MSU Football

SATURDAY... Defending Lone Star Conference Co-Champion Midwestern State welcomes West Alabama to Wichita Falls for the first time. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Memorial Stadium/Joe Golding Field in Wichita Falls.

It's a "Wild West Show" Homecoming 2013. MSU will welcome four new inductees into the MSU Athletic Hall of Honor at halftime. The game is the second for MSU in the 2013 Lone Star Conference-Gulf South Conference First and Ten Challenge.

WHERE TO FIND THE GAME…

95.5 ESPN: The broadcast features the play-by-play voice of two-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Bill Powers. He is joined by KAUZ TV-6 anchorman Chris Horgen, who serves as color analyst.

ON THE WEB: The ESPN-Midwestern State Sports Network audio broadcast is simulcast on MSUMustangs.com. LINK

VIDEO WEBCAST: The game will be video streamed FREE via MSUMustangs.com and Stretch Internet. LINK

LIVE STATS: Live stats are available courtesy of the Midwestern State Athletic Communications Office. LINK


SCOUTING THE TIGERS…

West Alabama enters the game ranked eighth in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll with a record of 5-1 overall, 3-0 in the Gulf South Conference after knocking off then-No.1 ranked Valdosta State (Ga.) 49-30 on Oct. 10 at home in Livingston, Ala.

The Tigers are under the command of head coach Will Hall, who sports a 22-9 record in his third season. Hall was the offensive coordinator for three seasons before becoming the head coach. Hall was an outstanding player as well, winning the 2003 Harlon Hill Award at North Alabama.

The Tigers run the ball 65 percent of the time for 54 percent of their offensive yards. UWA has a two quarterback attack led by junior Kyle Caldwell who has thrown for 1353 yards on 76-of-129 passes for 15 touchdowns with two interceptions. Caldwell has 135 rushing yards as well. The second signal caller is senior Gary Johnston who has rushed for 206 yards and five touchdowns, while throwing for 199 yards and five scores on 13-of-16 passes with one pick.

The running game is handled by senior Kedrick Rhodes, a transfer from Florida International over the summer. Rhodes averages 94.8 yards a game (first in the GSC and 52nd in Division II) with his 569 stripes with six touchdowns. Sophomore Javae Swindle has 473 yards with four TDs, averaging 78.8 yards an outing (fourth in the GSC, 78th nationally). Senior Reggie Hall adds 213 yards from the super back spot, averaging 42.6 yards a game (12th in the GSC).

The Tigers have three favorite receivers as well that account for 58 percent of the grabs. Senior Seth Roberts is averaging 81.5 yards a game (second in the GSC, 55th in Division II), with junior Chad Toocheck averaging 54.8 yards a game (eighth in the GSC, 163 in DII) and senior Malik Lofton picking up 46.3 yards an outing (11th in the GSC).

Defensively, strong safety Demetruce McNeal heads the tackle chart. The senior transfer from Auburn who was second last season at AU in tackles and was a preseason All-SEC selection has 36 stops on the year, a 6.0 average. His backup, senior Brandon Lilly has 31 stops (5.2 a game) along with an interception with a 70-yard return. Defensive end Ryan Jones adds 30 tackles (5.0 per game) and leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss (-46 yards) and 4.0 quarterback sacks (-38 yards).

West Alabama is averaging 569.0 yards of total offense a game (first in the GSC and fourth in Division II), that includes 308.2 rushing (first in the GSC, ninth in DII) to go with 49.5 points an outing (first in the Gulf South and third nationally). The Tigers allow 312.0 yards defensively (second in the GSC and 22nd in Division II) and 18.5 points per contest (third GSC, 27th in DII).

All-Time Series: Midwestern State leads the series 1-0, after winning 42-27 on Oct. 4, 2012 in Livingston, Ala. MSU is 3-0 in the LSC-GSC 1st & Ten Challenge.

• Midwestern State is 4-1 overall and remains 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play with the 66-20 win over McMurry.
• It's the eighth consecutive season that MSU has recorded a start of 4-1 or better.
• The Mustangs are ranked 24th in the AFCA Coaches Top 25, the second week in the poll after their school record stretch of being ranking in 26 consecutive reporting periods ended two weeks ago following a win. MSU has been in the Top 25 in 50 of the last 56 polls and has received a vote in 90 of the last 91 polls that have been released.
• MSU extended its regular season winning streak at Memorial Stadium/Joe Golding Field to 22.
• Since the start of the Bill Maskill era in 2002, MSU is 50-10 at Memorial Stadium with an .833 winning percentage at home.
• The win against McMurry also extended MSU's record against non-LSC Division II regular season opponents to 14-1 in the Bill Maskill Era.
• MSU ran for 476 yards against the War Hawks, the second-most in school history behind the 522 that it rushed for against McMurry on Oct. 26, 1991.
• The 668 total yards in the game by MSU equals the sixth most in a game in Midwestern history.
• Midwestern has scored in 17 straight quarters, being shutout in only one quarter this season (third quarter of season opener).
• MSU continues to lead the Lone Star Conference in total defense, allowing opponents 329.6 yards a game, 37th in Division II.
• Dominique Williams moved to the lead in the Lone Star Conference in punt returns, averaging 23.0 yards a return on 1.4 returns per game.
• Williams' 68-yard TD return marked the second time this season to record a 60-yard return, joining Henry Johnson who did it in 1995.
• The return 68-yard return equaled the fifth-longest in school history.
• Keidrick Jackson his assault on the MSU record book. With his 168 yards (in three plays more than one-half of action) against McMurry, Jackson has posted four straight 100-yard games for the third time, the first to do so at MSU.
• Jackson has 3,461 career yards, the most of any MSU running back, and needs just 130 yards to pass quarterback Daniel Polk's (2004-2007) MSU career rushing record of 3,590. Jackson already has the MSU career record for rushing attempts (527), rushing touchdowns (55) and 100-yard performances (18).
• Jackson also has 3,721 career all-purpose yards, second on the MSU all-time list. Former NFL receiver Bryan Gilmore has the record at 3,926 yards, just 215 ahead of Jackson.
• Add eight more points to Greg Saladino's total, bringing him to 212 in fourth on the all-time list.
• Saladino did not attempt a field goal, but did hit 7-of-7 PATs to bring his career mark up to 143-of-149. He has connected on 37 straight point-after kicks, the third-longest string in school history and has been good on 80 of his last 81 attempts.
• Midwestern plays it's second game this season in the LSC-Gulf South Conference 1st & 10 Challenge when West Alabama comes to Memorial Stadium. MSU won last season's matchup with the Tigers, 42-27 in Livingston, Ala., and is 3-0 in the Challenge.
• MSU will do something it hasn't done in a decade when it meets UWA, play consecutive non-conference games. The last time MSU played back-to-back games outside of the LSC was in 2003, when it faced Arkansas Tech and went to Sam Houston State to open the season.
• It's the first time MSU has had consecutive non-conference games at home since 1996, when it played as an independent starting the transition into NCAA Division II.