LSC Week 3 Preview

September 18th, 2025 5:00am

Week 2 Recap

When I was younger, well, much younger now, Saturdays went like this: Breakfast, Saturday morning cartoons, and then pro wrestling over lunchtime before I went outside to play.  One of the things that was on these pro wrestling shows were “squash” matches, where some guy who looked they just came off the street would get absolutely pummeled by a superstar for a good 5 minutes before taking the 3-count.  We had a few of those squash matches this past week with three huge blowouts, two with LSC teams losing to Division 1 FCS opponents.  We also had Texas A&M-Kingsville hanging in there with Northwest Missouri State until things went sideways in the fourth quarter.  And finally, Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico burned the midnight oil while dodging the raindrops and lightning bolts. 

Now, about last week:

Northwest Missouri State wins at home over Texas A&M-Kingsville 49-20

Just into the fourth quarter, TAMUK kicker Daniel Gauna made a 42-yard field goal to give Kingsville 13 straight points and pull within Northwest Missouri State by a 28-20 score.  The Javelina defense had stopped the Bearcats on two consecutive drives and one more stop could have given them a chance at a tie. 

That stop never came. 

The Bearcat offense, which outside of three turnovers was nearly completely dominant, scored touchdowns on their next three drives while Kingsville punted, fumbled, and punted, turning a potential nail-biter into a runaway.   NWMSU gained 646 yards to Kingsville’s 343 and were getting big play after big play on those fourth-quarter drives against a worn-down TAMUK defense.  NWMSU played two quarterbacks who combined for 22 of 29 passes for 341 yards, four passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns, and an interception.  They also have two rushers with over 100 yards.  TAMUK’s Jack Turner made some important completions early in the game, especially to Ivan Thomas (6 catches for 67 yards) and King Phillips (5 catches for 61 yards), but threw no touchdowns as opposed to two interceptions. 

Northwest Missouri State improves to 2-1 and Texas A&M-Kingsville falls to 1-1.

West Texas A&M wins at Western New Mexico 58-27

The battle-hardened Buffaloes were looking for a chance to blow off some of their frustration from being competitive but not winning against two tough RMAC opponents, and they sure got it.  WT scored early and often, leading 42-7 at the half.  RJ Martinez completed 16 of 25 passes for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half and finished with 19 of 28 completions for 388 yards and 5 touchdowns before leaving early in the third quarter.  Knox Porter threw for 126 yards in relief of Martinez as the Buffaloes put up 684 total yards, with 514 in the air. 

WNMU did gain 446 total yards, and Connor Ackerley followed up his career-high effort last week with 324 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.  Deuce Zimmerman caught 5 passes for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns.  But, the Mustang defense once again struggled mightily and have now given up 127 points the last two weeks. 

West Texas A&M improves to 1-2 and Western New Mexico falls to 1-2.

Stephen F. Austin wins at home over Sul Ross State 63-0

I’m not going to sugar-coat this.  Outside of the games I have covered involving Lincoln, this might have been the most lopsided feat of domination by one football team I have seen (and I had to cover that monstrosity of a game between Lincoln and Central Washington, and Lincoln still managed 38 total yards!)  It was so rough that in the last half-minute of the first half, SFA recovered a fumble at the Sul Ross 27-yard line but gave the Lobos mercy by kneeling instead of going another score even when there was seemingly enough time to try for a score. The score was 56-0 SFA at the half, and SFA outgained Sul Ross 382 to minus-46 yards.  Time to drop another pro wrestling reference here to describe this one – Austin stomped a mudhole in Sul Ross and walked it dry. 

SFA ended with 534 total yards (287 passing, 247 rushing) and Sul Ross ended with -40 yards (-3 passing and -37 rushing).  Kendrick Jefferson managed 13 yards on 8 carries, and he was Sul Ross’ top offensive player of the game.  Liam Lowe was the only Lobo to catch a pass (2 catches for -3 yards).  Ouch. 

For SFA, Sam Vidlak completed 11 of 14 passes for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half.  Braden Lewis led SFA in receiving yards with 76 on 9 catches, and Anthony Williams led SFA in catches with 12 for 74 yards and a touchdown. 

I’m just happy that, as far as I know, none of the Sul Ross players were hurt in either of these games.  We all know why these games are played, and being competitive (if they can) is a bonus.  Now the Lobos will enter conference play where they can at least play teams that they have a fighting chance of competing against. 

Stephen F. Austin improves to 1-2 and Sul Ross State falls to 0-2.

