LSC Week Nine Preview

October 29th, 2026 1:00pm

Week 8 Recap

Home teams went 5-0 in the LSC this week, and there really was just one game with any drama at all in the second half, and that was the Western Oregon game, which went from ENMU possibly winning their first game of the year to a second-half defensive collapse that left the Greyhounds still winless.  The rest of the games – well, the diplomatic way to put it would probably go something like “it was a bit rough”. 

Now, about last week:

Western Oregon won at home over Eastern New Mexico 50-35

ENMU was doing what they had to do – throw the ball early and often and take advantage of the much-maligned WOU pass defense.  Clifton Cooper had the Greyhounds up 35-23 after Jose Trevino scored on a 24-yard run with 7:28 left in the third quarter and maybe, just maybe, ENMU would chase down that elusive first win of 2026. 

But the ENMU defense, which to that point was already teetering on the edge of disaster, giving up points on 3 of the last 4 WOU drives, got blasted to bits.  WOU would score touchdowns the first three times they had the ball in the fourth quarter, taking their first lead of the game with 9:14 left on a 2-yard Tyler Konold run, and then sealed with another key drive and a fumble return touchdown as the ENMU offense ran out of bullets. 

In the “broken record” portion of the program, WOU gave up 423 passing yards to Cooper (183 of them caught by Darwin Parker), and ENMU outgained WOU by 623 to 484 yards.  However, ENMU wasn’t able to finish enough drives in the second half and their defense wasn’t able to hold their lead.  Jordan McCarty had possibly his best game of the season, throwing for 245 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. 

Western Oregon improves to 4-4 and Eastern New Mexico falls to 0-8.

Angelo State wins at home over Texas A&M-Kingsville 28-14

Kingsville had 8 possessions in the first half and entered Angelo State territory on four of those possessions.  They also held ASU quarterback Maddox Maher to 11 passing yards and 2 interceptions. 

So of course the halftime score was 14-0 in favor of Angelo State. 

Those four possessions Kingsville had in Angelo State territory?  They ended in 2 turnovers on downs, a punt, and an interception, and more importantly, no points.  One of those turnovers on downs came on an ASU goal line stand where they held strong on four plays from the 1-yard line.  Kingsville finally got on the board with 9:42 left in the game on a 25-yard touchdown catch by Nate Barnett to cut the ASU lead to 21-7, but that was as close as the Javelinas would get, as Canon Wiese seemed to score seemingly every time he had the ball.  Wiese ran for 173 yards and scored all 4 ASU touchdowns to keep Maher’s mistakes from seriously harming the Rams (although the ASU defense should also get an assist as well).  Dawson Mills threw for 287 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, Nate Barnett caught 5 passes for 103 yards, and Edward Chumley had a solid return with 109 rushing yards.  Unfortunately for TAMUK, when they finally scored, it was too little, too late. 

Angelo State improves to 3-5 and Texas A&M-Kingsville falls to 4-4.

West Texas A&M wins at home over Western New Mexico 69-14

Just like the ENMU game, WT got out to an early lead, leading 27-7 at halftime.  But unlike the ENMU game, where WT almost let ENMU back in it, the WT offense, particularly the ground game, ensured that the Buffaloes would not have any drama in the second half, scoring 42 points and winning going away.  WT ran for a season-high 405 yards on the way to 706 total yards, led by Tory Simmons, who had 90 yards and a touchdown.  Contae Cason also ran for 71 yards and 3 touchdowns.   Trace Clarkson also added 7 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown, as WT went so deep into the quarterback room that Reid Macon, who came into the game in relief of Ryan Gafford, didn’t have an assigned number before this week.   For WNMU, Devon Nofoa-Masoe ran for 107 yards and a touchdown and Jase Ashley threw for 100 yards, a touchdown, and an interception and also ran for 46 yards. 

West Texas A&M improves to 6-2 and Western New Mexico falls to 3-5. 

Midwestern State wins at home over Sul Ross State 71-0

On this day Kaden Brown had his lowest pass yardage of the entire season – 134.  So before any Sul Ross backers get excited, he only had that amount because he played one quarter and Midwestern State had already scored 34 points.  The backups came in early and the scoring barrage didn’t stop.  MSU scored on their first 9 possessions, entered Sul Ross territory on every one of their 12 drives, and just flat out demolished the Lobos.  MSU outgained Sul Ross by 579 to 41 yards, with Sul Ross ending the game with negative-6 rushing yards.  Sul Ross only entered MSU territory once (turning the ball over on downs), and they had more drives go backwards (6) than they had drives over 10 yards (2). 

