October 22nd, 2026 1:00pm
Week 7 Recap
Another week, another Kingsville shootout. The Javelinas, who scored 58 in beating Western Oregon, scored 49 against Central Washington, but needed three more points and one less interception. There was another nail-biter in Wichita Falls, where Midwestern State scored the game’s final points and held on against an Angelo State Hail Mary pass to beat the Rams. Western New Mexico got their third win of the season by getting ahead early and holding off Sul Ross State the rest of the way. Western Oregon stopped their losing streak by smothering the UTPB ground attack. And finally, West Texas A&M keeps the Wagon Wheel for the third straight year thanks to a huge first half against Eastern New Mexico.
Now, about last week:
West Texas A&M wins at Eastern New Mexico 41-27
The first half of this game made it so easy for me to do my weekend grocery shopping since every time I would check the score thread, there would be another WT score. Once I finally got back and unloaded my car, it was WT up 38-0 and the story of this game would be easy – WT blasts ENMU and wins the Wagon Wheel back for the third straight year.
Then things got weird.
No, WT didn’t blow their lead, but they really took the foot off the gas after that 38-0 halftime lead, having fourth-string quarterback Ryan Gafford running the offense in the fourth quarter. Starting quarterback Jayden Macedo, who is the WT backup starting in place of Knox Porter, played a quarter and a half and looked great, throwing for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns before Colt Mercer replaced him. Mercer and Gafford mainly handed the ball off, and after an early third-quarter field goal put WT up 41-7, it was a turnover on downs and four punts the rest of the way for WT. While WT was feeding their punter with reps, ENMU quarterback Clifton Cooper was throwing the ball, throwing the ball, throwing the ball, and still throwing the ball. Hopefully they iced his shoulder well after the game. ENMU drew within 41-21 after the third quarter by scoring touchdowns 3 of the 4 times they had the ball in the quarter. If not for a turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds might have made this one really interesting, because that offense was in WT territory 6 of the 7 times they had the ball in the second half. Ask the New Orleans Saints what can happen when you take the foot off the gas after getting up big.
Well, about Cooper – he completed 36 of 64 passes for 502 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. Trei Kibbles led all receivers with 160 yards on 5 catches and a touchdown. Kyler Fossett also had 7 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. ENMU actually outgained WT by 626 to 461 yards. WT gained 254 yards on the ground, and their success on the ground has roughly corresponded with their in-game success this season. Tory Simmons ran for 117 yards (10.6 yards per carry) and Contae Cason ran for 100 yards and a touchdown.
West Texas A&M improves to 2-5 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 0-7.
Western Oregon wins at #19 Texas-Permian Basin 38-19
OK, so Western Oregon still gave up a bunch of passing yards, 343 to be exact. However, it was clear as day who was the more dominant team up front as the Wolves kept the UTPB ground game from literally gaining anything, forcing the Falcons to finish the game with negative-2 rushing yards. Even with the Falcons pretty much left to throwing the ball, they did gain a 13-10 halftime lead, coming back after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter. But the second half belonged to the Wolves, who would score touchdowns on 4 of their 7 drives of the second half, including two touchdown plays of more than 70 yards. UTPB just couldn’t seem to get out of their own way, taking sacks, committing penalties, and just generally putting themselves in difficult situations and only having one rive of more than 25 yards in the second half, an 82-yard touchdown drive with 7:45 ;eft in the game that was actually directed by backup quarterback Braxton Baker (125 passing yards), who played most of the fourth quarter in relief of starter Nate TenBarge (218 passing yards), after leading the UTPB offense to two punts and a turnover on downs in the second half before being lifted.
WOU got back to the physical dominance and offensive balance they showed in their wins earlier in the season. Jordan McCarty was efficient in complementing the WOU running game (who gained 219 yards and scored 3 touchdowns) with just enough completions, completing 11 of 19 passes but throwing for 180 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception that did lead to UTPB taking their only lead of the game, but it would be forgotten as WOU took the lead early in the second half and left no doubt who the better team was on this day.
Western Oregon improves to 3-4 and Texas-Permian Basin falls to 5-2.
