November 12th, 2026 5:00am
Week 10 Recap
The two big headlines of the week deal with the LSC’s playoff hopes:
Elsewhere, Western Oregon got out to a quick lead in the first quarter and WT shot themselves in the foot time and time again and never made a serious run at a win. Angelo State won a ground-and-pound affair against ENMU. Finally, Texas A&M-Kingsville took care of business against Sul Ross State.
Now, about last week:
#23 Midwestern State wins at home over Texas-Permian Basin 49-34
In this week’s preview I basically said that UTPB could make a game of it if they could make things a bit ugly for Kaden Brown and the MSU offense. Well, the Falcons did exactly that, getting a pick-six on MSU’s first drive and getting a field goal after picking off Brown again two MSU drives later. Also, Brown had his season low for passing yards in a full game with 212 and UTPB’s Braxton Baker had his season high in passing yards with 318.
So what happened?
Yeah, that part about an ugly game…I didn’t mean UTPB could play an ugly game and win! The first two second-half drives for UTPB ended with lost fumbles, and MSU scored touchdowns off both of them. UTPB would also lose a third fumble in the fourth quarter that MSU would also convert to the game’s final touchdown to put MSU up 49-34. Adding to the Falcons’ frustration were 10 penalties for 71 yards (MSU wasn’t much better with 8 penalties for 61 yards) and a running game whose top rusher, Cheno Navarrette, only managed 22 yards and were held to negative-29 yards thanks to numerous negative plays.
The big winner in this one was the MSU ground game, which gained 195 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Brown was MSU’s leading rusher with 94 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with 3 passing touchdowns. UTPB took MSU into the pit and the Mustangs still came out with a huge win to boost their playoff hopes.
Midwestern State improves to 8-2 and Texas-Permian Basin falls to 6-4.
Western Oregon wins at home over West Texas A&M 38-10
West Texas A&M drove into Western Oregon territory on each of their first five drives, so certainly the Buffaloes got off to a good start, right?
Right?
About that…WT did get a field goal on their first drive, but that score only managed to cut the WOU lead to 14-3 since WT already gave up two WOU touchdowns thanks to a fumbled kickoff after WOU took the game’s opening drive for a touchdown. WT wouldn’t score again until they were down 28-3 in the fourth quarter and the Buffaloes would never make a serious run at the game. Like many games where WOU has had success of late, the passing defense wasn’t all that great (WT’s Ryan Gafford threw for 316 yards), but WT didn’t run the ball well (51 yards), contributing to WOU’s overall success in this one. WOU ran for 153 yards and Jordan McCarty threw for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Wolves scored on 6 of 7 trips into WT territory.
Western Oregon improves to 6-4 and West Texas A&M falls to 4-6.
#6 Central Washington wins at home over Western New Mexico 52-10
I guess since Central Washington kicked off at the same time as Western Oregon, they also had to get out to identical 14-3 starts in their games. Despite a 17-3 first quarter, CWU had a relatively slow second quarter, but their defense kept WNMU stuck in the mud and down 24-3 at halftime. CWU would take full control in the third quarter, outscoring WNMU 21-0 on the strength of three Justin Brennan touchdown passes, two to Isaac Torres. Torres had a day to remember, accounting for 220 of Brennan’s 240 passing yards along with 4 touchdowns on 8 catches. Torres was so dominant that all eligible CWU receivers not named Isaac Torres combined for just 20 receiving yards!
On the WNMU side, they did run for 188 yards and Devon Nofoa-Masoe had 147 of them, but it didn’t really matter as WNMU didn’t really have anyone else who could effectively move the ball. Quarterback Kainan Manna threw for 78 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as the Mustangs were down 14-0 when they scored their first points on a field goal and were down 45-3 when they would score their last points.
CWU now holds all the tiebreakers for the LSC title, so congratulations to the Wildcats on winning their second straight LSC championship and taking the LSC’s automatic playoff spot. CWU is now one win away from two straight undefeated seasons in conference play, with their last LSC loss a 17-16 loss at Angelo State two years ago.
