarleton remained in fourth while picking up a first-place vote with Angelo State at No. 21 and A&M-Commerce at No. 24. 
 
AROUND THE LSC
Tarleton remains the lone undefeated team in the LSC after holding off Texas A&M-Kingsville last week. Angelo State remained in second after their convincing victory over UT Permian Basin. The Lions improved to 4-1 in conference play with a win over Western New Mexico. Midwestern State dropped their fourth of the season with a 37-22 loss to Western Oregon. 
 
WT HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Third-year head coach Hunter Hughes is 15-15 since taking over the program in 2017. The 2011 FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year is 2-7 all-time against teams ranked in the Top 25 with wins over CSU-Pueblo (2017) and Central Washington (2018).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's contest will be streamed on ESPN3, which is accessible on ESPN.com or on the ESPN mobile app. Live stats will be provided by WT Athletic Communications. Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets will have the call on the free audio stream available on GoBuffsGo.com with Kent Johnson serving as the sideline reporter. For more information, visit the Football Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com.  
 
UP NEXT
WT hit the road for one final time in the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 9, with a trip to South Texas to face Texas  A&M-Kingsville. The Buffs are 15-18-1 all-time against the Javelinas.