It was a very interesting week of football to say the least. I faired pretty well this week going 3-1 and missing on the WT-Angelo game and I don't think many thought it would be as high scoring as it was. Now, I move to 14-6 on the season. I have been excited about the good LSC matchups so far this season. I was able to have all games up and watching except the ENMU-TAMC game because they had some technical difficulties but I followed the live stats all the way. There was some very good games this past weekend and more are to come before this season concludes.


Thoughts around the LSC:

-Angelo State: What happened to the Rams in the 2nd half last week?

-Can ENMU play like they did last season or is their secret out and everyone knows?

-Midwestern State is the surprise this season like their typical fashion.

-McMurry played well last week but Kingsville is not like they used to me.

-Will Tarleton State lose 3 straight games?

-Texas A&M Commercehas not been challenged this season (excluding SFA).

-West Texas exploded last week in the passing game. Can they get back on the right track?




　
J
We have another shake up this week in the Conference Rankings. Just as a reminder, these are the rankings that I feel are where each team stands on the LSC spectrum. I look at the records but focus more on the play of each team against the others. I try to make it as realistic and accurate as possible. The first record is the overall record and the second record is their LSC record. Feel free to comment if you think I am wrong and why.

  1. [*=1]
    Midwestern State (3-0) (2-0he number 1 ranking should not come as a surprise to any one. The Mustangs earned a hard fought win against the Texans last week and remain on top. The Mustangs have been balanced and Glover has played better than I certainly anticipated. Their defense has been the most impressive aspect of the team. Through 3 games they have tallied 26 TFLs, 9 sacks, 3 INTs and 9 QB hurries. The major concern for the Mustangs is the passing game. Glover is completing 46.8% of his passes, which is not great to keep the balance that this offense wants. Improvement is needed in this area but he is a great downfield passer as we have seen over the last three weeks. He also appears to be a great running QB similar to previous QB Kelsey; however, Kelsey was a more effective runner and had better numbers than Glover has currently. They have a big game this week at home against a Rams team that should prove to be better than they were last year.

    [*=1]
    Texas A&M Commerce (3-1) (2-0is Lions team has really stepped up and let loose this season. Excluding the SFA game, the Lions have been stellar offensively. It is a little difficult to tell just what this team can do because they put up such extreme numbers against East Texas and it skews their stats a little bit. I cannot even fathom how this defense already has 48 TFLs with 212 tackle yards on the season, which is #1 in all of Division 2. That shows they are getting into the backfield consistently every game and proves to be a nightmare for offensive lines. Rollison is top 5 in Division 2 in passing yards per game and has a 67.46% completion, which proves to be a true testament about how well this passing game is. The running game has been effective for such a pass-heavy team and Bergeron is proving to becoming a great addition to this team. The number of fumbles (8) and the secondary is what has concerned me. The secondary has given up 1,140 yards but have still been able to get 7 INTs which does bode well. Overall, the Lions have played well and will have their first big test against the Texans, who desperately need a win this week.

    [*=1]
    Tarleton State (1-2) (1-1s have really had a tough go at it lately. Losing 2 straight games cannot be a good sign for the pre-season favorite. The Texans have accumulated 703 rushing yards and 703 passing yards. I don't think a team can get anymore balanced than those numbers. They are right on track to have the same exact numbers that they had last season. Then, why have they lost 2 straight games? The defense is giving up 493 yards per game, which is quite a bit for a team that is trying to win the LSC title again. That amount is 50 plus yards up from last season. Strangely enough that can be the difference-maker. The Texans have been in every game that they have won and lost this season and will continue to be. They have lost by a small margin the past two weeks. They will need to stiffen the defense up some more and come away with more TDs in the red zone than 8 for 15. The Texans have another big contest against a good Lion offense.

    [*=1]
    West Texas A&M (2-2) (1I am not sure what to think about this WT team going into week 5. They have been uncharacteristic offensively until the 2nd half last week. I was wondering if Rabb was going to make the step forward and find what he was looking for. It appeared that he had it all figured out last week against Angelo State. I still need one more game to see if he has made the transition for good or if he just had a good night. My mind tells me that he has made that step forward and now we are seeing why Nesbitt gave him the start. If the Buffs continue to play like they did in the 2nd half last week, they can definitely win out. Their weakness so far has been the passing game and run defense. The pass seemed to be in full swing last week and looks to be heading in the right direction. Now, can the defense step up and make some more stops and plays in the back field. The secondary looked better last week getting 3 INTs off of Kyle Washington. The buffs made some good adjustments last week and the play calling was definitely a great game plan. Buffs should win this week, setting up a showdown against Midwestern.

