West Texas A&M (0-2, 0-0) at Angelo State (0-2, 0-0)
Date	Saturday, September 19th | 6:00 p.m.
Location	San Angelo, Texas | LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	FloCollege
Radio	KGNCNewsNow.com | Listen Locally: 710 AM | 97.5 FM
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes begin Lone Star Conference action on Saturday night as they make their way to San Angelo, Texas to take on the rival Angelo State Rams with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field. Both the Buffs and Rams look for their first victory of the season after coming out of the bye week.
 
WEEK 3 MATCHUPS
Week 3 will feature all Lone Star Conference teams playing in the same week for the first time this season. In fact, they will all be in action on the same day (Saturday, Sept. 19) and will all be playing league games. 
 
Included in the slate is a ranked showdown between #10 Western Oregon and #16 Central Washington in Ellensburg. Last year on the final day of the regular season, that game decided the league title as CWU won 19-17 in Monmouth. Western New Mexico makes the trip to Wichita Falls to take on Midwestern State while the Buffs battle Angelo State at LeGrand Stadium in San Angelo. Sul Ross State hosts UT Permian Basin in Alpine while Eastern New Mexico heads to South Texas to take on Texas A&M-Kingsville. All Lone Star Conference football contests are broadcasted live on FloCollege.
 
ASU HEAD COACH JEFF GIRSCH
Jeff Girsch is now in his 12th season in San Angelo, serving the last eight as the head coach of the Rams. He has led Angelo State to the Lone Star Conference Championship in two of the last five seasons. Girsch took over the ASU program on November 4, 2018 after serving as the team's Defensive Coordinator. He holds an overall record of 55-24 during his time in the Concho Valley.
 
Prior to joining Angelo State, Girsch had spent 18 years coaching at St. Ambrose University, with his last six as the Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. He was named the MSFA Assistant Football Coach of the Year in 2008. During his tenure at St. Ambrose, Girsch coached over 50 All-Conference Players, Five All-Americans, and was a part of Seven Mid-States Football Association Conference Championships.
 
A LOOK AT THE RAMS
The Rams enter the weekend with an overall record of 0-2 as they began the season with a 35-14 loss to Fort Hays State who received votes in the preseason AFCA poll followed by a 23-21 defeat at the hands of then #11 Western Colorado in Gunnison.
 
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ayden Arp is in his first full season guiding the Angelo State offense as the Cedar Park, Texas product has completed 32-of-50 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns with only one interception. Arp saw time in a pair of contests last season including an appearance in Canyon against the Buffs in the regular season finale when he threw for 189 yards and a pair of scores. 
 
Cameron Dischler has found the endzone three times so far this season, carrying the ball 22 times for 42 yards while handling kickoff return duties for the Rams. Donny Bishop and Alan Dobbins have combined for 16 catches with each tallying 103 yards receiving with a touchdown.
 
Defensively, KJ Penson anchors the ASU secondary as the sophomore from Missouri City, Texas has a team-best 14 tackles (13 solo) to go along with a pass breakup. The Rams are sixth in the nation and first in the Lone Star Conference in fewest penalties (7) while Jeremy Ramirez ranks 45th in the nation in punting, averaging 41.4 yards per punt.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday night marks the 40th all-time meeting on the gridiron between the Buffs and Rams as Angelo State holds a 23-16 advantage in the series that dates back to 1983.
 
The Buffaloes are 7-12 all-time in San Angelo as they have dropped their last three trips to the Concho Valley. 
 
REGULAR SEASON FINALE THRILLER
Last year's matchup in Canyon came down to the wire as an RJ Martinez one-yard touchdown pass to Zach Phipps with just six seconds remaining handed the Buffs a 45-44 victory in the regular season finale. The game featured 1,113 yards of total offense as the Buffs slightly outgained the Rams 565-548 while ASU controlled the ball for 32:51. 
 
HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN
Josh Lynn is now in his fourth 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 five new faces to the coaching staff. Kevin Bleil was named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs in February while Kendrick Marshall will work with the linebackers and serve as Special Teams Coordinator. Vic Wharton III (cornerbacks), Blake Crandall (wide receivers) and Ben James (offensive line) also joined the staff. Garrett Meyer has been added to the full-time staff and will work with the tight ends while Koby Schroeder (defensive line) returns for his second season as a graduate assistant.
 
