West Texas A&M (4-3, 4-1) at #23 UT Permian Basin (5-2, 3-2)
Date	Saturday, October 25th | 6:00 p.m.
Location	Midland, Texas | Astound Broadband Stadium
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)
Radio	KGNCNewsNow.com | Listen Locally: 710 AM | 97.5 FM
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M rides a three-game win streak into Midland, Texas on Saturday night as they take on the #23 Falcons of UT Permian Basin with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. at Astound Broadband Stadium. The Buffs currently sit tied for second in the LSC standings with Western Oregon while the Falcons are tied for fourth with Angelo State.
 
WEEK 8 MATCHUPS
Week 8 will once again feature all league 10 teams in action with five conference matchups all on Saturday. Eastern New Mexico hosts in-state rival Western New Mexico while West Texas A&M battles #23 UT Permian Basin in Midland. Western Oregon makes the long trip to South Texas to take on Texas A&M-Kingsville with Central Washington playing in Wichita Falls against Midwestern State, Angelo State hits the road to take on Sul Ross State in Alpine.
 
EASTERN NEW MEXICO REWIND
West Texas A&M scored on the first play of the game and never looked back as they raced past the rival Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico, 43-14 during Lone Star Conference action during the 37th Wagon Wheel Game at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.
 
RJ Martinez completed 26 of 43 passes for 424 yards and five touchdowns, showcasing a strong passing performance. Drew Zamar caught three passes for 99 yards, including one touchdown. Zach Phipps contributed with four receptions for 64 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side, Jamel Acosta-Lewis recorded 11 total tackles as WT held the Greyhounds to 50 yards under their season average in rushing yards.
 
UTPB HEAD COACH KRIS McCULLOUGH
Kris McCullough is in his third season at the helm of the UT Permian Basin football program, being hired on December 22, 2022 following one season as the head coach at East Central. 
 
During his first season in Odessa in 2023, McCullough led the Falcons to their first ever LSC Championship going 10-1 overall as they hosted the first playoff game in program history. 2024 saw the Falcons go 7-5 overall as they played in the Heritage Bowl, falling to Central Missouri 39-37 in double overtime.
 
McCullough took over the Falcons after a season as head coach at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. McCullough led the Tigers to a 9-3 record in the difficult Great American Conference (GAC) that culminated in a victory over Texas A&M – Kingsville in the Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl. Three players would go on to earn All-Super Region Three honors while 16 were named to the All-GAC Team. Linebacker Devon Roush was named GAC Defensive Player of the Year on a defense that forced 28 turnovers and led the nation in turnover differential. 
 
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS
UT Permian Basin enters the weekend with an overall record of 5-2 with a 3-2 mark in Lone Star Conference action. The Falcons have dropped their last two contests against Central Washington (27-14) and Western Oregon (31-28).
 
Last week's matchup against the Wolves saw WOU take a 10-point lead into the locker room for halftime before the Falcons scored 21 points in the second half, a fumble on UTPB's final drive of the game sealed the win for the Wolves. 
 
The Falcons have averaged 410.9 yards of total offense this season, ranking 46th in in all of Division II football. UTPB has completed 162-of-255 passes for 2,164 yards and 16 touchdowns while registering 712 net yards on the ground with 13 scores. UTPB averages 309.1 yards passing per game, ranking eighth in the nation.
 
Kanon Gibson has started all seven games under center for the Falcons, completing 127-of-206 passes for 1,735 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions. The junior from Wink has also carried the ball 98 times for 322 yards and seven scores. Gibson is no stranger to the Buffaloes as he started his collegiate career in Canyon, seeing time in 15 games with 12 starts as he threw for 2,341 yards with 24 touchdowns to go along with 608 yards and eight scores on the ground.
 
The UTPB offense features three players with atleast 30 carries so far this season as Kory Harris and Camden Tyler have combined for 348 net yards on 100 carries with six touchdowns. TJ McKenzie is the go-to target in the receiving core as the graduate student from Muskegon, Michigan has caught 25 passes for 415 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Lone Star Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Tristan Exline leads the way defensively for the Falcons as the junior linebacker from China Spring, Texas has tallied 63 total tackles (41 solo) with 10 of them coming for a loss of 33 yards to go along with three sacks. The UTPB defense ranks 14th in the country in passing yards allowed per game (153.3).
 
THE SERIES
The Buffaloes hold a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 2016 season. WT is 2-1 in Odessa with Saturday's matchup marking the second meeting between the two teams in Midland.
 
The last matchup in Midland in 2023 saw the Buffs hold a 10-point lead with just two minutes to play before the Falcons stormed back to tie the game at the end of regulation. UTPB scored on their first possession of overtime followed by a Kenneath Redd touchdown but a failed two-point conversion pass by WT gave the Falcons a 41-40 overtime victory.
 
