LSC Week 4 Preview

September 24th, 2026 1:00pm

Week 3 Recap

Last week, we had two big comeback wins.  First, in a matchup of two top-15 teams, Central Washington came back to win in a shootout over Western Oregon.  In San Angelo, West Texas A&M got off the mat with a huge second half to win after falling behind by two scores to Angelo State. 

Then, well, there were the not-so-good.  Texas A&M-Kingsville pulled away big after a back-and-forth start against ENMU.  Texas-Permian Basin scored over 60 points for the second straight game in beating Sul Ross State.  And finally, Midwestern State…oh man, I’m really sorry, WNMU. 

Now, about last week:

Midwestern State wins at home over Western New Mexico 84-17

Midwestern State had 15 possessions on this night, and they crossed midfield each time save for their final one when they took a knee to end the game.  They scored touchdowns on their first 6 possessions, stopped only by the halftime clock.  They also scored touchdowns on 6 of their 8 second-half possessions.  MSU scored the first 42 points of the game, ending WNMU quarterback Jase Ashley’s day in short order with interceptions on two of the first three WNMU possessions, both converted to touchdowns by MSU.  MSU quarterback Kaden Brown threw for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns on 15 of 19 passes before being lifted in the second quarter for Sean Jastrab, who didn’t do too bad himself with 169 yards and 2 touchdowns.  MSU wide receiver Dalton Bailey led all receivers with 4 catches for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.  For WNMU, Demarion Postell caught 2 balls for 80 yards to lead their receivers, including a 75-yard touchdown catch. Kainan Manna threw for 197 yards in relief of Ashley and threw the touchdown to Postell.  MSU gained 708 yards of offense, a dominating 9.6 yards per play, and set the school record for most points in a game (the previous record was 82, against…guess who?  You guessed it!  WNMU!).  I shudder to think what will happen when the WNMU defensive stats get updated after this game. 

Midwestern State improves to 2-1 and Western New Mexico falls to 1-3.

West Texas A&M wins at Angelo State 27-19

We pretty much had a replay of the Angelo State-Western Colorado game, and unfortunately for the Rams, that also means they are now 0-3.  The Rams scored the only points of an ugly first half on a 2-yard catch by Donny Bishop with 8 seconds before halftime.  Cameron Dischler (119 yards on 20 carries and 2 touchdowns) then scored on a 1-yard run on the first possession of the second half, but ASU only had a 12-0 lead after failed extra point attempts following both scores.  After the drive that put the Buffaloes down 12-0 , WT would score touchdowns on their next 4 drives, taking the lead at 14-12 and then taking the lead back for good at 10-19.  Tory Simmons carried the Buffaloes during this run, scoring touchdowns of 44, 10, and 49 yards on his way to 133 yards on 9 carries.  Angelo State did have one last chance to draw even, driving the ball to the WT 14-yard line with 1:20 left in the game, but Dischler couldn’t get the 1 yard the Rams needed on fourth down to keep their hopes alive.  WT then ran out the clock and got a much needed victory, while ASU will lament too many unfinished drives (2 missed field goals, an interception, and 2 turnovers on downs) in a loss where they held the ball for over 36 minutes of the game.  The Rams outgained the Buffaloes 478 to 338 yards, had more passing and rushing yards, 11 more first downs, and 36:09 of possession time, but it still wasn’t enough. 

West Texas A&M improves to 1-2 and Angelo State falls to 0-3.

Texas-Permian Basin wins at Sul Ross State 66-7

In the “Can you top this” portion of our schedule, UTPB had a slightly more difficult time scoring compared to Midwestern State, being forced to kick a field goal on their second possession (boo), punting twice (oh no!), and getting picked off (yikes!).  Outside of that, they had 6 offensive touchdowns, two pick-sixes in the first quarter(!), and a 98-yard kickoff return on the second-half kickoff (oh boy).  The Falcons were up 66-0 before a Vince Arcuri 6-yard touchdown run with a couple minutes left in the game gave the Lobos their only points of the game. 

For UTPB, Nate TenBarge threw for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 of 27 passes.  Camden Tyler scored 2 touchdowns and ran for 93 yards on 12 carries.  Traylen Suel led with 56 receiving yards and a touchdown.  For Sul Ross, Will Howell completed 13 of 32 passes for 135 yards and had 3 interceptions.  Ronald Bell led all receivers with 81 yards on 4 catches and actually threw the second of the UTPB pick-sixes.  A real rough way to come down from the Lobos’ big win a couple weeks ago. 

Texas-Permian Basin improves to 2-1 and Sul Ross State falls to 1-2.