Central Washington improves to 8-2 and Western New Mexico falls to 3-7.
Angelo State wins at home over Eastern New Mexico 20-7
This game was delayed over an hour due to lightning, and much of the game was played in a rainstorm that effectively sent both offenses to the ground. ASU scored touchdowns on their first two drives (an 11-yard Cameron Dischler run and a 23-yard Trevor Winn catch) but ENMU was able to answer with a touchdown of their own when Mekhi Norris scored on a 7-yard run out of the Wildcat formation to make the score 13-7, which where the game sat for the better part of the next 3 quarters. The turning point of the game happened with ENMU at the ASU 18-yard line with just under 8 minutes left in the game. where ENMU faced fourth down and 8 yards to go. Do you kick it and hope to get another stop, or do you go for it? ENMU went for it, and Clifton Cooper’s pass for Gerry Gomez fell incomplete like most of his efforts on this night. ENMU, still having hope if they could stop ASU, didn’t get it as ASU went on their longest drive of the game, capped with a 6-yard touchdown run by Jayden Jones set up when Maddox Maher found Alan Dobbins for the longest pass play of the game of 39 yards.
Outside of a few important passing plays on the Angelo State side, passing really wasn’t the way to move the ball in this game, as the two teams combined for all of 106 passing yards. Maher threw for 70 yards and ENMU’s Clifton Cooper 36. The teams combined for 509 rushing yards, with Wiese’s 119 yards leading all rushers.
Angelo State improves to 4-6 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 0-10.
Texas A&M-Kingsville wins at home over Sul Ross State 63-17
Texas A&M-Kingsville scored on 5 of their 7 first-half possessions (4 touchdowns and a field goal) to lead 32-3 at halftime, and the Javelina scoring spree didn’t stop after halftime. After leading TAMUK to a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, Mills Dawson (200 passing yards and 2 touchdowns) left the game in favor of Luke Arrington, who would lead them on three more scoring drives (2 touchdowns and a field goal) in the second half. The third quarter was TAMUK’s best, outscoring Sul Ross State 24-7. Edward Chumley ran for three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass. Christian Kretz added to his TAMUK receiving yards record with 169 more receiving yards on 7 catches. Tarribbean Ramires caught 8 passes for 135 to lead Sul Ross State and Will Howell threw for 277 yards, but he was intercepted 3 times, with TAMUK converting them to 17 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville improves to 5-5 and Sul Ross State falls to 2-8.
Playoff Watch
With Central Washington winning, they now own a share of the LSC title, but since they own all the important tiebreakers (meaning a win over closest pursuer Midwestern State), it will be the Wildcats earning the LSC’s automatic playoff bid. They currently sit in the number 5 position in the Super Region 4 NPI rankings and could slip into the top 4 depending on result of the CSU-Pueblo/Western Colorado game next week. CSU-Pueblo is number 2 in the region and Western Colorado number 3.
Midwestern State has moved into the number 8 spot and would have a playoff spot if the season ended today. But we have one week left in the season, and behind them are a trio of 8-2 teams from the GAC: Southeastern Oklahoma, Ouachita Baptist, and Henderson State. Southeastern Oklahoma goes to 6-4 East Central, and Ouachita Baptist literally crosses the street to face Henderson State in the Battle of the Ravine. Midwestern State goes to Eastern New Mexico and will be very heavy favorites to finish the season with a 9-2 record, so the question will be whether the Mustangs can hold off possibly two 9-2 GAC teams to earn the playoff spot and give the LSC two playoff teams.