Midwestern State improves to 6-2 and Sul Ross State falls to 2-6.

Central Washington wins at home over Texas-Permian Basin 42-13

UTPB only managed two drives of more than 36 yards (75 and 80 yards, both touchdowns) and 8 drives of 36 or fewer yards.  The two touchdown drives came when UTPB was already down 21-0 and 28-6, and the Falcons never got to within two touchdowns of CWU after falling behind 21-0.  CWU made the most of their early drives, scoring touchdowns on four of their first five possessions, and then the last two touchdowns of the game for the game’s final scoring margin.  Ryder Bumgarner was the standout performer for CWU, running for 113 yards and two touchdowns.  Justin Brennan threw for 168 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.  For UTPB, Nate TenBarge was relieved by Braxton Baker for the second straight week and threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but threw a back-breaking pick-six to make the score 35-13 in favor of CWU with 5:40 left in the game.  

Central Washington improves to 6-2 and Texas-Permian Basin falls to 5-3.

Playoff Watch – Week 1

Ooh!  We have new numbers this year!  The NPI (NCAA Percentage Index) is now used to help determine the at-large entrants to the playoffs.  If you’re interested in seeing the full rankings, go to the web site

https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/53869?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Submit

and take a look.  You can sort the rankings out by criteria like the region and conference.  In regards to the LSC, Central Washington is number 5 in Super Region 4 and the next closest LSC team is Midwestern State at number 14.  The LSC champion gets an automatic bid to the playoffs and will be seeded based on the NPI rankings, so if the season ended today, CWU would play (guess who?) Western Colorado (woo hoo!).  Midwestern State would be ranked too far down the list to earn an at-large spot right now, so they will need to win and hope enough teams ahead of them lose so their ranking can place them among the top at-large teams. 

LSC Standings

Week 9 Preview

OK, on this full slate of Halloween football, who will dish out the tricks and who will get the treats?  Can Central Washington run the table in the LSC for the second straight season?  They will be favored in every game the rest of the way, but any slip-up could cost the Wildcats, especially with Midwestern State hoping to win out and get a couple CWU losses to overtake the Wildcats.  And about Midwestern State?  They head to Kingsville for what is almost certainly going to be a shootout (or a 7-3 game, because why not).  Elsewhere, Western Oregon looks to win their third in a row at WNMU, Angelo State looks to throw UTPB into a full tailspin, and the Buffaloes look to run over the Lobos. 

All games are on Saturday, October 31.  All game times are in the Central time zone.

Western Oregon at Western New Mexico, 1:00 PM

Series History: Western Oregon leads 6-1

Last meeting: 2025 (Western Oregon won 41-20)

Western Oregon has righted the ship a bit after their 4-game losing streak.  Now, that pass defense still hasn’t been all that great, but their presence up front has shown more resilience, especially in their win over UTPB.  Lucky for the Wolves, WNMU is more of a running team these days, which might actually play into WOU’s hands defensively.  On the WNMU side, as effective as the Mustangs have been running the ball, they aren’t all that good stopping the run, giving up 333 rushing yards per game.  Since WOU is an effective running team (and OK throwing it too), I think WNMU’s deficiencies will be more significant in this matchup than WOU’s, particularly since I don’t think WNMU will be able to take advantage of the issues in WOU’s pass defense nearly enough to keep pace.  Western Oregon by 21 points.

Central Washington at Eastern New Mexico, 3:00 PM

Series History: Central Washington leads 5-0  

Last meeting: 2025 (Central Washington won 58-7)

Central Washington has the LSC title within their sights, and the Wildcats will be significant favorites over each of their remaining opponents.  Having defeated their closest rivals in the LSC, they now face ENMU, WNMU, and WT to round out the season knowing any slip-up can cost them their playoff shot.  For CWU to win this and the next two games, they need to keep to what they have done all season – solid defense and an efficient offense that can win with the pass or the run. 

For ENMU, they are still looking for their first win of the season, and looking at their remaining schedule (CWU, Angelo State, and MSU), they are in real danger of finishing winless for the first time since the 1945 season.  ENMU has had little trouble moving the ball, but at the same time, they’ve had a whole lot of trouble stopping opponents from moving the ball.  If they score a lot of points, they give up more; if the game is close, they can’t keep pace; if they don’t score a lot of points, they still give up way too many points. 