Texas A&M-Kingsville wins at home over Eastern New Mexico 56-22

TAMUK and ENMU went back-and-forth into the second quarter, with four lead changes seeing the Javelinas off to a 22-15 lead midway through the second quarter on a 65-yard run by Edward Chumley.  The score that gave TAMUK that 22-15 lead set off a 39-point scoring run that turned this from a competitive game to yet another blowout by the time the scoring run ended in the fourth quarter with TAMUK up 53-15.  ENMU was lucky that the Javelinas weren’t as efficient as UTPB or MSU or else TAMUK might have scored closer to that 84-point total MSU scored (or the 96 that Grand Valley State scored in their game today).  Mills Dawson completed a solid 21 of 30 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown.  Dawson also added 2 rushing touchdowns.  Chumley had his best game of the season, with 118 yards on 14 carries and 3 touchdowns.  Clifton Cooper led ENMU quarterbacks with just 63 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.  Cooper also led ENMU on the ground with 48 yards. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville improves to 1-2 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 0-3.

#10 Central Washington wins at home over #11 Western Oregon 45-36

Much like last year’s matchup between these teams, Western Oregon came out swinging, scoring the game’s first 10 points and leaving Central Washington wobbling and almost out of it.  But the Wolves never did land that knockout, giving CWU a lifeline with a Joseph Jefferson interception that was returned to the WOU 21-yard line.  David Weber’s 24-yard field goal drew the Wildcats within 10-3, and this was a new ball game.  Even though WOU would answer with another touchdown to go up 17-3, the CWU offense was finding its bearings, and that would spell big trouble for the Wolves.

The one thing WOU has had difficulty with this season was pass defense, and CWU eventually figured out how to exploit it in a big way.  Mason Juergens caught a 45-yard touchdown to bring CWU within 17-10, which started a streak of touchdowns on 6 of 7 Wildcat drives from the second quarter to the end of the game to bring CWU back from 17-3 down to 45-36 up.  Juergens in particular shredded the Wolves defense, catching 8 balls for 179 yards and a touchdown.  Isaac Torres and Wiley Donnenberg also caught long touchdown passes from Justin Brennan, who had 314 yards and 4 touchdowns on the night. 

However, WOU was never out of it, nearly matching CWU score for score until Ashton Wolff hit the upright with an extra point kick that would have tied the game at 31 with 12:20 left in the game.  WOU would never recover from that error, as CWU would go up 38-30 and a WOU 2-point attempt after drawing within 38-36 would fail.  CWU would seal the game on a Ryder Baumgarner 2-yard touchdown run on fourth down and 1. 

For Western Oregon, this was yet another gut-punch loss to CWU in a series filled with them.  This was certainly a game that lived up to the billing of a game between two top rivals and teams picked to finish at the top of the LSC this season.  It remains to be seen how both teams perform going forward, but WOU showed they were capable of staying with a likely playoff team, and CWU got a win that may have saved their playoff hopes for this season.   Congratulations to Scott Power on his first win as a college head coach.     

Central Washington improves to 1-2 and Western Oregon falls to 2-1.

LSC Standings

Week 4 Preview

The second week of conference play has UTPB looking to score above 60 again.  Western Oregon heads home looking to come back from the rivalry loss to CWU.  The Highway 287 Rivalry heads to Canyon in what might be a shootout.  TAMUK won against ENMU last week, this week they try to win against WNMU.  And finally, CWU tries to keep from falling in the trap against Sul Ross State.  

All games are on Saturday, September 26.  All game times are in the Central time zone.

Texas-Permian Basin at Eastern New Mexico, 3:00 PM  

Series History: Texas-Permian Basin leads 6-3

Last meeting: 2025 (Texas-Permian Basin won 47-34)

After getting blown out against Division 1 UTRGV, UTPB hasn’t let the foot off then gas the past two games against the two lowest-rated teams in the LSC.  The Falcons have improved in just about every aspect of the game, being able to play their second- and third-team players for much of the second half in both games.  Most impressively, UTPB has been able to put together an effective running game, although the overall running attack has thrived on depth rather than one standout performer. 

The good news for ENMU is that the offense moves the ball, gaining 450 yards per game and could put some points up on UTPB.  The bad news for ENMU is they have turned the ball over 7 times (5 interceptions), and their defense hasn’t stood up well, giving up 44 points per game and 457 yards per game.  Combine that with a time of possession of just under 24 minutes per game and your defense is going to be behind the 8-ball the entire game.   UTPB, with an improving running game and 6 interceptions in their past two games, could be equipped to do just that.  Texas-Permian Basin by 17 points.   