#8 Angelo State wins at Eastern New Mexico 31-20

Oh boy, this was definitely not the most aesthetically-pleasing football game that you’ll see, that’s for sure.  Five turnovers (4 by ENMU), numerous dropped balls, passing being optional for most of the game…And then there was the delay. 

Angelo State was ahead 17-7 with 6:42 left in the second quarter after Rance Purser’s 38-yard field goal that came when Purser successfully executed an onside kick to give the Rams the ball back following Zeek Freeman’s 88-yard kickoff return to give ASU a 14-7 lead.  The game would be delayed for 2 and a half hours by lightning as heavy, wind-driven rain blew through Portales into western Texas.  Angelo State led even though Kaeden Smith had 2 yards passing (which, thanks in part to the weather, is what he finished with) at the time of the delay. 

ENMU did their best to scratch and claw back into the game, drawing to within 24-14 and 31-20 in the second half, but turnovers and mistakes kept putting the Greyhounds behind the proverbial 8-ball.  ENMU turned the ball over 4 times, leading to 14 Angelo State points, with the fourth and final turnover coming on ENMU’s last-minute drive to try to inch closer.  Maybe the best news that came out of this for the Greyhounds was that the running game, particularly the essential fullback dive play, finally had success as Xavier Johnson gained 103 yards on 9 carries.   However, Johnson did fumble away a potential touchdown at the ASU 20-yard line that could have brought ENMU to within 17-14 and ASU took the ball back and scored a touchdown of their own to make it 24-7.   

With the weather playing such a significant role in (especially the first half) this game, it’s probably easier to live with Smith’s struggles with passing, especially with the game ending in a win.  Not guessing the Rams want it to happen again any time soon, though. 

Angelo State improves to 3-0 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 0-3.

Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo wins at home over Western Oregon 56-7

Last year, this game was fairly competitive.  Looks like Cal Poly remembered that and scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game and ultimately 5 of their 7 drives in the first half.    Cal Poly led 35-0 at halftime, outgained WOU 353-167, and had two quarterbacks throw for over 100 yards (Ty Dieffenbach 153 yards and 3 touchdowns and Anthony Grigsby Jr. 123 yards and a touchdown).  Michael Briscoe scored four touchdowns on 6 of his catches and gained 148 yards to lead all receivers. 

For Western Oregon, Jordan McCarty did complete 23 of 40 passes for 261 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions, but the Wolves struggled either struggled to move the ball, or they had drives stall in Cal Poly territory (WOU had two turnovers on downs, a missed field goal, and an interception in Cal Poly territory.  The Wolves had 7 receivers with more than 24 receiving yards but the most anyone had was 45 yards (Carson Workman, on 3 catches).  WOU didn’t score until they were down 42-0, and Cal Poly answered that score with the final two touchdowns of the game.  Like Sul Ross, at least WOU didn’t have any injuries other than the big one they’re still dealing with on Kainoa Jones. 

Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo improves to 2-1 and Western Oregon falls to 1-1. 

LSC Week 2 Standings

Week 3 Preview

It’s the first full week of conference play andeveryone is in action, including everyone who was off last week.  It will be a long day too, starting in Oregon and ending late out in Washington with three games in Texas in the middle. 

All games are on Saturday, September 20.  All game times are in the Central time zone.

Sul Ross State at Western Oregon, 3:05 PM

Series History: Western Oregon leads 1-0

Last meeting: 2024 (Western Oregon won 39-17)  

We head to Western Oregon to start Week 3, where the Wolves will (as usual) start on “Turner Time” against a Sul Ross team that is once again on the road (they’ll finally be home next week).  It is also fairly odd that we also have a Sul Ross team that we still don’t know all that much about yet other than they are not at all competitive against the Southland Conference.  To be fair, if any LSC teams were competitive against that conference, that may have already gone there.  The total offensive output has been 61 rushes for zero yards and 12 of 22 passes for 38 yards.  That’s it, 38 yards and no points over two full games.  I hate to think that Sul Ross might actually end up surprised if and when they move the ball forward, but that’s how rough the last two weeks have been for the Lobos.  

A big question for Western Oregon is the status of quarterback Kainoa Jones.  Backup quarterback Jordan McCarty put up decent numbers despite the Wolves not being able to move the ball into position to score for most of their loss to Cal Poly.  However, they should have the advantage even if McCarty starts again.  Honestly, with how Sul Ross has played, I’m not so sure it’s worth risking Jones’ health in this game.  WOU should have the physical advantage upfront and get much-needed yardage on the ground (specifically Jermaine Land) to keep drives going and to wear down the Sul Ross defense. Western Oregon by 20 points.      