Unfortunately, for ENMU, I don’t see CWU taking it easy on ENMU and I don’t see ENMU being able to stop CWU enough to keep the game close.  ENMU will score their share of points and Clifton Cooper will rack up a decent number of passing yards, but CWU has too many answers for the Greyhounds.  Central Washington by 21 points. 

Angelo State at Texas-Permian Basin (Game in Midland, TX), 6:00 PM

Series History: Angelo State leads 7-2

Last meeting: 2025 (Texas-Permian Basin won 28-14)

UTPB is no fan of the Pacific Northwest, losing their last two games to WOU and CWU while backup quarterback Braxton Baker has had significant playing time in relief of Nate TenBarge.  The offense has been messy, especially the WOU gave where they finished the game with negative-2 rushing yards and could only move the ball in the air.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen UTPB get dominated up front the way WOU did.  The CWU game – UTPB fell behind big and never drew closer than 15 points down and couldn’t move the ball effectively outside of a couple drives.  Something happened in these games and UTPB looked very mush out of sorts in both games.  

Angelo State got out ahead early and stopped TAMUK multiple times in their own territory in their win.  Their offense, particularly their running game, has had much success in recent weeks, however, they haven’t always finished their drives the way that past ASU teams have.  Their defense did a lot of bending but little breaking in holding back a Kingsville offense that had been one of the LSC’s best in conference play. 

I think this game (along with the MSU/TAMUK game) are just about toss-ups, mainly because both teams have had difficulty putting a clean 60 minutes together.  I think that Angelo State, even in their losses, has been able to move the ball and control the clock, especially on the ground, which could neutralize their 17-interception pass defense.  The Rams have also been able to do just enough on defense in those wins as well.  Whatever issues UTPB has with their offense and the changing of quarterbacks, I just don’t trust them enough to be able to pick them this week.  Angelo State by 3 points.

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

Series History: Midwestern State leads 19-8

Last meeting: 2025 (Midwestern State won 31-24)

Midwestern State might just find themselves as the LSC’s second playoff team if they win out and finish with a 9-2 record.  It won’t be easy with Kingsville this week and UTPB next week.  The Mustangs did have their lowest passing output of the season last week against Sul Ross (231 yards), but only because they did run for 348 yards.  MSU needs to play fast and free like they have all season and limit turnovers.  Put pressure on the TAMUK defense early and often and force them to outscore you.  Running the ball even a little bit might also help matters, since TAMUK does give up 216 yards per game on the ground.   

TAMUK must be frustrated after so many missed opportunities against Angelo State, and they’re going to want to get back to what they do best, and that’s scoring a bunch of points.  It’s tough when you move the ball well but only have 14 points to show for it.  Finishing drives with points when they enter opposing territory will be the main objective for the Javelinas, who can’t afford five empty trips against MSU like they did with ASU.  Their pass defense, which has held up well (190 yards per game and 10 interceptions), will be tested unlike any other time this season under the relentless MSU attack. 

This game feels like a toss-up to me, with both teams relying heavily on their offenses for success.  Unlike previous weeks, I actually haven’t used the word “shootout” all that much, but I’m going to use it here.  MSU gives up 29 points a game and TAMUK gives up 35 points a game and both teams also score their share (MSU45 points a game and TAMUK 35).  I think MSU has performed better over the course of the season, and especially against common opponents like WOU and CWU, so I’m going with the Mustangs here in a close, high-scoring game.  Midwestern State by 3 points.  

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

Series History: West Texas A&M leads 8-0-2  

Last meeting: 2025 (West Texas A&M won 56-7)

When WT runs the ball, they win.  Last week the Buffaloes stampeded over WNMU to the tune of 405 rushing yards and actually found enough balls to throw for 301 more.  Sul Ross is among the LSC’s worst teams at stopping the run, giving up 285 yards per game.  If WT doesn’t try to get the push upfront and get the running game going early and often, I think they will be missing out, especially if they are starting another backup quarterback like they did last week.  I do think Sul Ross will have difficulty (as they have also had against many other teams) matching up physically with WT and I think the Buffaloes will take advantage of that and dominate on the ground.  West Texas A&M by 17 points.