October 16th, 2025 4:00am
Week 6 Recap
For once, we didn’t have a week with all blowouts. The LSC had three of the last four games go to just about the very end. There were also two upsets, although anyone associated with Central Washington would probably be a bit upset with me that I consider their win as an “upset”. The one game that didn’t join the others in being a nail-biter? Well, that would be the MSU/Sul Ross State game, although the Lobos did make some progress in their loss.
Now, about last week:
Western Oregon wins at Eastern New Mexico 21-18
The good news for Western Oregon’s Jordan McCarty – He had his best passing game in 3 weeks. The bad news – it was 59 yards. The Wolves had quite an ugly first half, trailing ENMU 10-0 after the Greyhounds scored on their final two possessions of the first half, including a 10-minute drive that saw them get the first points of the game on a 29-yard field goal by Ryan Travis. Jonathon Carter’s 11-yard touchdown pass from Chad Ragle made it 10-0 going into the half.
The second half was dominated by WOU, alternating touchdowns and punts on their five drives of consequence in the second half while ENMU couldn’t keep up. The Wolves took control on the ground, with McCarty doing his best Kennedy McGill impersonation by gaining 120 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. Once again. ENMU was outgained on the ground, with WOU gaining 229 yards to ENMU’s 187. The Greyhounds did their best to try for a last-minute rally when Chad Ragle scored on a 4-yard run and Elias Santana two-point conversion pass. But Ryan’s onside kick was recovered by WOU’s Cody Hall and the Wolves ran out the clock to secure the win.
Western Oregon improves to 4-2 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 1-5.
#15 Central Washington wins at #4 Texas-Permian Basin 27-14
UTPB might have led this game 14-13 through three quarters, but there were signs that Central Washington ultimately end up winning the game:
Central Washington improves to 5-1 and Texas-Permian Basin falls to 5-1.
Midwestern State wins at Sul Ross State 69-23
Sul Ross State did a few things they haven’t done all season:
And now there’s one last thing Sul Ross State hasn’t done all season…give up 69 points. Sorry, I really tried to stall as much as I could and focus on the positives before dropping the hammer down on this game. The bottom line in this one was that the defensive issues that have plagued the Lobos this entire season continued to rear its ugly head, as MSU went on a scoring binge in the second quarter to go up 42-16 at halftime and didn’t let up in the second half. MSU gained 610 total yards (339 passing), scored touchdowns on their first five drives and 8 of the 12 times they had the ball. Sean Jastrab threw for 256 yards and 6 touchdowns, two MSU rushers had over 100 yards each, and 5 MSU receivers caught touchdown passes.
Midwestern State improves to 2-4 and Sul Ross State falls to 0-6.
Texas A&M-Kingsville wins at home over #10 Angelo State 24-19
After two weeks with Braeden Fuller back at quarterback, it is clear that he is far from full strength and he is either content to mainly throw the ball or has been told to mainly throw the ball, but it takes away much of the Rams’ offensive diversity and makes them easier to defend. Add that to their inconsistency in the running game, and ASU might be in some trouble in future weeks. Case in point – Fuller threw the ball 21 times in the first half, which despite the halftime score being tied at 10, isn’t really what ASU does on offense.
TAMUK, on the other hand, got a strong game on the ground from Edward Chumley, who gained 150 yards on 28 carries and 2 touchdowns. He scored a back-breaking touchdown on a 27-yard run with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter to put TAMUK up 24-13 and the Javelinas did just enough to hold on as ASU tried to come back. Angelo tried to rally, scoring on Corey Sandolph 4-yard touchdown pass from Kaeden Smith (who finished the game in relief of Fuller) with 1:13 left, but Smith’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete. Rance Purser’s onside kick attempt was recovered by TAMUK and the Javelinas finished the game in victory formation.
The Javelinas broke an 11-game losing streak to ASU, with their last win over ASU coming in 2012. Now, it is ASU staring at a losing streak and having to think about who can best lead the offense going forward.
Texas A&M-Kingsville improves to 3-3 and Angelo State falls to 4-2.
LSC Standings
School | LSC | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
Central Washington | 4-0 | 5-1 | |
Texas-Permian Basin | 3-1 | 5-1 | |
Western Oregon | 3-1 | 4-2 | |
West Texas A&M | 3-1 | 3-3 | |
Angelo State | 2-2 | 4-2 | |
Texas A&M-Kingsville | 2-2 | 3-3 | |
Midwestern State | 2-2 | 2-4 | |
Eastern New Mexico | 1-3 | 1-5 | |
Western New Mexico | 0-4 | 1-5 | |
Sul Ross State | 0-4 | 0-6 | |
Week 7 Preview
The entire LSC is in action this week, and there are some trophies on the line too. Specifically, we have the Wagon Wheel Game in Canyon and the Battle for the Golden Tumbleweed in Silver City. We also have Angelo State looking to end their two-game losing streak against an MSU team that is on a two-game winning streak. UTPB looks to end two losing streaks – their current one and their losing streak to Western Oregon. And finally, up in Washington, can Kingsville upset another top LSC team?
