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LSC: Week 7 Previews: Colby Carthel Heads back to Canyon to take on his former team.

Taking a look around the region, there are some big matchups for NCAA playoff implications in the GLIAC:

Ohio Dominican (4-2) v. Ferris State (5-0) – Rematch of last year’s NCAA Playoffs.
Grand Valley State (5-1) v. Michigan Tech (5-0) – Playoffs are on the line.


Thoughts around the LSC:

-Texas A&M Kingsville gets better every week. Is Wilkinson getting this team ready to surge back to the top?

-Tarleton State won in the final minutes, in a much needed win. Fowler is definitely on the ropes in Stephenville.


-West Texas A&M: is this the same team that beat Colorado State Pueblo?

-ENMU unloaded on Bacone last week. Do you think Bacone is tired of playing the LSC and getting beat badly?

-Texas A&M Commerce survives unscathed to see another day, tough trip to former Carthel land in Canyon, TX.

-Angelo State has slipped off a bit. NCAA tournament bid is on the line, here on out.

-Midwestern State: Bill Maskill: “This team really has something going for it. I don’t know what to call it; but, we are playing hard.”

Joe’s Lone Star Conference Rankings
The third week of the LSC rankings have come for the LSC Blog. There are 3 regular season weeks left until the LSC playoff on November 7th.
  1. Texas A&M Commerce (5-1) (4-0) – The Lions got it done in many different fashions last week to take down the Angelo Rams: Punt Block for a score, INT by Demarlon Morris for a pick 6, FGs and the general old offensive scoring methods. The strong first half by the Lions and the blocked punt for a score in the 3rd quarter was just enough to pull a 38-35 win. Like I have said, if the Lions can fix the secondary, they have the capacity to go deep in the NCAA playoffs. They did get gashed again last week, giving up 346 passing yards to the Rams. Only lost 1 fumble; but, their turnover ratio is still very good for it being week 7. Causing 3 Ram turnovers certainly did help (2 INTs and 1 fumble).
  2. Midwestern State (6-0) (4-0) – The Mustangs finally enter the D2Football Top 25 Poll at #18 this week. Strangely enough, the Mustangs have had a pick 6 for the past 2 weeks on their initial possession after halftime. However, both proved not to be enough, as Midwestern bested both Angelo and WT. However, it is a strange coincidence that this happened in both games, in the same fashion. RB Vincent Johnson had a big game last week with an 84-yard burst to seal the game. He finished with a career-high 190 yards and TDs. Mustangs face a tough and unbeaten Humboldt State team. Thank goodness this game is at home for the Mustangs.
  3. Angelo State (4-2) (1-2) – Angelo State fought back hard last week against a 17-point 3rd quarter lead by Commerce. Over the last several games for the Rams, we have seen multiple breakdowns in Special Teams play and overall turnovers. The Rams have turned the ball over 7 times in 2 games. This doesn’t even count the S/T errors. The Ram run defense really stepped up this week holding the Lions to 148 yards on 46 attempts. Sophomore Wide Receiver Donovan Thompson had a heck of a day with 9 catches for 127 yards and a score. The defense also put 4 sacks on the opposing offense and did well getting into the backfield. It was certainly a winnable game last week and really nice to watch it in High Definition on ESPN 3. Overall, the NCAA Playoffs are on the line for the Rams…one more loss and you’re undoubtedly out!!!
  4. Eastern New Mexico (4-2) (1-2) - ENMU has had their share of setbacks so far this season; having to play the top 2-teams in back to back weeks against MSU and TAMC. The certainly are a solid team in the LSC and continue to impress. Could this team still have hopes for the NCAA playoffs…Most certainly. They need to run the table though and get a little better on defense. The Hounds have yet to throw an INT and have only turned the ball over 5 times. Pretty impressive. They have a long drive to Stephenville this week against a struggling Texans team. ENMU hasn’t beaten Tarleton since 2010 and that will probably change this week.
  5. West Texas A&M (2-3) (1-2) – Any hopes or chances for the Buffs to reach the NCAA playoffs came to an end as the final quarter buzzer blew at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls this Saturday. This team is in jeopardy of going 5-6 or 6-5 this season. 8 false start penalties did no favors for the already struggling Buff offense. It wasn’t until later in the 2nd half that the offense had at least 100 yards passing. Everything fell onto Alridge-Mitchell with 40 attempts for 189 rush yards to help keep the Buffs in the game. It appears that the WT potent offenses that we knew from 2005-2013 are a thing of the past…
  6. Tarleton State (1-4) (1-3) – The Texans have had their ups and downs. However, getting a solid win with 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and scoring with 1:10 left in the game sealed the win last week against the Javelinas. QB Alex Craig did just enough to get his team into position for the win. A big day by RB Sadler with 132 rushing yards and 2 TDs certainly made things go in the right direction for the Texans. Bubba Tandy and Le’Nard Meyers are still getting it done at the Wide Receiver position with a combined 187 receiving yards and 3 Tds.
  7. Texas A&M Kingsville (1-5) (0-3) – The Javelinas go back down to #7 after a heartbreaker to Tarleton State. The efforts of Pitre, Vasquez, Carr, Te’o and Thomas put up a sizable run day for the Javelinas with 194 rushing yards. Carr is still passing the ball well but still giving up too many INTs. Kingsville was able this week to not fumble the ball and only resulted in 2 INT turnovers. Overall, a good job on hanging on to the ball and not being plagued by turnovers. The big thing that I saw last week was the red zone scoring going 3 for 4 in the red zone.



