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GAME DAY: Midwestern State at Texas A&M-Commerce (Sep. 28, 2013)

Football MSU Athletic Communication

No. 23 Mustangs visit A&M-Commerce in LSC Action

MSU Football

SATURDAY... Defending Lone Star Conference Co-Champion No. 23 Midwestern State returns to Lone Star Conference play on Saturday with its third game away from home, battling Texas A&M-Commerce. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Commerce.

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 simulcasted on MSUMustangs.com. LINK

STREAMING VIDEO: A pay-per-view video webcast produced by Texas A&M-Commerce is available. The cost is $7.95. LINK

LIVE STATS: Live stats are available courtesy of the Texas A&M-Commerce Athletic Communications Office. LINK


SCOUTING THE LIONS …

Texas A&M-Commerce enters the game with a 2-1 overall record, 0-1 in Lone Star Conference action after a 62-28 loss at No. 4 West Texas A&M last Saturday in Canyon.

The Lions are under the command of new head coach Colby Carthel, who sports a 2-1 record in his first season at A&M-C. Carthel, who spent the last seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at West Texas A&M, is the son of former WT head coach Don Carthel. Colby has long Lone Star Conference ties dating back to his playing days at Angelo State and coaching days at Abilene Christian.

The Lions are led by junior quarterback Tyrik Rollison whose 940 total yards accounts for 79.8 percent of the Lions 1178 total offensive yards this season. Rollison has completed 68-of-109 passes for 923 yards and two touchdowns in three games, with two interceptions. He's also run for 17 net yards. His 313.3 average in total offense is second in the LSC and 27th nationally.

Rollison's favorite target is former MSU receiver Vernon Johnson who is averaging 133.0 yards a game with 6.0 receptions per contest. He's only played in two of the three games, so cannot be ranked in conference or NCAA statistics. He's joined by tight end Taylor Peasha who is averaging 57.7 yards per game (6th in the LSC, 161 in Division II) and wideout Stacy Howard with 46.3 yards a contest.

Defensively, linebacker Matt Claggett leads the Lions with 20 total tackles, while linebacker Kristoddie Woods has 16 with 2.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end Tevin Moore has 14 stops this season. Moore leads the LSC and is fourth in Division II with 8.0 tackles for loss (-40 yards), to go with his 5.0 quarterback sacks for losses of 35 yards (tops in LSC, third nationally). Safety Marcus Fore also has 14 tackles.

A&M-Commerce is averaging 392.7 yards of total offense a game (seventh in LSC, 77th nationally) to go with 41.3 points an outing (third in LSC, 19th nationally), while allowing 382.3 yards defensively (fourth in LSC, 79th nationally) and 35.0 points an outing (sixth in LSC, 120th nationally).

All-Time Series: Texas A&M-Commerce leads the series 11-6, having won the first ten meetings dating back to 1947. MSU has won six of the last seven games, with the lone loss coming on MSU's last trip to Commerce on Sept. 10, 2005 when the Lions won 27-25. MSU has beaten A&M-C the last two seasons at AT&T Stadium in the Lone Star Football Festival.


NOTEWORTHY
  • Texas A&M-Commerce, the former East Texas State, is celebrating this contest as the Harvey Martin Classic to honor the late alum and former Dallas Cowboy great. It is the first Harvey Martin Classic not to be played in the DFW Metroplex.
  • For the sixth consecutive year, Coach Bill Maskill and the MSU Coaching Staff is participating in the American Football Coaches Association Coach to Cure MD. Coaches across college football are joining in the effort to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch to raise awareness of the disease. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood and primarily affects boys across races and cultures. Fany may donate to support the effort by going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or may have a $5 contribution added to their wireless phone bill by texting the word CURE to 90999.
  • The Mustangs are ranked 23rd in the AFCA Coaches Top 25, extending their school record stretch of being ranked in 26 consecutive reporting periods. MSU has been in the top 25 in 48 of the last 53 polls and has received a vote in 87 of the last 88 polls that have been released.
  • With the win over West Georgia, MSU is 3-0 in games played in the Lone Star Conference-Gulf South Conference Challenge.
  • MSU is 15-8 against regular season non-LSC foes since joining the league in 1997.
  • MSU is 13-3 overall and 13-1 during the Bill Maskill Era against regular season Division II non-conference opponents.
  • Midwestern collected 469 yards offensively against West Georgia, rushing for 384.
  • Keidrick Jackson equaled his third-highest rushing game with 184 yards on 27 carries against UWG.
  • Jackson's two rushing touchdowns scored 12 points to break the MSU career scoring record. Jackson now has 294 points, bettering the 291 of kicker Jose Martinez (2007-10).
  • Jackson's 184 yards made him the first running back to rush for 3,000 yards at MSU as he now has 3,057. He is 534 yards from passing quarterback Daniel Polk (2004-07) at 3,590 for the MSU career rushing record.
  • Jackson also broke his tie with Dominic Rhodes and now has 15 career 100-yard games to hold the MSU record by himself in that category.
  • The game also saw redshirt freshman Dante Taylor (5-11, 190, Fr-RS, Plano, Texas/Plano East) rush for 123 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the first time this season MSU recorded a double 100-yard rushing game after tallying sixth in 2012.
  • Greg Saladino was 5-of-5 on PATs and added a field goal for eight points to move into fourth in MSU career scoring and second in kick scoring with 181 points. He passed Ross Harrison (2003-06) and Brandon Kelsey (2009-12) who each had scored 180 points and kicker Kristian Foster (2004-06) who kicked 176 points … Senior safety Taiyon Jackson and sophomore whip Marqui Christian each tallied six tackles at West Georgia and lead the team with 19 total stops. Their average of 9.5 per game is tied for second in the Lone Star Conference.
  • MSU is 40-9 in August and September in the Bill Maskill Era, 36-9 in September only.
  • MSU is 0-1 in Lone Star Conference play and hasn't lost consecutive LSC contests since 2008, when the Mustangs lost at West Texas A&M 42-14 and to Tarleton 37-16.
  • MSU hasn't started Lone Star Conference play 0-2 since 1998.
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