All games are on Saturday, October 18. All game times are in the Central time zone.
#11 Texas-Permian Basin at Western Oregon, 3:05 PM
Series History: Texas-Permian Basin leads 2-1
Last meeting: 2024 (Western Oregon won 30-27)
Last year this was an upset in Midland that was the last game of a 5-game winning streak that had WOU leading the LSC standings at the time. This season, they are tied for second place in the LSC, but this game is more of a story of two teams that are a bit further apart from each other than they were last year. Despite WOU’s record, their wins haven’t exactly been pretty, especially with Jordan McCarty’s struggles in the passing game (45, 45, and 59 yards the last three games). If WOU has any hopes of winning this game like they did last year, McCarty needs to do even a little bit better with the pass so the WOU running game can have more openings to succeed, and he’s going to need to do it against the best defense he’s faced in the LSC so far this season. UTPB needs to get back to basics (run the ball and control the pace of the game) against a WOU defense that has done fairly well against the run (gives up 102 yards per game). That will make life easier for Kanon Gibson to exploit the major weakness of the WOU defense, which is their pass defense. I think that UTPB’s overall depth should allow the Falcons to do what they need to win. Texas-Permian Basin by 10 points.
Midwestern State at #23 Angelo State, 6:00 PM
Series History: Midwestern State leads 16-11
Last meeting: 2024 (Angelo State won 44-7)
Last season Angelo State lost their first two games of the season before running the table in LSC play, a 9-game winning streak. That streak coincided with the emergence of Braeden Fuller as the Ram quarterback, adding a strong passing attack to thee ASU offense. Now, the Rams are currently on a two-game losing streak that has been, in part, due to Fuller’s physical limitations since he returned to the lineup. MSU has had Sean Jastrab return to the quarterback position three weeks ago and he has thrown for 532 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions and more importantly a 2-1 record.
ASU has had issues with offensive consistency, particularly with the running game. No running back has stood out, with Jayden Joness having the Rams’ best rushing effort with 79 yards in the Fort Hays State. The ASU offense has seemed more predictable with Fuller back at quarterback due to Fuller’s lack of mobility. For the Rams to gain the upper hand in this game, their defense will need to keep MSU to shorter drives and the ASU offense needs to control the pace of the game better than they have in the previous two games.
I think this game might be closer than some might expect since I think MSU will get some points through their passing game. However, ASU has the stronger defense and is more likely to make plays to set the ASU offense up for scoring chances. Angelo State by 14 points.
Eastern New Mexico at West Texas A&M, 7:00 PM
Series History: Tied 19-19
Last meeting: 2023 (West Texas A&M won 42-14)
Wagon Wheel Game 39.
So who is going to break the tie in the Wagon Wheel Game this year? WT finds themselves in a tie for second place in the LSC after two dominant wins, and ENMU is on a two-game losing streak, going 0-for the Pacific Northwest.
The most surprising issue with ENMU is that their running game hasn’t been the dominant force it has been in previous seasons. It isn’t for lack of trying – they did gain a season-high 453 yards in their lone win at MSU. For WT, the main issue on offense might be relying too much on quarterback RJ Martinez to be a high-volume runner and passer.
Both teams have struggled on defense, but WT has had more recent success on that side of the ball, especially in their win over Western Oregon. Now, this is a rivalry game and weird things do happen in these games, but I think that WT is a team that is showing signs of improvement, and I don’t see ENMU in the same situation. West Texas A&M by 14 points.
Sul Ross State at Western New Mexico, 8:00 PM
Series History: Western New Mexico leads 15-13
Last meeting: 2024 (Sul Ross State won 34-20)
The Battle for the Golden Tumbleweed 2.
What do you get when you match up one team that gives up 62 points a game with another that gives up 56 points a game? The most interesting game of the week, of course! And no, I’m honestly not joking here. Sure, the two teams have a combined 1-11 record and have had significant issues staying competitive in games, but this one could be an up-and-down, who has the ball last wins type of game simply because both teams have those defensive issues. I already know that WNMU can score some points with Connor Ackerley throwing the ball around, but Kye Callicoatte also made some positive plays against MSU and I think he has an opportunity to do some things against the WNMU defense.
Or this thing ends 7-3 in a meat grinder that sets the sport back 30 years.
I do think this game ends up being closer to a shootout than a meat grinder, but I trust the WNMU passing game more than anything Sul Ross can do, so I’m going with the Mustangs to grab the Golden Tumbleweed. Western New Mexico by 10 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville at #7 Central Washington, 8:00 PM
Series History: Central Washington leads 4-3
Last meeting: 2024 (Central Washington won 31-0)
With both teams coming off their biggest wins of the season, will either team suffer from a hangover and come out of the gate listless? Will CWU get caught looking ahead to the ASU game on November 1?
Two key matchups will be:
For both these matchups, the success of either team will come down to which team has more success along the offensive and defensive lines. So far this season, CWU has been the more impressive team along both lines and I think they will continue that trend this week. The Wildcats get a late score against a tired TAMUK defense. Central Washington by 10 points.