Week 7 Previews and Predictions:


Eastern New Mexico (4-2) v. Tarleton State (1-4), 6 p.m. Kickoff

Stephenville, TX

ENMU hit the 2,000 rushing yardage total this season against Bacone in their week 6 game, accompanied by 28 rushing TDs. The defense is a bit shaky in the pass defense but not terrible. They are certainly going to need the secondary to be on their toes this week as they visit WRs Meyers and Tandy of Tarleton, two of the best in the conference. Look for the triple option offense to continue to be successful against a struggling defense in the Texans.

Tarleton State will need everything they can get to keep up with ENMU or the Hounds will control the game and everyone will look up and the game is over. The Texans have certainly not done much so far to stop the run and that may not change this week (1,381 total rushing yards given up). However, they have a renewed sense and should have some momentum at home after a much-needed victory.

Like many others, I am still surprised at both of these teams. Tarleton not what it was in 2013 and ENMU barely falling twice in decisive losses.

Concluding thoughts: The Tarleton State QB has to make the big plays to stay in this one and the defense needs to lock down the run and watch for the wide-open play that Buurma likes to throw when the Hounds have a plethora of running plays already ran.
Greyhounds score early and control the clock.

Prediction: ENMU 50 Tarleton State 35



Texas A&M Kingsville (1-5) v. (AFCA #25) Angelo State (4-2), 7 p.m. Kickoff

San Angelo, TX, Memorial Stadium

Angelo State has just not had things go their way the past few weeks. I can contribute this to several things: turnovers, Special Teams failures and overall lack of potency on offense (at times). That still goes without saying that Kyle Washington is still one of the best in the LSC. Similar to ENMU, the Rams have just not been able to win those critical games this season for those aforementioned issues. They welcome an improved Javelina team that would love to take full advantage of the current woes of the Rams. Angelo now has 14 turnovers on the season. That equates to 2.3 turnovers per game, not a good statistic for a team that is supposed to be making a push back to the playoffs.

The Javelinas took the Texans all the way to the wire in what was a phenomenal game. Similar to the Rams, Kingsivlle has the tendency to turn the ball over with a total of 13 turnovers on the season, with 10 coming in the INT department. The offense has looked good at times with averaging 26.3 points per game; however, to win games in the LSC, teams probably need to average around at least 30 points per game. Of course, if your defense is a beast then you just need to limit them to under 21 points to be really effective. I still have concerns with the Javelina running game. It has not been near effective enough to pose a threat to opposing teams and that is definitely an issue (630 total rush yards).