    [*=1]
    Angelo State (2-1) (1-1The Rams proved to be very explosive offensively last week but did not show up in the 2nd half at all. The defense has been stellar coming into last week's game but had not been challenge until playing WT. Like many of you posters have said, Angelo has fallen down to the #5 spot and will need to beat Midwestern State to prove they belong in the tops of the LSC. The Ram rush defense has been great this season only giving up 105 yards per game. We will see how that holds up against a run dominant team like Midwestern this week. The passing defense is their real concern and will need a lot of work moving forward. The team has been very successful with not turning the ball over nearly as much as the rest of the LSC teams, with only 4 turnovers coming in the INT department. If this team can really focus on fixing the secondary, they have a real shot to finishing big this season. So far the Rams have been impressive but need a big win over one of these teams: TAM-C, Tarleton or Midwestern. This week will be interesting to watch, as they are the featured game of the week below.

    [*=1]
    Eastern New Mexico (2-2) (0-2) - The Grey Hounds have jumped out to a difficult start by dropping both of their first 2 LSC games to Midwestern and Commerce, which are difficult teams to beat. They jumped out early on Midwestern but faded. They really never got much going against Commerce last week. They have been very impressive in shutting down opposing team rushing games this season with only giving up 203 total yards. Pretty good considering they already played Midwestern; however, they were burned a lot on the deep ball in that game. The pass defense and turnover battle has been their true down fall with having 8 turnovers and giving up 1,244 passing yards on the season. Like I previously stated, the Hounds are getting decimated with the deep ball. Commerce and Midwestern exploited the deep pass on the ENMU defense and it paid dividends. The major highlight is that their rushing game has really blossomed and is averaging a little under 300 yards per game. ENMU will have to fix their woes to have any chance of finishing well this season.

    [*=1]
    McMurry(2-1) (1-1) - McMurry performed very well last week against the Javelinas. The offense clicked very well against the Javelinas. The defense will need to continue causing turnovers each week to stay on the right path. The offense has committed 8 turnovers in 3 contests which is 2.6 turnovers per game and does not help this offense that needs all the opportunities that they can get. The passing game has been on par as it was last year. It just doesn't seem like this team has the athleticism as the top teams in the LSC. The McMurry program has played well so far and they will need all the help they can get this week coming into Canyon, Texas.

    [*=1]
    Texas A&M Kingsville (1-3) (0-2Javelinasare continuing to have issues each week. The passing game has really become subpar this season and not effective at all. I thought Rios could come in and make some improvements but it did not appear that way last week. The rushing game has been decent but not very impressive either. The defense has played fairly decent in the first 4 weeks. However, they are still waiting for an interception to occur. The real trouble spot are the turnovers. It's hard to win games with 10 turnovers in 4 contests. Lots of improvement is needed if the Javelinas want to do better than last season.



Week 5 Previews and Predictions:



This weekend will answer more questions that we have about some of this LSC teams that have been unproven. We will see two big matchups with Commerce and Tarleton, as well as, Angelo and Midwestern. Hopefully this week I can finish 4-0 in predictions...it just makes it so difficult with these teams and how fast things can change each week and even during the game. Let's move on to this week's slate of games...



Texas A&M Kingsville (1-3) v. Eastern New Mexico (2-2), Saturday, 7 p.m. Kickoff
Kingsville, TX, Javelina Stadium

Weather: High: 83 degrees Low: 68 degrees partly cloudy with wind 5 to 9 MPH

The Javelinaswelcome the Hounds to Javelina stadium. This game is a must-win for both of these LSC teams. Both teams are on a 2-game skid; however, that will end for one of these teams this week. ENMU comes in with their always potent rushing attack and big play-action plays. The Javelinas are coming in with a decent rushing attack and an ambiguous passing game. Both teams are struggling with holding on to the ball. ENMU has a lot of offensive firepower with already 1,904 yards on the season, while Kingsville has 600 less yards than the Hounds. ENMU has really been shutting the run game down each week, which will need to continue with this aspect being the strength of the Javelinas. Kingsville will need to really improve their passing game to exploit the susceptible ENMU secondary. The Hounds have given up a lot of passing yards to opposing offenses and hopefully the Javelina staff realizes that and tries all they can to make their point clear to passing the ball as much as possible. All in all, I just don't think the Javelinas have enough offense to out perform the Hounds this season. They will need to cause multiple turnovers and come away with points as a direct result to keep the Hounds down and out of this game. ENMU gets back on the winning track this week as the Javelinas continue to fix their woes.

