CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes look to rebound from a loss in the Lone Star Conference opener as they host the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Saturday night at Buffalo Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. in Canyon.
- West Texas A&M is playing their 109th season of football as they hold an overall record of 525-520-2 (.502) dating back to the 1910 campaign.
- The Buffs struggled defensively last Saturday night as they allowed 408 yards of total offense with 281 of that coming thru the air as the Falcons of UT Permian Basin tossed six touchdown passes on their way to a 42-31 victory at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.
- WT leads the all-time series against the Mustangs, 7-3 with the Buffs claiming the last two meetings. The Mustangs are 4-2 all-time in Canyon including 0-1 inside of Buffalo Stadium as the Buffs topped Western New Mexico, 45-21 back in 2019.
- Western New Mexico enters Saturday with an overall record of 1-1 following a 49-14 defeat at the hands of Western Colorado last Saturday during WNMU's home opener. Phillip Vigil is in his first season at the helm of the Mustangs Football Program, coming to Silver City following two seasons as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin.
- LSC action continues this weekend as three conference games are taking place around the league. The Buffs and Mustangs battle in Canyon while Texas A&M-Kingsville heads to Portales to take on Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State battled back last week to top Texas A&M-Commerce as the Mustangs hit the road to take on Angelo State.
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
WNMU enters the weekend with a 1-1 overall record as they topped Adams State (35-17) in the opener before falling to Western Colorado (49-14) on Saturday in their home opener.
The Mustangs put up 341 yards of total offense on Saturday but the Mountaineers scored 35 first quarter points on their way to a 49-14 win. WNMU's Devin Larsen went 23-of-50 thru the air for 237 yards and a TD to go along with three interceptions. James Hoben rushed for 83 yards and a score while grabbing eight passes for 90 yards.
WNMU HEAD COACH PHILLIP VIGIL
Phillip Vigil was named the head coach at Western New Mexico on May 21st. He spent the previous two seasons as the Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Stephen F. Austin.
The former All-Conference quarterback at Colorado Mesa has 12 years of collegiate coaching experience including stops at Colorado School of Mines, Northwest Missouri State, Colorado Mesa and Fort Hays State.
THE SERIES
The Buffs lead the all-time series against the Mustangs, 7-3 with WT claiming the last two meetings. WNMU is 2-4 all-time in Canyon including 0-1 at Buffalo Stadium as the Buffs took their 2019 meeting, 45-21.
HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Hunter Hughes enters his fifth season at the helm of the Buffaloes as the Nashville, Tennessee native holds an overall record of 21-20 during his time in Canyon. A 1991 graduate of Middle Tennessee State, Hughes has coached 21 All-Lone Star Conference selections during his time in Maroon & White.
Hughes came to Canyon in December of 2016 following a decade as the Defensive Coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo where the ThunderWolves made five NCAA Playoff appearances including a run to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.
THIS IS LSC FOOTBALL
The Lone Star Conference has eight teams set to compete in 2021. Each team will play seven conference games to determine the LSC Champion. The 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the LSC did not sponsor a spring season in the sport of football.
WEEK TWO RECAP
The Buffaloes dropped their Lone Star Conference opener on Saturday night as the UT Permian Basin Falcons ran their win streak to eight games with a 42-31 victory at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.
Nick Gerber finished the night going 25-of-39 thru the air with 261 yards and two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
Markell Stephens-Peppers grabbed four passes for a team-high 66 yards and a score while
Khalil Harris found the end zone twice on the ground, finishing with 94 yards on 21 carries.
Defensively,
JT Cavender and
Xavier Rivera finished the night with six tackles each followed by
Eric Collins with five including a pass breakup and a hurry. The Buffs allowed 408 yards of total offense with 281 of those coming thru the air as the Falcons finished the game with six touchdown passes and an average if 12.2 yards per catch.
BUFFALO STADIUM
West Texas A&M is home to one of the premiere college football facilities in the country as Buffalo Stadium opened on September 7, 2019 to a capacity crowd of 10,145 fans. The state of the art facility included Hellas Matrix FusionH XP2 artificial turf along with seven ground-level suites and the Fairly Group Club.
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be broadcasted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans can purchase a football season pass for just $75 or a single-day pass for $10. For more information, visit the Football Schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
The 2020-21 season saw WT claim seven LSC Regular Season Championships, three LSC Tournament Titles, three Regional Championships, four Top-three track & field finishes, a men's basketball national title game appearance and the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship.
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 7-3 all-time on September 18th, winning their last four contest played on this day.
1948 - at Texas Tech (L, 19-0)
1954 - McMurry (L, 19-18)
1965 - at Ohio (W, 7-0)
1971 - vs. Lamar (W, 14-6)
1976 - Wichita State (W, 14-10)
1982 - at Louisiana (L, 31-18)
1993 - Oklahoma Panhandle St. (W, 69-8)
2004 - at S.W. Oklahoma St. (W, 23-6)
2010 - Southeastern Oklahoma St. (W, 41-17)
2016 - at UT Permian Basin (W, 48-14)
