West Texas A&M (1-2, 1-0) vs. Midwestern State (2-1, 1-0)
Date	Saturday, September 26th | 6700 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium
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 return to the friendly confines of Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium this Saturday as they welcome the Midwestern State Mustangs for Lone Star Conference action with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. in Canyon.
 
GAME SPONSOR / DARK MODE
Saturday's game is proudly presented by Carpet Tech. Members of Buff Nation are encouraged to wear black for Dark Mode, the first 500 fans will receive a t-shirt courtesy of United Supermarkets. Tailgating along 26th Street begins at 3:00 p.m. with gates opening at 6:00 p.m. West Texas A&M Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for the 2026 campaign.
 
WEEK 4 MATCHUPS
Week 4 will feature all Lone Star Conference teams playing in the same week for the second consecutive week. The matchup between West Texas A&M and Midwestern State is the only game of the week that features a pair of unbeaten squads in LSC play.
 
UT Permian Basin makes their way to the Land of Enchantment to take on Eastern New Mexico while Angelo State takes the long road trip to Monmouth for a showdown against #17 Western Oregon. Western New Mexico welcomes Texas A&M-Kingsville to Silver City for league action while Sul Ross State makes their way to Ellensburg to take on #14 Central Washington. All Lone Star Conference football contests are broadcasted live on FloCollege. 
 
FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME
West Texas A&M returns to Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium for the first time in 30 days when they host Midwestern State on Saturday night. 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).
 
MSU HEAD COACH RICH RENNER
Rich Renner is in his third season at the helm of the Midwestern State football program after serving as the Defensive Coordinator for the Mustangs from 2008-23. Renner has spent 18 years on staff at Midwestern State, being elevated to the 13th head coach in school history on December 10, 2023.
 
Renner had mentored seven All-Americans, 23 All-Region selections, and 23 All-LSC First Team performers during his time in Wichita Falls. The Cincinnati native is no stranger to Canyon as he spent time as a linebackers and defensive line coach at WT from 2000-05. Renner played collegiately at the University of Louisville.
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs enter the weekend with an overall record of 2-1 as they began Lone Star Conference play with a big 84-17 victory over Western New Mexico last Saturday in Wichita Falls. The win marked the most points scored in a game in MSU history as the Stangs finished with 708 yards of total offense, scoring on each of their six drives in the first half.
 
Kaden Brown guides the Midwestern State offense as the junior from Midlothian has completed 73-of-103 passes for 973 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions. Brown threw for a season-best 390 yards and two scores in the season opening win over Missouri Southern. MSU leads all of Division II football in passing offense (389.3) while sitting third in total offense (544.0) and sixth in scoring offense (47.0).
 
Dalton Bailey has become the go-to target, snagging 11 passes for 212 yards and a team-best three touchdowns. Junior running back Joseph Dodds has carried the load in the backfield for the Mustangs as the Markham, Texas product has 156 rushing yards on 35 carries with three touchdowns. 
 
Nathanael Hall leads the way on the defensive side of the ball as the sophomore from Katy has registered a team-best 15 total tackles (six solo). The Mustangs are 14th in the country in interceptions (5) as Brycen Lewis is tied for the national lead with three interceptions.
 
THE SERIES
The Buffs lead the all-time series 23-15 against the Mustangs dating back to the 1947 campaign with WT wining the last six meetings. The Mustangs are 8-12 all-time in Canyon including 0-4 inside of Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. 
 
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 six 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), Ben James (offensive line) and Avery Morrow (running backs) 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.

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
ll 10 Lone Star Conference football teams were in league action during Week 3. No. 16 Central Washington, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Permian Basin and West Texas A&M all prevailed.
 
MSU is tops in the league in total offense (544 yards per game), while Sul Ross State is tops in defense (345.7 yards per game). MSU is scoring a conference-best 47 points per game and UTPB is allowing a league-low 21.7 points per game. CWU (35.3 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 Slippery Rock 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.
 
ON THIS DATE
The Buffaloes are 1-6-1 in games played on September 26th and Saturday night marks the first game on this date since the pandemic shortened 2020 campaign.
 
1953 - vs. McMurry - T, 20-20
1959 - vs. Arizona - L, 7-6
1964 - vs. Arizona State - L, 34-8
1970 - vs. Wichita State - W, 43-0
1987 - at Mississippi College - L, 28-16
1992 - at Cameron - L, 44-10
2015 - vs. Angelo State - L, 35-17
2020 - at Angelo State - L, 21-10
 
LSC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WT senior running back Tory Simmons has been named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week announced by the league's offices on Monday.
 
Simmons had 133 yards and three touchdowns – two in the fourth quarter – on just nine carries to fuel a 27-19 road win over Angelo State. Simmons' first TD run was for 44 yards and came in the third quarter to give the Buffs their first lead, 14-12. He then provided WT another lead, 20-19, on a 10-yard run with 8:04 to play. The Florida product sealed the Buffs' first win in San Angelo, Texas, since 2018 with a 49-yard scoring run with 6:14 remaining. His three rushing TDs are tied for the second most in a single game in the LSC this season. Simmons also caught one pass for seven yards.
 
THE NEXT OPPONENT
West Texas A&M hits the road next Saturday as they make their way to South Texas to take on the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. at Javelina Stadium. TAMUK leads the all-time series 20-19-1 as they Buffs are 9-10-1 in Kingsville in a series that dates back to the 1939 campaign. WT claimed a 21-14 victory during their last trip to South Texas back on November 2, 2024.