Concluding thoughts: The Javelinas just need some more time to be a top team and Angelo State is one of those top teams right now, even if they have lost the last two games. I think this game will be competitive throughout with the Rams pulling away in the 4th quarter. I still believe that Carr is turning the ball over too much to keep the Javelinas in this game at the end.
Angelo gets a much needed win…and keeps their NCAA playoff hopes alive.

Prediction: Angelo State 35 Texas A&M Kingsville 21


West Texas A&M (2-3) v. #10 Texas A&M Commerce (5-1), 5 p.m. Kickoff

Canyon, TX, Kimbrough Memorial Stadium


The Buffaloes had every opportunity to beat Midwestern State last week. They just could not get anything going in the passing game and had to resort to their standout RB Geremy Alridge-Mitchell. WT is still a solid team and is no push over. They are just having a funky season with their diminished passing attack. One would think that if the passing game is not what is usually is and you have an all-star running back on the team, that you would adapt and implement more featured running plays for Alridge-Mitchell.

There will be a lot of emotions riding high in this game as these staffs know each other pretty well. This game will be nothing like the last visit to Canyon by the Commerce Lions. So, expect lots of emotions, lots of hard hitting and probably some players talking trash to one another. The stakes are high in this one. Who cares what each team’s record is.

West Texas has struggled at times; but has really been in every game that they have been in. They had opportunities to win against Azusa, Angelo and Midwestern. A lack of offense in the passing game appears apparent each week for the buffaloes with only 1,017 pass yards on the season. Ethan Brinkley has some growing to do and will probably continue to be the guy this week. It seems that WT doesn’t appear to have that one standout receiver like they tend to have this season.

Texas A&M Commerce comes into this looking for a win after their last thumping in Canyon (2013: WT 62 TAMC 28). The Lions are averaging 45 points and game and limiting 25 points per game, which is close to what WT is averaging (28.2 pts per game). The most points that Commerce has given up to any LSC team was last week to Angelo (35 points). The pass defense is still giving up big chunks of yards but they do have 11 takeaways. This is their ***** in the armor, which leads me to my concluding point here in a second. The running game has been tremendous, led by juggernauts Cooper and Wofford, together they average 240.34 yards per game.

Concluding Thoughts: In order for a WT victory, they have to pass the ball better than they have all season. In order for Commerce to pull it out, they need to slow down Geremy Alridge-Mitchell and force the Buffs to win through the air.

I will be see ya’ll out there Buff and Lions fans.

Colby Carthel leaves Kimbrough with a victory.

Prediction: Texas A&M Commerce 35 West Texas A&M 24


#15 Humboldt State (6-0) v. #18 Midwestern State (6-0), 8 p.m. Kickoff
Wichita Falls, TX, Memorial Stadium

This is definitely one of the biggest games of the week. Strange that it does not come between 2 LSC teams but 2 teams that are still undefeated.
The Jacks of Humboldt State are accomplishing big things this season. They are averaging 50 points per game and only allowing 18.80 points per game. They like to get things done on the ground with 1,541 total rushing yards. They have incredibly only had 3 total turnovers this season. The guy to keep your eye on is Sophomore Star-Running Back Ja’Quan Gardner, with an impressive 1,050 yards and 15 TDs on the season. He is on average going for 210 yards per game. If that’s not an ace up the sleeve, the Jacks are having success with QB Webber, who is 59-98 with 1 INT and 793 passing yards for 10 TDs. The defense has a stellar rush defense with only allowing 601 rushing yards and the pass defense has only allowed 1,147 passing yards.

In essence, the Mustangs have their work cut out for them. I think that Coward will need to open it up a bit through the air and they will need to maximize on some big plays.

The GNAC is overall not as strong as the LSC, however, this team doesn’t need to be handled lightly or the Mustangs could catch themselves in a loss. We will have a big clash this week in Wichita Falls.

QB Hutchinson should be back this week; but, I expect Coward to start.

Concluding Thoughts:
What a heck of an out of conference contest. Two unbeatens meet past the midway point in the season. Whatever the mojo that the Mustangs have, they will need it all working this week. Look for Bill Maskill to pull out the works taking on this good Humboldt State team.
The Mustangs in a thriller!

Prediction: Midwestern State 31 Humboldt State 28