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Western New Mexico at #6 Angelo State, 6:00 PM

Series History: Angelo State leads 8-2  

Last meeting: 2024 (Angelo State won 21-0)

WNMU has given up 127 points the last two games, and their defense has given up an average of 49 points per game so far this season.  And now they head to San Angelo to face the defending LSC champions.  Oh boy.  While I’m not rooting for the WNMU defense to get to a 50-point per game average, but it is something I’ve never seen before for an entire season.  I’ve seen offenses average over 50 points per game, but never a defense.  Connor Ackerley and the Mustang receiving corps do give them a puncher’s chance to stay in the game for a while.  But that defense, oh man, I’ve already said quite a bit about that defense.

Angelo State didn’t look great last week, but they did take advantage of the numerous mistakes ENMU made, particularly the 4 ENMU turnovers.  Like Western Oregon with Kainoa Jones, I’m not so sure Angelo State brings back Braeden Fuller even if he is ready to go for a couple reasons: (1) risking another injury against WNMU and (2) give Kaeden Smith some confidence since 2 yards isn’t exactly an acceptable effort for a quarterback (unless you’re playing for ENMU or Harding, I guess).  The bottom line here is that WNMU’s defensive issues are just too significant to ignore, and while Angelo State may not be the LSC’s best offense (not sure who the best is, but I do know UTPB is the most ruthless), they are still pretty good.  Angelo State by 21 points. 

Eastern New Mexico at Midwestern State, 6:00 PM

Series History: Midwestern State leads 23-7

Last meeting: 2024 (Midwestern State won 36-15)

ENMU heads to Wichita Falls hoping they can carry over some of the positives that came over from the Angelo State game, mainly the positive plays from the running game and not committing so many turnovers.  The Greyhounds Midwestern State comes off their bye week hoping to be able to finish more drives and to gain more yards on the ground (didn’t think I would be saying that!).  Even if last week’s defensive effort was weather-aided or not, the ENMU defense needs to continue playing well to keep the game close, which might be the case this week against a Midwestern State team that hasn’t yet put together a complete game on offense.   

When it comes to who has the advantage in this game, I think it comes down to who has looked better despite neither team having a win.  While both teams have had their competitive moments, I think Midwestern State seems slightly more likely to make some big plays on offense.  MSU being at home should help as well.  Midwestern State by 7 points. 

#7 Texas-Permian Basin at Texas A&M-Kingsville, 7:00 PM

Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 6-3

Last meeting: 2024 (Texas A&M-Kingsville won 20-14)

UTPB comes off a bye week after a win over Adams State where just about everyone had playing time, while Texas A&M-Kingsville took Northwest Missouri State into the fourth quarter before their defense, which did a lot of bending, finally broke under the constant Bearcat offensive pressure.  This week the Javelinas face the same situation – an offense that would love nothing more than to put constant pressure and eventually wear out the TAMUK defense and dominate when it matters the most. 

UTPB is the one team in this matchup that has not only played a complete game as well as beating a top-level opponent.  Kingsville will have a lot of trouble being competitive if their defense continues to give up big chunks of yards like they did last week, although their offense did show some positive things in the second half at NWMSU.  I think the game will be close much of the way, and I think the TAMUK defense will be better, but the UTPB offense will be too strong.  Texas-Permian Basin by 10 points. 

West Texas A&M at #19 Central Washington, 8:00 PM

Series History: West Texas A&M leads 5-3

Last meeting: 2024 (Central Washington won 45-3)

West Texas A&M has been competitive in all three of their games this season, but it’s mainly been due to their offensive success behind RJ Martinez.  The major issues for the Buffaloes have been their defense and making stops late in games (of course, this didn’t happen last week) and the need to have a more consistent running game.  However, the Buffaloes will likely be competitive against anybody if Martinez is on his game.  

Central Washington was competitive for a half against FCS power Montana even though Kennedy McGill found very few openings with his arm or his legs.  He will need to find those spots in the running game and at least one running back needs to step up.  Also, more receivers need to get open for CWU’s offense to be more consistent.  It could be dangerous for the CWU offense if McGill continues to carry so much of the offensive load. 

If you’re up late enough to see this one, this could be a fun one.  The WT offense will be anything but boring and its fast pace and the skills of Martinez will put pressure on any defense.  Also, with the way WT played against other top-level opposition, I expect WT to be in the game well into the second half.  However, the CWU defense, even though I think they will be pushed quite a bit by the WT offense, is the defense more likely to make a play when it matters. 

Central Washington by 10 points.