#7 Central Washington wins at Texas A&M-Kingsville 52-49
We have ourselves this week’s “What if” game, specifically, “What if Kingsville got off to a better start in the first half?”. An early 3-0 quickly evaporated under hammer blows given by the CWU running game, which would ultimately gain 325 yards by game’s end. Ryder Bumgarner (165 rushing yards) would put CWU up 14-3 with two touchdown runs on his way to five on the day, tying a CWU single-game record. Bumgarner’s 4 first-half touchdowns and Antoine Lee’s (110 rushing yards) one touchdown saw CWU out to a 35-20 halftime lead after Christian Kretz’s 15-yard touchdown catch right before the halftime buzzer.
While CWU was getting it done on the ground, it was Kretz (6 catches for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns), quarterback Mills Dawson (396 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions), and surprise starter at running back Levi Fontenot who would bring TAMUK back in the second half. After an even third quarter that saw CWU hold a 49-34 lead, the Javelinas stormed back in the fourth with two straight touchdowns (and one two-point conversion) to tie the game at 49 with 7:30 left. But CWU would take the lead back for good on a 13-play, 59-yard drive capped by a 32-yard field goal by David Weber. Kingsville has one last chance with 1:48 left after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, but on the first play of the attempted comeback drive, Dawson was picked off by Isaiah Paul and CWU would run out the clock.
For Kingsville, it was elation after winning a shootout last week, but this week it was misery despite the all-out effort. For CWU, they’ll take the win despite being outgained by 557 to 495 yards.
Central Washington improves to 5-2 and Texas A&M-Kingsville falls to 4-3.
Western New Mexico wins at Sul Ross State 48-41
I was following this game on the Sul Ross State radio broadcast (Big Bend Radio in Alpine, TX if you’re interested) because the stats tracker wasn’t working for at least some of the game, and apparently that wasn’t the only technical issue they were having. If I remember right (and I don’t guarantee it), the scoreboard and the game clock were also having issues, so hoping they have better luck the next time they host a game. The story of this game was simple – WNMU gout to a 17-0 lead and Sul Ross spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. Sul Ross would finally get within one score when Will Howell ran it in from 14 yards out to make the score 41-34 with 14:56 left in the game. But the Runnin’ Mustangs, who would gain 321 yards on the ground (sorry, I’m still not used to WNMU running the ball like this!), would extend their lead to 48-34 on a 10-play (all runs), 69-yard drive ending in a 14-yard Jase Ashley touchdown run. Sul Ross would answer to draw within 48-41 and stop WNMU after a 9-play, 5-yard drive that somehow took 5:55 off the clock (take a long look at those number again, by the way) and get the ball back with 2:09 left at the WNMU 38 after a strong punt return by Taribbean Ramirez.
Howell would run and pass the Lobos to the 11-yard line with just seconds remaining when we took off after not being able to find a receiver. He ran for the pylon but Clayton Zentner and Jaylyn Colter stopped him one yard short of the end zone as time ran out on the Lobos. Howell once again was the standout player for Sul Ross, completing 25 of 40 passes for 349 yards and 3 touchdowns. He added 99 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, also leading the Lobos. For WNMU, Devon Nofoa-Masoe led all rushers with 167 yards and 3 touchdowns, and quarterback Jase Ashley also ran for 77 yards and a touchdown to add to his 102 passing yards and a touchdown.
Western New Mexico improves to 3-4 and Sul Ross State falls to 2-5.
Midwestern State wins at home over Angelo State 36-32
I was curious how Midwestern State would respond after their offense was humbled by the Central Washington defense last week. It turns out that they responded quite well, and their defense would also do just enough to pull out the win. Angelo State kept pace with the Mustangs for the first half, showing offensive balance and a passing game that for a while was matching Kaden Brown’s video game numbers on the way to an ASU 24-22 halftime lead after Alan Dobbins’ 10-yard touchdown catch from Maddox Maher (283 yards and 2 touchdowns). The second half was back-and-forth but not a shootout, as there were only three touchdowns, but the lead changed on each one. MSU would score the game’s final points on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ace Traylor with 4:17 left in the game, his second touchdown of the game. ASU would get as close as the MSU 32-yard line as the clock was running out, but Kameron Griffin would break up Maher’s last-gasp fourth-down pass to the end zone and end ASU’s hopes for an upset.
