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CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M hits the road for the first time in 2020 with a trip to Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State on Saturday, Sept. 26. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at LeGrand Stadium in San Angelo.
 
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
The Buffs have made it well known that they want to establish the run on offense and that was on full display on Saturday at Buffalo Stadium. They rushed for 415 yards, which is more yards than they had in total offense in seven games last season. It also marked the fourth-time the Buffs had rushed for four touchdowns under Hunter Hughes. 
 
Five players scored their first touchdowns in Maroon and White on Saturday. Isaiah Smallwood and Prince Ugwu scored on the ground while Chase Sojka, Markell Stephens-Peppers and Devin Neal hauled in touchdown passes. Ugwu scored from two yards out in the second quarter with Smallwood breaking off a 72-yard run in the fourth quarter. Stephens-Peppers scored the first touchdown of the game on a 48-yard catch and run. Neal's first career catch was a touchdown while Sojka was wide open for his 61-yard score.
 
Joe Morris' defense was equally as impressive on Saturday holding the Aggies to nine first downs and 190 yards of total offense. It was the third time in the past 10 years and first since 2013 that a Buff defense held the opposition under 200 yards of total offense
 
Nick Gerber threw for a career-high 242 yards and two scores the last time the two teams faced off. He completed a pass to five different Buffs including a game-high six to Semaj Mitchell for 123 yards and two scores.  
 
Brandon Blair ran for a team-high 115 yards in the Buffs' season opening victory over OPSU on Saturday. The redshirt junior becomes the third player under Hughes to record multiple 100-yard rushing games. His first game came on Nov. 3, 2018 against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the final game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. He is also the third Buff to reach the century mark at Buffalo Stadium.
 
A LOOK AT ANGELO STATE
Angelo State is the only other school from the Lone Star Conference that will be playing football in 2020. The Rams are led by second year head coach Jeff Girsch, who was named the LSC Co-Coach of the Year last year.
 
The Rams will rely heavily on their defense this season, returning five starters from All-LSC team including First Team honorees Leddy French II and G'Kari McCoy.  They held opponents to a league-best 14.8 points per game in 2019.
 
French II is joined by Devin Washington at corner with Derrick Dickerson at safety. Simon Maxey and Josh Quinton will lead the linebacker corps while MCoy is slated to start at defensive tackle.
 
ASU returns two starters on the offensive line in A.J. Wozniak and Jake Neal while the backfield will feature new players at quarterback and running back. 
 
Zach Bronkonhorst is the project starter behind center after spending the past two seasons as a backup. Carl Odom is listed as the starting running back on the depth chart after joining the Rams from Cerritos College where he rushed for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns. He prepped at West Jordan High School in Utah, competing on the track & field and rugby teams. 
 
Austin Landry is the top returning wide receiver after appearing in all 11 games last season with 328 yards and four touchdowns. Larry Johnson is also back and healthy after compiling 335 yards on 19 catches in 2018. 
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's game will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two schools. The Buffs are 13-18 against the Rams including a 6-8 record in San Angelo. 
 
WT won a series-best eight straight games from Oct. 28, 2006 to Sept. 27, 2014.
 
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Jarrod Compton and Dylan Hofferichter are both second generation Buffs. Compton's father, J.R. or "Chili Dog", rushed for over 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns from 1986-87. Jarrod is making a name for himself as the sophomore rushed for his fourth career touchdown ON Saturday with a spin move to make a defender miss.
 

.@JarrodCompton28 with a nifty spin move.

You teach him that @CoachC_35?#RollDamnBuffs | #TouchdownTuesday pic.twitter.com/98TFfZ1S09

— Buffalo Football (@WTAMUFootball) September 22, 2020

The elder Hofferichter, Darin, was a linebacker for the Buffs from 1992-95 where he recorded over 150 tackles. Dylan got his first action on Saturday, recording one tackle after spending the 2019 season as a redshirt. 
 