Prediction: ENMU 38 Texas A&M Kingsville 20
Tarleton State(1-2) v.Texas A&M Commerce(3-1), 7 p.m. Kickoff
Commerce, TX Memorial Stadium

Weather: High: 76 degrees Low: 51 degrees with partly cloudy skies and wind around 5 to 10 MPH

The Lions welcome the Texans to Commerce, TX in a main stage battle showdown of top LSC teams. A couple of the best teams in the LSC will be battling to see who can make a run for the top spot in the LSC. This will be one of the biggest games of the week and the first true test for the Commerce Lions. The Texans are giving up more yards through the air than on the ground. The Lions should look to pass it early and often with their 150 attempts on the season and 1,486 passing yards. The Texans will need to slow the pass and cause interceptions which they have only done twice this season. Overall, this should be a game not to miss by fans on both sides. What is the main difference maker in this game? Who will rise up and win this game? I think the difference maker is the Lion rushing defense that is only allowing a 154 yards per game. They have been a completely decimating opposing backfields and rushing attacks. It will be intriguing to see if they can cause major problems for a good Texan offense that is need of a victory on their 2-game skid. I think they will get to Strahan several times and cause enough problems to win this game at home. This will be a close game unless a lot of turnovers occur. Lions move on...

Prediction: Texas A&M Commerce 35 Tarleton State 32


West Texas A&M(2-2) v.McMurry (2-1), 3 p.m. Kickoff
Canyon, TX, Kimbrough Memorial Stadium

Weather: High: 75 degrees Low: 47 degrees, clear with 5 to 10 MPH wind

Can this be the same WT team that we saw in week 1-3? It didn't appear that way last weekend when they put up 58 points and 495 yards of passing from Preston Rabb. Did Rabb figure it out? Did he find the lost key to what he was missing? It certainly looked like it last week. The defense made good adjustments at the half and came on strong. Improvement is still needed on the offense and defense sides of the ball. Their score last week almost equaled all of their previous games in week 1 to 3. It appeared like a changed team last week with the play of Rabb. We need to continue to watch the progression of the new QB and his throwing power and accuracy. On the other side, McMurry come off a great win over Kingsville at home and will hope to give WT all they can handle at Homecoming. The Warhawks need to continue working on the turnover battle and fix the 8 turnovers they have on the season. The hawks may try to run more this week as the Buffs have been susceptible to the running game; however, the hawks will need to run well, which is something they have not done yet this season. Jeret Smith has clearly been the leader on the team averaging 74 yards receiving per game and getting in the end zone 4 times this season. They will need all that he can give in this uphill battle at WT. Ultimately, I just don't think the McMurry offense has enough offense to keep up with the buffs. I think Rabb will have another big day with some good running by Aldridge and the buff secondary has really stepped up since week 1 and made 6 interceptions on the season, which doesn't bode well for a pass-heavy team. Rabb finds his rhythmand rhyme...Buffs roll and await the arrival of Midwestern State next week...Lots of points again this week.

Prediction: WestTexas A&M 66 McMurry 31



Game of the Week: Angelo State(2-1) v. #20 Midwestern State(3-0), 7 p.m. Kickoff
Wichita Falls, TX Memorial Stadium

Weather: High: 78 degrees Low: 55 degrees mostly cloudy with 5 to 7 MPH winds

Angelo State has played strong every game this season, except for the second half against West Texas last week. The Rams were high flying by passing and running the ball very effectively against WT. They put up a good 35 points in the first half. However, it was like a different team came out in the second half. They only could muster a measly 6 points after scoring 35 points in the first half. They will have to find their mojo this week to stand up against a good Midwestern team in Wichita Falls. Kyle Washington is definitely a good athlete but will need to be accurate this week against a good Midwestern defense.

The Mustangs were in a big game against the Texans last week and it came down to the end of the game for the win to be sealed. Their game last week was back and forth the whole game, staying neck and neck all the way and squeaking out the win with 1 minute remaining. The Mustangs have been pretty balanced this season with having more rushing attempts than passes, which is typical for this offense. Glover is still lacking with his passing percentage being under 50%. He will need to improve if they want to continue winning and to try and exploit a vulnerable Rams secondary that was clearly seen last week.

The key for Angelo State to win this game is to fix their second half mistakes from last week. The secondary gave up a lot of pressure on the receivers and it was exploited. The running game will need improvement this week against the Mustangs to keep a balanced attack prominent in this week. This may require Washington running more. Midwestern has been playing pretty good ball and will need to keep their game plan sound at all levels. They will have to be ready for a team that should want to prove something this week. The Rams will have to drive against the Mustangs who have only been allowing 21 points per game, tops in the LSC.

This game comes down to several things. Angelo State will need to make adjustments accordingly. It didn't seem like they made any last week. The Rams will need to put pressure in the backfield and on Glover to make him throw some miscues and the Ram defense will need to step up against the pass and defend it better. Giving up 495 yards last week will not cut it. Throw the run game in with Blake Smith and Washington getting into the open field will need to be a must. The Mustangs should be ready for another big matchup and will throw all the wrenches to stop this high-firing Ram offense.

I just don't know if this Rams team is ready to take that next step against a good Mustang team that is proving to be tops in the LSC. Can the Rams win this game? Yes.They have the firepower and the talent. They just need to put it all together. Midwestern stays unbeaten...

Prediction: Midwestern State 35 Angelo State27