LSC Standings
School | LSC | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
Central Washington | 8-0 | 8-2 | |
Midwestern State | 7-1 | 8-2 | |
Texas-Permian Basin | 5-3 | 6-4 | |
Texas A&M-Kingsville | 5-3 | 5-5 | |
Western Oregon | 4-4 | 6-4 | |
Angelo State | 4-4 | 4-6 | |
West Texas A&M | 4-4 | 4-6 | |
Western New Mexico | 2-6 | 3-7 | |
Sul Ross State | 1-7 | 2-8 | |
Eastern New Mexico | 0-8 | 0-10 | |
Week 11 Preview
We already know that Central Washington will be headed to the Division 2 playoffs against Western Colorado (sorry, I just had to throw that one in again)…OK, against an opponent yet to be named. The Wildcats go to WT to try and finish off a second straight undefeated conference slate. The big question isn’t who CWU will play next week, but it’s whether Midwestern State will join the Wildcats as the LSC’s second team and make the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. Now, the Midwestern State playoff watch isn’t the only big thing happening in their game, we also have ENMU trying to avoid a winless season for the first time since 1945. Elsewhere, Angelo State looks to finish a tough season with a win at WNMU, TAMUK goes to Midland hoping to clinch a winning season, and Western Oregon rounds out LSC conference play with a night game at Sul Ross State.
All games are on Saturday, November 14. All game times are in the Central time zone.
Angelo State at Western New Mexico, 1:00 PM
Series History: Angelo State leads 9-2
Last meeting: 2025 (Angelo State won 56-27)
Angelo State has had a lot of bad luck over the season and will finish with a losing record for the first time since the 2016 season. They have had a mostly solid defense but an inconsistent offense, including switching quarterbacks from Ayden Arp to Maddox Maher mid-season.
Western New Mexico has been among the worst defenses in the nation in terms of yardage given up (620 yards a game) and points per game (58 points per game). They have also struggled throwing the ball (180 yards per game and 13 interceptions) but have had surprising success running the ball (256 yards per game). The Mustangs’ running game, however, hasn’t always been there against better defenses, and Angelo State is one of the better defenses in the LSC. Angelo State should be able to move the ball effectively, and I think their defense will hold the WNMU running game back enough to come out on top. Angelo State by 17 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville at Texas-Permian Basin (Game at Midland, TX), 2:00 PM
Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 6-4
Last meeting: 2025 (Texas-Permian Basin won 43-30)
I think this will be the week’s most competitive game. You have a Kingsville team that wants to put up a bunch of points against a UTPB team that needs to lean on their defense since they have had difficulty playing complete games on offense, particularly their running game, which has finished with negative rushing yards in two of their past four games, and only one game of above 114 rushing yards (135 against WT) in the past six games.
I think UTPB has shown improvements despite their issues running the ball. Their defense is among the best in the LSC, and they are among the nation’s leaders with 20 interceptions. Kingsville has had some of their toughest games when they have been intercepted multiple times (specifically, their first two games and the CWU game). If UTPB can get a couple turnovers, and if Braxton Baker can continue to show improvement, and maybe even get a little in the ground game, I think UTPB will get out with a close win. If Kingsville can get their ground game going, that will certainly favor the Javelinas, but I think the UTPB defense ends up being the difference here. Texas-Permian Basin by 3 points.
#5 Central Washington at West Texas A&M, 2:00 PM
Series History: Central Washington leads 5-4
Last meeting: 2025 (Central Washington won 52-6)
CWU has earned at least a share of the LSC championship, and they have pretty much earned the LSC’s automatic bid to the playoffs. If they go to WT and win, they will remove all doubt, win the LSC championship outright, and finish their second straight undefeated season in conference.
WT wants to finish with a big win going to have some momentum going into next season (well, as much momentum as you can have in the transfer portal era). This season has been a disappointment for WT after winning 8 games last season, but an 8-win season has been more of the exception and not the rule since Don Carthel was WT head coach. So the question has to be asked whether Josh Lynn is the right one to lead the Buffaloes, and so far (in my opinion) the answer to that question is “not sure”.