STARTING FAST
The Buffaloes have scored points on their first possession of the game in six of the first seven games this season, averaging 6.6 plays and 62.0 yards per opening possession. West Texas A&M has received the opening kickoff in each of their first seven contests, averaging 1:58 of clock time per opening possession.
 
BACK ON THE ROAD
The Buffaloes will hit the road for the first time since September 20th following a three-game homestand that spanned four weeks. WT is 1-2 so far this season away from the Texas Panhandle as they fell at Western Colorado (45-28) and at Central Washington (56-7) while claiming an LSC road win at Western New Mexico (58-27) back on September 13th.
 
LSC NEWS & NOTES
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, No. 10 Central Washington is atop the Lone Star Conference football standings at 5-0.  
 
In addition to CWU (6-1 overall), No. 21 Angelo State, Western Oregon, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico all won Week 6 matchups at home. WOU upset No. 13 UT Permian Basin, 31-28. To read the recaps, click here.
 
CWU has won five games in a row, while WOU (5-2, 4-1 LSC) and WT (4-3, 4-1 LSC) each improved their winning streaks to three games. WOU and WT are tied for second place in the conference standings.
 
WT is leading the league in total offense at 487.4 yards per game, followed by WNMU (450.1) and TAMUK (436.7). CWU is scoring a league-high 44.3 points per game.
 
UTPB has the conference's top-rated defense, allowing just 313.4 yards per game. WT is next at 343.3 yards per game then CWU (345.4). Opponents are scoring just 19.3 points per game against CWU, which leads the league.
 
UTPB is the least penalized team in the league, averaging just 45.9 yards per game.
 
HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN
Josh Lynn is now in his third season at the helm of the West Texas A&M Football program after being named the 29th head coach in WT history. Lynn, widely regarded as one of the nation's up-and-coming head coaches, came to Canyon following six seasons at the University of Nebraska-Kearney where he led the Lopers to an overall record of 35-25 including a run to the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Playoffs.
 
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE
WT Football welcomes four new faces to the full-time coaching staff as Justin Bane was named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs. Mike Bethea will work with the linebackers while Adrian Duncan (running backs) and Cole McDowell (tight ends) also joined the offensive staff. Justin Richter was promoted to Defensive Coordinator in January following two seasons as the defensive backs/co-special team coordinator for the Buffs.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Buffaloes have been tabbed sixth in the 2025 LSC Preseason Poll announced during the league's annual Media Day in McKinney, Texas.
 
Defending LSC champion Angelo State claimed 23 of the possible 30 first place votes for a total of 292 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Central Washington (four first place, 257), UT Permian Basin (two first place, 229), Texas A&M-Kingsville (one first place, 211), West Texas A&M (157), Midwestern State (139), Eastern New Mexico (88), Western New Mexico (53), Sul Ross State (51).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday night's contest will be broadcasted on FloCollege. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month). 
 
BACK ON THE AIRWAVES
West Texas A&M Athletics announces the return of radio broadcasts for the 2025-26 campaign. 
 
Members of Buff Nation will now be able to listen to Kent Johnson, Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets in partnership with Alpha Media. Football pregame begins 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Thursday night's broadcast is available online (GoBuffsGo.com / KGNCNewsNow.com) as well as locally in the Texas Panhandle on 710 AM and 97.5 FM.
 
LSC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WT senior quarterback RJ Martinez passed for 424 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Buffs to a 43-14 win over rival Eastern New Mexico. Martinez, who took the league's top weekly offensive award for the second time this season, was 26 of 43 and spread the ball around to 10 different receivers. He is the only quarterback in the LSC this season with two games of five or more TD passes.
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 6-4 all-time on games played on October 25th.
 
1952 - Abilene Christian - W, 20-18
1958 - at Southern Mississippi - L, 15-0
1969 - New Mexico State - W, 17-16
1975 - at Louisiana Monroe - W, 45-20
1980 - at Tulsa - L, 44-24
1986 - Texas A&M-Commerce - W, 49-19
1997 - Texas A&M-Kingsville - L, 33-0
2003 - Texas A&M-Kingsville - L, 38-13
2008 - at Angelo State - W, 27-0
2014 - Texas A&M-Kingsville - W, 48-21
 
WT AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Saturday's showdown in Midland will feature the third of four potential Top-25 opponents for the Buffs this season. WT fell on the road to #10 Western Colorado (45-28) and #17 Central Washington (52-6) on the road earlier this season. The Buffs are looking for their first Top-25 victory under head coach Josh Lynn and the first since knocking off #17 Western Colorado (44-6) back on September 3, 2022. The last Top-25 road win for the Buffs came in Ellensburg on September 29, 2018 with a 28-26 victory over the Wildcats.