MSU Football

SATURDAY... No. 25 Midwestern State (3-1, 2-1) hits the road for a Highway 287 Challenge Cup contest against the West Texas A&M Buffaloes (3-2, 2-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium/Happy State Bank Field in Canyon.


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 courtesy of West Texas A&M and Stretch Internet. LINK
LIVE STATS: Live stats are available courtesy of the West Texas A&M Athletic Communications Office. LINK
GAME NOTES:  Courtesy the Midwestern State Athletic Communications Office. LINK

HIGHWAY 287 CHALLENGE CUP…

For the second season, Midwestern State and West Texas A&M will play for the Highway 287 Challenge Cup, with a competitive series between the athletic programs of the Mustangs and Buffaloes.  US Highway 287 connects the communities of Wichita Falls and Amarillo/Canyon.

The Highway 287 Challenge, which orginated at the request of the student bodies of both schools in 2012, tracks the head-to-head match-ups and conference championship results in 10 sports between MSU and WT, with each event scoring points toward the series championship.

WT won the first Highway 287 Cup last year 13-12.  The winner of the football game is given two points in the challenge.

SCOUTING THE BUFFALOES…

West Texas A&M enters the game with a record of 3-2 overall, 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play and on a three-game winning streak after beating McMurry 56-21 on Homecoming last week in Canyon.

The Buffs are under the command of head coach Mike Nesbitt, who sports a 14-5 record in his second year at WT.

The Buffaloes have the 51st ranked offense in NCAA Division II, the sixth in the Lone Star Conference, averaging 432.2 yards a game, but are 44th nationally in scoring offense and fourth in the league with a 34.8 average. 


The Buffs are 23rd in Division II in passing, second in the LSC, averaging 296.4 yards a game, while rushing for just 137.8 yards an outing (ranking 109th nationally and seventh in the LSC).  The WT attack is keyed by junior quarterback Preston Rabb of Llano, Texas.  He is 21st nationally and second in the LSC with a 286.8 yard average through the air, hitting 64.2 percent of his passes.  He's 120-of-187 for 1434 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.  The Buffaloes top receiver is senior Anthony Johnson of San Antonio, Texas/Warren who has 34 catches for 492 yards, or 98.4 yards a game (second in the LSC, 24th nationally).  Pecikonis is back after missing last season with an injury.  Senior Jeremy Watson of Lubbock, Texas/Estacado, has 26 receptions for 378 yards or 75.6 yards a game (fifth in the LSC, 75th nationally).

The ground game is paced by junior running back Geremy Alridge-Mitchell of Dallas, Texas/North Dallas, who is fourth in the LSC and is 53rd in Division II averaging 88.4 yards a game by collecting 442 yards on 99 carries with six touchdowns. While he hasn't played in the last two games, senior transfer Venric Mark of Tomball, Texas, a former All-Big 10 performer at Northwestern, adds 73.0 yards a game.

Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Carter James of Justin, Texas/Northwest, paces the way with 59 total tackles or 11.8 per game (fourth in the LSC and 15th in Division II) and leads the team with 5.0 tackles for losses (-25 yards).  Sophomore linebacker Patric Youngman of Forney, Texas, has 53 stops (10.6 per game, sixth in the LSC and 30th nationally). The Buffs have snagged seven interceptions on the season, led by senior cornerback Torian Oakley of Spring, Texas/Oak Ridge, who has two pickoffs this season.

West Texas A&M is fifth (of eight) in the LSC in Total Defense, 128th in the nation, allowing 431.8 yards a game.

All-Time Series: West Texas A&M leads the series 15-12, with MSU winning three of the last five meetings.  However, WT claimed a 19-12 victory at Memorial Stadium last season.  Midwestern State leads the series in Canyon 8-5, including a 6-4 record at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

NOTEWORTHY

• Midwestern State is 3-1 overall and is 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
• MSU fell to Angelo State 45-31 last Saturday, marking the first time for Angelo State to win at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls since a 21-19 win on Oct. 23, 1999.  It marked the second time in consecutive weeks that MSU streaks stretching from the Clinton Administration fell.
• The Mustangs are ranked 25th in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, marking MSU's fourth consecutive week in the poll.  It's also MSU's 36th ranking in the last 41 polls and 56th in the last 66.
• MSU has received at least one vote in the poll in 102 of the 103 polls.
• Coach Bill Maskill has a  record of 98-38 at Midwestern State, with a 72.1 winning percentage in his 13th season at MSU.  Maskill has an overall record of 111-46, a 70.7 winning percentage, in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach.
• Midwestern suffered four turnovers against ASU, with the Rams cashing in 21 points off the miscues
• The Mustangs turned the ball over only twice in the first two games, but have suffered seven turnovers during the last two games, leading to 31 points by the opposition.
• After committing an astonishing 14 penalties for 187 yards (second most in program history), MSU was flagged only twice for nine yards against Angelo State, marking the fewest penalties and penalty yards in MSU's NCAA era.  It's also the third lowest number of penalties and yards in program history.
• MSU and Angelo State combined for 1,027 yards of total offense in the game, marking the second time in history the Mustangs and Rams have collected more than 1,000 yards together in a game.  The other time was in 2011, when MSU rolled up 704 on the way to a combined 1,034 stripes.
• Sophomore running back Dante Taylor posted his third 100-plus rushing game this season with his 159 yards against Angelo State on 19 carries with a touchdown.  It was his sixth career 100-yard game, moving him into a tie for seventh all-time at MSU.
• Taylor is averaging 105.0 yards a game, second in the Lone Star Conference and 31st in Division II.
• Senior Jake Glover is ranked fifth in the LSC in total offense and 49th nationally averaging 265.0 yards of combined passing and running.
• Junior placekicker Andy Alkhazshvilly hit a 45-yard field goal in the first quarter against the Rams.  It was the third longest field goal by an MSU player at Memorial Stadium.
• Sophomore receiver Statron Jones tallied his second 100-yard receiving game and the third of his career with his six catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns against ASU.
• Freshman punter Mitchell Henton continues to lead the Lone Star Conference in punting with his 42.7 yard average and ranks 15th in NCAA Division II.
• Junior Dominique Williams continues to lead the LSC in punt returns, averaging 12.3 yards a return.  That's 23rd in Division II.
• Midwestern and West Texas A&M have played some tight games over the last few seasons.  The last two meetings between the teams and six of the last 10 contests between the schools have been settled by a touchdown or less.