For Angelo State, it was another game where the overall offensive numbers were good, but mistakes would contribute to their downfall. ASU ran for 280 yards and outgained MSU 563 to 543 yards, but Maher would throw 3 interceptions. MSU would convert the first two interceptions to touchdowns, and the third interception came with ASU in the red zone. Cameron Dischler and Ashton Dickens ran for 97 and 92 yards and 1 touchdown. Donny Bishop caught 6 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. For MSU, Brown once again put up the big passing numbers, throwing for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fabian Baez was his favorite target, catching 5 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. MSU also got 160 yards on the ground, led by Joseph Dodds’ 65 yards.
Midwestern State improves to 5-2 and Angelo State falls to 2-5.
LSC Standings
School | LSC | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
Central Washington | 5-0 | 5-2 | |
Midwestern State | 4-1 | 5-2 | |
Texas-Permian Basin | 4-1 | 5-2 | |
Texas A&M-Kingsville | 4-1 | 4-3 | |
Western New Mexico | 2-3 | 3-4 | |
Angelo State | 2-3 | 2-5 | |
West Texas A&M | 2-3 | 2-5 | |
Western Oregon | 1-4 | 3-4 | |
Sul Ross State | 1-4 | 2-5 | |
Eastern New Mexico | 0-5 | 0-7 | |
Week 8 Preview
Some of the readers of this column might be thinking over the past few weeks “why does he keep talking about defense?” Here’s why – LSC teams are, unfortunately, all over the NCAA’s statistics for the nation’s worst defenses. 3 LSC teams are in the nation’s worst 5 teams for total defense, with WNMU the worst at 601 yards per game. 3 LSC teams are in the bottom 10 for passing yards allowed, including the nation’s two worst in WT and WOU. 3 LSC teams are in the bottom 10 for rushing yards allowed per game, including the nation’s worst in WNMU. 3 LSC teams are in the bottom 10 for points allowed per game, although WNMU’s efforts of recent weeks finally has them out of the worst spot at 57 points per game (Adams State is worse at 59 points per game). Overall, the LSC doesn’t really have a great defense this season. For example, the best defense in terms of points per game is UTPB, who gives up 22 points per game and tied for 52nd in the nation. Of course, UTPB does lead the nation with 16 interceptions, but that’s been the exception these days. WOU is pretty good against the run at 28th in the nation, but you already know about that pass defense. Sul Ross is 30th in defensive passing yards per game, but their rushing defense is among the nation’s worst. You see, the numbers don’t lie, and they spell disaster for much of the LSC, but on the flip side there have been quite a few shootouts the last few weeks!
All games are on Saturday, October 24. All game times are in the Central time zone.
Eastern New Mexico at Western Oregon, 3:05 PM
Series History: Tied 3-3
Last meeting: 2025 (Western Oregon won 21-18)
There’s no way that the ENMU players and coaches could imagine that a team that gains 505 yards of offense per game like ENMU has could still be winless. The problems come when you see that ENMU has given the ball up 17 times, with 11 interceptions while only causing 7 turnovers. Add that to the ENMU defense, which gives up 523 yards and 50 points a game and that goes a long way toward explaining their difficulties. Now they face a Western Oregon team that beat UTPB by essentially turning the Falcons into a one-dimensional offense.
ENMU seems to have settled on Clifton Cooper at quarterback, and it will likely be his arm that dictates the Greyhounds’ fate. We all know WOU’s issues defending the pass, so I’m expecting Cooper will put up his share of passing yards. But as we saw last week, WOU is still pretty strong upfront, and is effective against the run, so if ENMU is forced to throw the ball as much as they dd last week against WT, I don’t see it ending well for the Greyhounds. There’s also the fact that as maligned as the WOU defense is, the ENMU defense is also quite ineffective against the pass and nearly as ineffective against the run as well. I except WOU’s offensive balance to be the deciding factor and I expect the Wolves to get back to square with a home win. Be on the lookout for another shootout, though. Western Oregon by 14 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville at Angelo State, 6:00 PM
Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 34-24
Last meeting: 2025 (Angelo State won 24-19)
Angelo State has had a lot of bad luck this season, particularly in games where they have moved the ball well but couldn’t finish enough drives to get the win. Kingsville has been scoring plenty of points the last two weeks but couldn’t quite get over the hump against CWU. Both teams have nearly given up as many points as they have scored this season (Angelo State 28 for/27 against; Kingsville 39 for/36 against).