For CWU, the defense has improved over the past few weeks, with the rushing defense finally dropping below 200 yards per game. The pass defense has been solid all season, giving up 200 yards per game. That’s bad news for a WT team that needs to run the ball well to keep the game competitive and didn’t last week in losing to Western Oregon. Also, the WT defense has had a difficult time defending the pass, and CWU has two strong receivers in Isaac Torres and Mason Juergens. CWU just has too many weapons on offense, and I think the CWU defense will do enough to keep WT at arm’s length. Central Washington by 17 points.
#19 Midwestern State at Eastern New Mexico, 3:00 PM
Series History: Midwestern State leads 23-8
Last meeting: 2025 (Eastern New Mexico won 56-31)
Midwestern State last made the Division 2 playoffs in 2017 after winning the LSC championship, including a win over eventual national champion Texas A&M-Commerce (East Texas A&M now). Oddly enough, they also won the LSC championship in 2021 but finished 7-3 and missed the playoffs in favor of Angelo State, who MSU beat during the regular season. They have this GAC logjam behind them in the NPI rankings, and there’s still no guarantee that they will make the playoffs even if they win with that trio of GAC teams looking to overtake them. All the Mustangs need to worry about is what they can control, and that is winning this game and then hope that things will go their way in those GAC games. The bottom line is that MSU will be significant favorites and if they play their game and not fall into the trap of the pressure of earning a playoff spot staring them in their faces.
Eastern New Mexico came into the 2026 full of expectations, all related to the hiring of Art Briles as head coach. But any hopes for a resurgent ENMU team disappeared in the weeks following the failed 2-point conversion play that could have won them the season’s first game. The Greyhounds, despite gaining close to 500 yards per game, give up over 500 yards per game and 47 points per game. Outside of last week’s weather-aided loss to Angelo State, ENMU has had significant difficulty keeping teams off the scoreboard and keeping games close.
For ENMU to win, they need to look at the teams that have beaten MSU - Michigan Tech and CWU. Both teams limited the MSU ground game to two of their lowest rushing totals and they managed to get multiple turnovers on MSU. Unfortunately, ENMU hasn’t shown that they could do either of those things with any consistency. The yardage ENMU have given up this season ahs already been mentioned, but the Greyhounds have also turned over their opponents just 9 times (5 interceptions and 4 fumbles). I just don’t see ENMU being able to keep the MSU offense out of the end zone enough to keep this game competitive for very long. Midwestern State by 21 points.
Western Oregon at Sul Ross State, 7:00 PM
Series History: Western Oregon leads 2-0
Last meeting: 2025 (Western Oregon won 66-3)
Fun fact – Alpine, Texas (the home of Sul Ross State) is the county seat of Brewster County, which is 500 square miles larger than my original home state of Connecticut. So when they say that “everything’s bigger in Texas”, it’s true! So what does this have to do with the game? Well, nothing other than trying to keep things interesting for a game where both teams are playing it out hoping to end the season on a high note. Anyway, Big Bend National Park sure looks nice (OK, here I go again getting off-topic, sorry…must focus on the game!)
Western Oregon has found a way to work around their issues with pass defense, and that has been to cause chaos and mayhem with their defensive front. The Wolves have the top rushing defense in the LSC, giving up 119 yards per game. Of course, Sul Ross State has the worst rushing offense in the LSC, averaging 88 yards per game, so it looks like it’s going to come down to whether Will Howell can get enough done with the passing game to keep the Lobos in the game. I do expect Sul Ross to have some success throwing the ball, but I think Howell is going to spend too much time on his back to sustain that success. Also, Sul Ross has given up more than 62 points in 4 of their last 5 games, and the one they didn’t give up that many points, WNMU scored 48 against them. So, with as many issues as WOU have had with their pass defense, Sul Ross hasn’t had much success against both the run and the pass, but especially the run. This plays directly into WOU’s offensive strategy, and I’m going with the Wolves to finish the season on a 5-game winning streak. Western Oregon by 21 points.
Next week - Playoffs!