CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes hit the road for Lone Star Conference action on Saturday night as they travel to San Angelo, Texas to take on the #4 Angelo State Rams at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
 
A LOOK AT THE RAMS
ASU enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-0 with a 1-0 mark in LSC action following a 34-21 victory on the road last week at UT Permian Basin. The Rams are ranked fourth in this week's AFCA Top-25 Poll.
 
Zach Bronkhorst guides the ASU offense as the Galveston product has completed 57-of-110 passes for 731 yards and four touchdowns to go along with two picks. Nate Omayebu III leads the way on the ground with 306 yards on 63 carries and five scores while Micah Flowers anchors the ASU defense with 20 total tackles and an interception.
 
ASU HEAD COACH JEFF GIRSCH
Jeff Girsch is now in his ninth season in San Angelo, serving the last three full seasons as the head coach of the Rams. He led ASU to the third round of the NCAA Playoff a year ago with an overall mark of 11-3.
 
Girsch took over the ASU program on November 4, 2018 after serving as the team's Defensive Coordinator.
 
THE SERIES
Angelo State holds a 19-15 advantage in the all-time series against the Buffs as WT took last year's meeting in Canyon. The Buffs are 8-10 all-time in San Angelo as they dropped their last trip to the Concho Valley back in 2020 by a score of 21-10.
 
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 29-24 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 THREE RECAP
The #14 Buffaloes overcame a 14-point third quarter deficit to tie the game but six costly turnovers proved too much as West Texas A&M fell to the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville, 31-24 in the Lone Star Conference opener in front of 7,337 fans at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
 
Nick Gerber finished the night going 12-of-26 for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns while throwing a season-high three interceptions. Isaiah Smallwood picked up a team-high 50 yards on the ground while Shakell Brown led the receiving core with 84 yards on three catches with a touchdown. 
 
Defensively, Chris Thomas registered 10 total tackles to go along with one sack followed by Carson Otworth with nine tackles, two of those coming for a loss. Ty Dillon and Preston Steszewski both registered interceptions.
 
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
The Buffaloes fell out of week's edition of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Top-25 Poll announced on Monday afternoon by the association's offices in Waco, Texas.
 
Ferris State picked up 29 first place votes to sit atop of the poll following an idle weekend. Northwest Missouri State ranks second with 714 points followed by Grand Valley State (one first place, 693), Angelo State (628), Shepherd (623), West Florida (607), Harding (572), West Georgia (528), Ouachita Baptist (490) and Newberry (475).
 
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 7-4 all-time on September 24th as WT has won their last five games played on this date.
 
1949 - vs. McMurry (L, 34-7)
1955 - vs McMurry (W, 6-0)
1960 - vs. Arizona State (L, 14-3)
1966 - at Pacific (W, 49-7)
1977 - at North Texas (L, 31-20)
1983 - vs. UT Arlington (L, 31-13)
1988 - at Northwest Missouri (W, 65-42)
1994 - vs. N.M. Highlands (W, 48-16)
2005 - vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville (W, 28-20)
2011 - vs. Incarnate Word (W, 52-7)
2016 - vs. Tarleton (W, 37-25)
 
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.