Angelo State at #14 Western Oregon, 3:05PM

Series History: Angelo State leads 6-1

Last meeting: 2025 (Western Oregon won 31-7)

Angelo State desperately needs to put together a full 60 minutes.  They get off to good starts but have struggled as the game goes on, allowing opponents to come back and eventually outlast them.  The Rams have also had difficulty finishing drives (see last week) and have come up empty far too much in positive territory. 

Western Oregon lost last week despite having the ball for over 35 minutes and outrushing CWU by 243 to 104 yards.  WOU turned the ball over three times, with CWU scoring 10 points off those turnovers.  Combine that with WOU’s difficulties in defending the pass, and you have the recipe for CWU offensive domination from the second quarter on.  You also have a team that has given up 33 points a game and over 310 passing yards a game.  If the Wolves don’t get pressure on the quarterback, they could be in trouble. 

Angelo State has enough to give any team in the LSC a run, but they haven’t yet put together that complete game yet.  Any WOU fan knows that was once the curse of the Wolves, who have put together a lot of complete games the past season-plus (but not last week).  If I’m WOU, I would be a bit worried if Ayden Arp is finding Alan Dobbins and Donny Bishop with any frequency.   I expect the Wolves will win the battle upfront, and their offense will eventually wear down the Rams defense. It won’t be easy though. Western Oregon by 7 points. 

Midwestern State at West Texas A&M, 7:00 PM

Series History: West Texas A&M leads 23-15

Last meeting: 2025 (West Texas A&M won 56-42)

The Highway 287 Rivalry returns for game number 49.  WT finally got in the win column with a hard-fought win at Angelo State, and Midwestern State obliterated WNMU.  The Mustangs look like they might have some good things going on offense, with quarterback Kaden Brown averaging 324 passing yards a game (his lowest output was the WNMU game, where he only played in the first half).  WT got on a roll in the second half and overtook Angelo State

This may be the closest game of the week, and it may come down to whose quarterback (and whose offense) can be more efficient.  So far this season, Midwestern State has been that team.  While I know that WT has played a much tougher level of opposition, their win over Angelo State was, in part, the result of a lot of “bend but don’t break” on defense, which is something that will be difficult to sustain week-to-week.  Don’t be surprised if this is a shootout.  Midwestern State by a field goal. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville at Western New Mexico, 7:00 PM

Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 9-1

Last meeting: 2025 (Texas A&M-Kingsville won 64-13)

Another year, more defensive struggles for WNMU.   The Mustangs sit dead last in the country in scoring defense, giving up 63.25 points per game after that disaster last week against Midwestern State.  WNMU will need to win with their offense, and they didn’t get any of that last week against UTPB.  Jase Ashley was relieved early in the game after two early interception, but no WNMU player or players could provide relief from the Midwestern State attack.  The Mustangs seriously need to get something positive going on offense for their own confidence and to keep the defense off the field. 

It’s still hard to know where TAMUK stands given their tough non-conference schedule and a blowout over ENMU, but they were able to turn on the cruise control after a back-and-forth start.  If the TAMUK ground game can have success like they did last week, that will give Mills Dawson ample opportunities to have another effective game. 

In all honesty, I hate that I’m spending so much time spouting out negativity about the WNMU defense.  I know they’re talented athletes and they’re able to do things that I personally could never do despite their results.  I hate that this has been the norm for them for the past two seasons because their offense has had their moments of brilliance and excitement.  However, until WNMU shows that their defense can come close to stopping anyone in conference play, I just can’t go with the Mustangs.  Texas A&M-Kingsville by 17 points. 

Sul Ross State at #9 Central Washington, 7:00 PM

Series History: Central Washington leads 2-0

Last meeting: 2025 (Central Washington won 73-7)

Sul Ross State came back to earth in a big way after their first win of the season, and Central Washington made sure any rumors of their demise were very premature with a comeback win over Western Oregon.  The Wildcats have shown that “iron sharpens iron” as they have performed at a high level despite losing their first two games.  Mason Juergens is making a run for All-American status, leading the nation with 10 catches per game to go along with a top-10 418 receiving yards.  Justin Brennan is the clear leader of the offense, although (if you can believe it) a more consistent running game could benefit him.  On defense, Brycen Indell came back in a big way last week with 16 tackles and two tackles for loss. 

Sul Ross State should rightfully be happy they won’t go through 2026 winless, and for what it’s worth, their overall statistics haven’t been terrible.  However, UTPB was their best opponent after games with an NAIA school and Adams State, and CWU has performed at higher level than the Falcons.  Maybe the Wildcats get caught looking ahead to Angelo State next week, and maybe the Lobos make things ugly for a bit, but they’re not quite ready for prime time in their first road game of the season.  Central Washington scores early and often and wins big.  Central Washington by 24 points.