LOOKING TO MAKE IT THREE STRAIGHT
Gerber threw for three touchdowns for the second consecutive game dating back to last season's finale against Midwestern State. The junior gunlslinger is the first Buff quarterback accomplish the feat since Ben Arbuckle did it against A&M-Kingsville and OPSU in 2016. Between Arbuckle and Ethan Brinkley that season, WT had a quarterback throw for three or more touchdowns in the same game in five straight contests. 
 
Combined with Caleb Arreola's strike to Sojka, WT recorded four touchdowns passes for the first time under since a overtime victory over rival Eastern New Mexico on Nov. 12, 2016. .

SCORING LOTS IN A SEASON OPENER
The Buffs scored 50 or more points in the season opener for the first time since a 55-45 victory over South Dakota in 2007. It marked the fourth time in the past 20 years that the Buffs put up a 50-piece in the first game of the season. 

WE RUN THIS TOWN
As mentioned above, the Buffs ran for 415 yards in Saturday's dominant victory over OPSU. It was the most rushing yards by WT since 2000 and just the third time they went over 300 yards on the ground. They also averaged 10.1 yards per carry, the third-highest since Y2K. 
 
Gerber's 94.1 completion percentage was also the top performance of any WT quarterback over the past 20 years. Taylor Harris, Keith Null, Dalton Bell, Dustin Vaughan are the only other quarterbacks to have completed 80 percent of their passes (min. 10 attempts) in a game. 
 

.@RussMartinFB1 had high praise for the offensive line after helping the Buffs rush for 415 yards in a 58-7 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.

🔗: https://t.co/CUn4SRiF3x#RollDamnBuffs pic.twitter.com/Us4xZUs9Zz

— Buffalo Football (@WTAMUFootball) September 22, 2020

 
BUFFS ADD TWO MORE HOME GAMES
The Buffs will host Missouri Western on Nov. 14 and Pittsburg State on Nov. 28. They were two of three schools from the MIAA to form a "schedule alliance" to play football this fall. 
 
WT will face Missouri Western for the first time in program history when they make the trip to Canyon from St. Joseph, Mo. The Griffins went 9-3 in 2019 including a win over Henderson State in the Agent Barry Live United Bowl in Texarkana, Ark. They are led by Matt Williamson, who has compiled a record of 20-15 since being named the sixth head coach in program history in December of 2016.
 
The Buff and Gorillas will face off for the fourth time on Nov. 28 and first time since 2005. The series is tied 1-1-1 dates back to the 1938 season where the two teams tied 13-all. Brian Wright is in his first season as the head coach at PSU after spending four seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks at the University of Toledo. He inherits a team that finished 6-5 in 2019 and returns its leading passer and rusher. 
 

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Two more home games for the Buffs.

🔗: https://t.co/V2xmbNOhYc#RollDamnBuffs pic.twitter.com/7lvJSNXQ9L

— Buffalo Football (@WTAMUFootball) September 22, 2020

 
THIS DAY IN BUFF HISTORY
WT is 2-5-1 all-time on Sept. 26 dating back to 1946. They have only played on the date once in the past two decades, a 35-17 setback to No. 6 Angelo State. That Ram team was coached by WT defensive back and special teams coordinator Will Wagner. 
 
WT HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Hughes is in his fourth season as the head coach at WT and looks to build on the Buffs first eight-win season since 2013. He is 18-16 during his tenure in Canyon including a 10-14 record in conference play.
 
Hughes and Morris will join Lucas Kinsey at Canyon Ranch for this week's Coaches Show. The hour-long show begins at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on the LSC Digital Network. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The ASU Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and pay-per-view webstream for the game on the LSC Digital Network. Fans can purchase a $10 single-day pass to watch Saturday's contest. For more information, visit the Football Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs head to Nacogdoches to face off against Stephen F. Austin. It will be their first meeting against the Lumberjacks since 1997.
 
WT is 2-3 all-time against the Lumberjacks with their last win coming on Oct. 4, 1986.