Stats
Video
Audio
Tickets
Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The Buffs of West Texas A&M open Lone Star Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21, at No. 4 Tarleton. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas. 
 
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
Sophomore Tobias Harris was named the LSC Special Teams Player of the Week after compiling 211 return yards and a touchdown in WT's 49-21 victory over William Jewell. Harris went 90 yards on his first touch to tie the game at 7-all before unleashing a career-long 80-yard punt return in the third quarter to set up a WT touchdown. His 327 combined return yards are top in the nation while he is the only defensive player to rank in the Top 15 in all-purpose yards. 
 
Nine of WT's 12 touchdowns this season have come on the ground, including three from senior Jordan Johnson. The Buffs have rushed for four or more touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time under Hunter Hughes. Prior to Saturdays win over WJC, WT had never rushed for five touchdowns in a single game under the third-year head coach.
 
Speaking of rushing, senior running back Duke Carter IV ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries on Saturday marking the fourth time he has gone over 100 yards during his two-year career. The Grand Prairie, Texas native enters Saturday's contest against the Texans 67 yards short of 1,000 for his career in Canyon. Last season, Carter IV was held to 32 yards on 22 attempts against TSU at Kimbrough Stadium before erupting for 552 yards over the next three games including 259 in WT's upset victory over No. 14 Central Washington. 
 
The Buffs enter Saturdays contest a perfect 10-for-10 in the red zone (knock on wood), all 10 trips resulting in a touchdown. WT is one of 41 teams to have scored on every red zone possession this season.
 
WT's defense will need to improve on getting off the field on third down on Saturday if they hope to keep the potent Texan offense off the scoreboard. Through two games, opposing teams have converted on third down 44.7 percent of the time ranking the Buffs 117th out of 166 teams.
 
SCOUTING TARLETON
Head coach Todd Whitten has got his fourth-ranked Texans playing great on both sides of the ball as they rank in the Top 25 in total offense and defense. The LSC favorites defeated FCS Stephen F. Austin in their opener followed by a thrashing of Doane College on Saturday. 
 
Ben Holmes leads a Texan offense that is producing a nation-best 641 yards per contest. The senior playcalller is leading the LSC in passing yards with 587 and five TDs. He went 13-of-19 for 194 yards while rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown last year against the Buffs in 2018. The running back corps is led by Daniel McCants, who ran for 190 yards and two touchdowns in their win over SFA en route to earning LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors. TSU has one of the top wide receiving duos in the nation in Zimari Manning and J.F. Thomas, as the duo has combined for 484 yards and five touchdowns. 
 
Defensively, the Texans are led by Tank Morgan with 12 tackles, while B.J. Jefferson has three tackles for loss and two sacks. Tre Johnson leads the secondary with four pass breakups. 
 
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series 15-13 with TSU holding a 7-6 advantage in games played in Stephenville. The Buffs have dropped two straight in the series since 2013-14.
 
Both teams enter the game undefeated for the first time since 2013, where the Buffs lead 27-3 at halftime at Memorial Stadium before TSU rolled off 28 unanswered points to win 31-27.
 
JORDAN "UTILITY MAN" JOHNSON
Senior tight end/fullback J. Johnson enters Saturday's contest with a team-high three rushing touchdowns. The former quarterback is averaging a rushing touchdown every two carries after finding the end zone twice against WJC on Saturday. 
 
The production from the Eagle Lake, Texas comes as no surprise as he earned First Team All-LSC recognition as a sophomore after leading the Buffs in receiving yards (267) and ranking second in rushing yards.
 
STEADY AS HE GOES
In his first two starts under center, Nick Gerber has thrown for 379 yards and two touchdowns completing 64 percent of his passes. He became the first Buff to throw for over 150 yards in consecutive games since Justin Houghtaling did it against UT Permian Basin and Angelo State in 2018. 
 
A PERFECT BALANCE
Avengers villain Thanos would have been pleased with the Buffs offense on Saturdays they recorded 184 yards through the air and on the ground for a total of 368 yards. 
 
OWN THE SECOND HALF 
WT has been a different team in the second half outscoring opponents 63-10 in their opening two wins. 
 
BUFFS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Hughes enters Saturday's game 2-5 versus ranked opponents with wins over CSU-Pueblo and Central Washington. In his second game in charge, Hughes led the Buffs to a 24-21 victory over his former team at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium followed by a win Central Washington on the road in 2018. 
 
The Buffs are 4-3 against Top-5 opponents since 2012 with wins over No. 4 Ashland (2012), No. 1 CSU-Pueblo (2012), CSU-Pueblo (2015) and No. 5 Midwestern State. 
 
THIS DAY IN BUFF HISTORY
WT is 5-5 all-time on games played on Sept. 21 since 1946. The Buffs have won two straight on the date including a 62-28 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce in 2013. 
 
A STRONG START TO THE SEASON
The Buffs scored a combined 84 points in their first two games, the most since 2019 and fifth-most in the past 20 years.
 
AFCA DIVISION II POLL
For the third straight week, the Lone Star Conference was represented by schools in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 released on Monday morning. TSU moved up one spot to fourth with Texas A&M-Commerce and Midwestern State remaining at 12th and 16th respectively. The Buffs received 31 votes while Eastern New Mexico also picked up five votes.
 
AROUND THE LSC
WT is one seven teams in the LSC that enters league play undefeated after their come-from-behind win over WJC on Saturday. TSU, WT, Angelo State, Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State and UT Permian Basin are all 2-0 while Texas A&M-Commerce is 1-0 following a win over Western Oregon. 
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville recovered from their season opening loss to Saginaw Valley State with a dominant performance against Sul Ross State with Western New Mexico falling to FCS Northern Arizona last week. 
 
WT HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
WT head coach Hunter Hughes is in his third season at the helm of West Texas A&M football. The 2011 FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year enters the 2019 season 10-13 overall including a 6-5 record in 2018 where they defeated a nationally-ranked Central Washington team on a road. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
TSU will provide live stats and webstream for Saturday's game. Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets along with Kent Johnson will be on the call. A free audio feed will be available on GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
UP NEXT
WT returns to the friendly confines of Buffalo Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, when they host Western New Mexico. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.