CANYON, Texas – The Buffs hit the road for Lone Star Conference action this weekend as they head to Silver City, New Mexico to take on the Western New Mexico Mustangs with kickoff set for 1 p.m. CT. at Altamirano Field.
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
WNMU enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-4 with a 3-3 mark in LSC action following a 38-21 road victory in Burnaby over Simon Fraser on Saturday night.
 
Devin Larsen guides the Mustang offense as the sophomore from Gilbert, Arizona has completed 157-of-272 passes for 1,687 yards and 17 touchdowns to go along with 13 picks. Kaleb Gutierrez anchors the WNMU defense as the El Paso native has registered 45 total tackles (25 solo) to go along with two interceptions.
 
WNMU HEAD COACH PHILLIP VIGIL
Phillip Vigil is now in his second season at the helm of the Mustangs holding an overall record of 5-14 during his time in Silver City. He spent the previous two seasons as the Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Stephen F. Austin.
 
Vigil has 13 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, 8-3 with WT claiming the last three meetings. WT is 3-1 all-time in Silver City as they have won their last three trips to Altamirano Field.
 
HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Hunter Hughes is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Buffaloes as the Nashville, Tennessee native holds an overall record of 32-26 during his time in Canyon. A 1991 graduate of Middle Tennessee State, Hughes has coached 37 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 Title.
 
THIS IS LSC FOOTBALL
The season kicks off Thursday, September 1st and the Lone Star Conference has 10 teams set to compete in 2022 with the addition of Central Washington, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon as affiliate members. Each team will play nine conference games to determine the LSC Champion.
 
WEEK EIGHT RECAP
The Buffaloes scored a pair of quick touchdowns to start the game and never looked back as they rolled to a 35-16 Lone Star Conference victory over the Central Washington Wildcats in front of over 6,000 fans at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon. 
 
Nick Gerber finished the night completing 12-of-19 passes for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also rushing for 51 yards on eight carries and a score. Brian Okoye led the way on the ground for the Buffs with 83 yards on 24 carries and a score while Kris Sims caught three passes for a team-high 30 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Christopher Thomas moved into a tie for fourth on WT's all-time tackles list (310, Eric Collins) as he finished the night with seven tackles (five solo) followed by Ty Dillon and Gage Smith with four each. Thomas entered the night ranked sixth as he passed former standout Carter James (307) in the first half.
 
WHERE THE BUFFALOES ROAM
West Texas A&M is home to one of the premiere college football facilities in the country as Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium opened on September 7, 2019 to a capacity crowd of 10,145 fans as the Buffs toppled Asuza Pacific, 35-16. The state of the art facility included Hellas Matrix FusionH XP2 artificial turf along with seven ground-level suites and the Fairly Group Club.
 
AFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Grand Valley State remained atop of this week's poll following a 56-3 rout of Northern Michigan to claim 28 first place votes. Angelo State sits second (two first place, 718) followed by Shepherd (677), Ouachita Baptist (654), Pitt State (627), Ashland (593), Ferris State (565), Delta State (555), West Florida (497) and Virginia Union (488) to round out the top ten.
 
The LSC was represented by Angelo State (2nd) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (20th). 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be broadcasted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. 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 2021-22 campaign saw WT claimed six Lone Star Conference Championships, three LSC Tournament crowns, two Regional Championships and four Top-5 track and field finishes including the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Women's National Championship.
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 4-6 all-time on October 29th as they have won three of their last five games played on this day in history.
 
1955 - at Texas Tech (L, 27-24)
1960 - at Arizona (L, 21-14)
1966 - Memphis (L, 26-14)
1977 - Indiana State (W, 31-20)
1983 - at Drake (L, 36-26)
1988 - at Central Oklahoma (L, 27-15)
1994 - at Tarleton (W, 59-33)
2005 - at Texas A&M-Commerce (W, 19-17)
2011 - Central Washington (W, 49-35)
2016 - at Texas A&M-Commerce (L, 36-0)