ADDING UP THE MILES
West Texas A&M hits the road for the second time this season as they make the 301 mile trip to San Angelo. The 2026 schedule features six road games for the Buffs that will total 4,395 miles between institutions for a total travel schedule of 8,790 miles.
 
The Buffs will travel to Texas A&M-Kingsville (648 miles) on October 3rd. The annual Wagon Wheel Game takes place on October 17th in Portales (106 miles) before a road trip to Sul Ross State (385 miles) on Halloween night. WT makes their final trip of the regular season on November 7th as they battle Western Oregon (1,744 miles) in Monmouth.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Buffaloes have been tabbed third in the 2026 LSC Preseason Poll announced during the league's annual Media Day in McKinney, Texas.
 
Defending LSC Champion Central Washington claimed 16 of the possible 30 first place votes for a total of 276 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Western Oregon (nine first place, 247), West Texas A&M (one first place, 217), Angelo State (one first place, 215), UT Permian Basin (two first place, 203), Texas A&M-Kingsville (162), Eastern New Mexico (one first place, 125), Midwestern State (112), Western New Mexico (58) and Sul Ross State (35).
 
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 three different subscription options: $24.99 per month, $119.88 per year ($9.99/month) or a family plan for $12.99/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.
 
BACK ON THE AIRWAVES
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.
 
2025 REWIND
The Buffs made an appearance in the program's seventh bowl game in 2025 as they defeated Arkansas Tech in the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot. WT finished the season riding a four-game win streak with an 8-4 overall record. Josh Lynn guided the Buffs to the most victories in a season since 2021 as well as the most LSC wins since 2012.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE NEWS & NOTES
Only three of the 10 Lone Star Conference football teams played during Week 2. UT Permian Basin topped Western New Mexico (69-14) in the first conference game of the season, while No. 9 Central Washington fell to top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Ferris State (28-24) in Ellensburg.
 
 
WOU is tops in the league in total offense (525.5 yards per game), while Sul Ross State is tops in defense (320.5 yards per game). WOU is scoring a conference-best 43.5 points per game and CWU is allowing a league-low 26 points per game. Angelo State (34 yards per game) is the least penalized team in the LSC.
 
AFCA DIVISION II TOP 25 POLL
Reigning National Champion Ferris State picked up all 31 first place votes for a unanimous total of 775 points atop of the poll followed by Harding, Kutztown, Minnesota State, CSU Pueblo, Grand Valley State, Northwest Missouri State, Western Colorado, Findlay and Western Oregon to round out the top ten.
 
SIZE UP FRONT
The West Texas A&M offensive line features 17 student-athletes that boast a total of 4,945 pounds of blocking power for an average size of 290.1 pounds per lineman.
 
HOSTILE TERRITORY
The Angelo State football program is just three wins away from totaling 50 wins since opening LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field back in 2014. The Rams have accumulated a 47-19 overall record over the 11 seasons the Blue and Gold have called it home.
 
ON THIS DATE
The Buffaloes are 4-5 in games played on September 19th and Saturday night marks the first game on this date since the pandemic shortened 2020 campaign.
 
1953 - at Texas Tech - L, 40-14
1959 - at Arizona State - L, 43-22
1964 - vs. Ohio - L, 16-14
1970 - at Lamar - L, 33-28
1987 - at Troy - L, 45-0
1998 - vs. East Central - W, 42-0
2009 - at Southwestern Oklahoma State - W, 41-15
2015 - vs. Tarleton State - W, 52-38 (LSC Football Festival - Arlington)
2020 - vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State - W, 58-7
 
THE NEXT OPPONENT
West Texas A&M will return to Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium for the first time in 30 days when they host Midwestern State on Saturday, September 26th. It is the second longest gap between home contests since the facility opened in 2019. WT was without a home contest for 35 days between September 19, 2020 (Oklahoma Panhandle State) and October 24, 2020 (Angelo State).