I think this might be the closest game of the week, and I see a lot of ties or lead changes here. I think the key to this game for both teams is whoever will have the more consistent and reliable offense, specifically when it comes to finishing drives. I also think a higher-scoring game will favor Kingsville as well. Angelo State has been moving the ball well, but they’ve had issues with getting the ball in the end zone, and Maddox Maher and his skill players aren’t as consistent as Mills Dawson and the Kingsville skill players. I think the winning team will score in the 30s (but once again, don't rule out a shootout), and I also think Kingsville gets a late score to pull ahead with Angelo State getting close but not close enough to gain a chance to tie or win. Texas A&M-Kingsville by 3 points.
Western New Mexico at West Texas A&M, 6:00 PM
Series History: West Texas A&M leads 11-4
Last meeting: 2025 (West Texas A&M won 58-27)
Seeing how the WNMU has embraced a more running-based identity this season, it occurred to me that former ENMU head coach and triple-option guru Kelley Lee now coaches at Silver High in Silver City, where WNMU is located. Did coach Lee share some of his playbook with the WNMU staff, because this newfound emphasis on running the football is fascinating to me after so many years of being pass-dominant. Now if only that would translate to success defending the run, but not so much luck there, where they are the worst in the nation, giving up 323 yards per game on the ground. Seems like a tailor-made game for the Buffaloes, who haven’t had much success on the ground this season, but their best rushing have been in their two wins, where they had179 and 254 rushing yards. If WT can run the ball here and keep WNMU from running wild, they should win this one. A word of warning, though – as bad as Western Oregon’s pass defense has been, WT’s giving up 324 yards per game, good for second worst behind WOU, so the Buffaloes better hope WNMU doesn’t figure out their passing game or else this one could be interesting. I do think it’s more likely that WT gets enough from their ground game to keep WNMU at bay, but (and I might end up saying this for evey game this week) don’t be surprised if there’s a shootout. West Texas A&M by 14 points.
Sul Ross State at Midwestern State, 6:00 PM
Series History: Midwestern State leads 8-6
Last meeting: 2025 (Midwestern State won 69-23)
Any game with Midwestern State has to focus on the Mustangs’ passing game, still tops in the nation at 386 yards per game (although Kaden Brown is now 20 yards behind Augustana’s Gunnar Hensley for the individual passing yardage lead). I them look at the Sul Ross passing defense and I see…170 yards per game? Just one 200-yard passer against them (Nate TenBarge) all season? Interesting, until you look up and see that the Lobos defensive front has yet to gain a foothold on opponents, giving up 276 yards per game and 24 touchdowns. Seems to me like teams are pounding the run against the Lobos and daring them to stop it. So I wonder if MSU decides to hand it off a bunch to exploit that possible weakness in the Sul Ross defense? Maybe, but only after MSU has made sure that they either can’t throw or don’t need to throw against the Sul Ross defense, but rest assured, plenty of footballs will be flying from Kaden Brown’s arm for at least a little while because that’s what MSU does best. Sul Ross scores some in this one because Will Howell might be the best quarterback you haven’t heard of in the LSC, but I think MSU keeps them at arm’s length after another early offensive explosion. Midwestern State by 17 points.
Texas-Permian Basin at #7 Central Washington, 7:00 PM
Series History: Tied 2-2
Last meeting: 2025 (Central Washington won 27-14)
CWU’s last conference loss came two seasons ago in Ellensburg, a 14-13 loss to UTPB. After Western Oregon took UTPB out of their offensive rhythm last week and took away their running game, I am curious what CWU will do defensively, especially after their defense bent so much that the rubber band was starting to crumble but held together just enough to hold off TAMUK.
The main difference I see in this matchup is that CWU shows a very strong offensive balance, averaging over 230 yards rushing and passing, and while not great defending the run (204 yards per game), they are decent against the pass (214 yards per game). UTPB is very good against the run, giving up 127 yards per game, and middle-of-the-pack against the pass, giving up 259 yards per game, but on offesne they are a much better passing team than rushing (255 passing yards and 144 rushing yards per game).
I think this game will actually be more of a defensive than an offensive game. I think that whoever can be more efficient with their drives will have the upper hand, and I think that even though UTPB is known for its ball hawking defense, CWU is the best team they’ve faced all season when it comes to taking care of the ball, and I think that is the deciding factor in CWU’s favor. Central Washington by 7 points.