Midwestern State vs. Tarleton State
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 | 7 p.m.
Memorial Stadium | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (3-0, 1-0); Tarleton State (0-2, 0-1)
Video: Mustangs Digital Network (PPV)  
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free) 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com 
 
ON THE FIELD
Midwestern State takes on Tarleton State in a Lone Star Conference battle Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Mustangs look to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2011 and for the seventh time in the Bill Maskill era (since 2002). The Texans are trying to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2011.
 
SCOUTING THE TEXANS
- Tarleton State is coming off of back-to-back defeats to Findlay (Ohio) (35-34) at home and West Texas A&M (52-38) in the Lone Star Football Festival at AT&T Stadium.
- Cary Fowler is in his sixth season at the helm of the Tarleton State football program and carries a 27-27 record into Saturday's game against Midwestern State.
- The Texans seek to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2011.
- Tarleton State ranks 19th nationally and third in the Lone Star Conference in total offense at 491.5 yards per game, but yields 549.5 yards on defense per game (165th out of 169 in NCAA II).
- Defensively, the Texans rate 157th against the run (250 yards per game) and 155th against the pass (299.5 yards per game.
- Sophomore quarterback Zed Woerner ranks fifth in completions per game (28.5) connecting on 57-of-89 passes (64 percent) for 564 yards and three touchdowns through Tarleton's first two games.
- The Texans' trio of Daniel McCants (70.5 yards per game), Jabari Anderson (66.5 yards per game) and Zach Henshaw (47.0 yards per game) lead the nation's 43rd-best rushing attack at 209.5 yards per game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State meets Tarleton State for the 40th time on the gridiron Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
- The Texans lead the series which dates back to the 1925 season by a 20-9-1 margin.
- Tarleton State owns a 7-6 edge in the series in games played in Wichita Falls and has won seven of the 12 games played at Memorial Stadium.
- The Mustangs are 3-9 against Tarleton State during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002), but have split the last six games with the Texans dating back to the start of the 2010 campaign.
- The teams split games last season with MSU taking a 27-23 win at Stephenville during the regular season before Tarleton rallied for a 44-41 win in the LSC Playoffs in Wichita Falls.
 
COACH TO CURE
- For the eighth 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 raise money to battle Duchenne (DOO-SHIN) 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.
- Fans 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.
 
ABOUT BILL MASKILL
- Bill Maskill is in his 16th season as a head coach and 14th campaign at Midwestern State.
- Maskill has led the Mustangs to winning ledgers in each of his years at the helm of the program including the school's first Lone Star Conference championship in 2009 and first undefeated regular season in 2011.
- Under Maskill's guidance, MSU has advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason in the 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012 seasons while amassing a 103-41 record (.715).  He was named LSC Coach of the Year in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and was the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2011.
 
MAROON SEPTEMBER
- MSU stands at 47-9 (.839) in games played before Oct. 1 in the Bill Maskill era.
- Since 2006, Midwestern stands an outstanding 36-3 to start the season.  All three September losses have been by three points, a 20-17 decision at Angelo State on Sept. 26, 2009, a 20-17 loss at Tarleton State on Sept. 8, 2012, and the 27-24 loss to Tarleton on Sept. 14, 2013.
 
MSU RANKED 23RD IN AFCA POLL
- Midwestern State returned to the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll at No. 23.
- The Mustangs have received mention in at least one poll in each season dating back to 2006 and have received a national ranking for at least one reporting period in each of the last seven season (since 2009).
- The Mustangs received a vote on at least one ballot in 105 of 107 reporting periods dating from the 2006 season to the end of the 2014 campaign including 47 straight periods from 2011-14.
- MSU is one of 13 teams from Super Region Four to receive mention in the poll joining No. 4 Ferris State (Mich.), No. 6 Angelo State, No. 10 Colorado State-Pueblo, No. 11 Colorado Mines, No. 13 Ashland (Ohio), No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 21 Michigan Tech while Grand Valley State (Mich.), West Texas A&M, Findlay (Ohio), Ohio Dominican and Colorado Mesa are also receiving votes.
- Five of MSU's opponents are receiving including Colorado Mesa (RV/Sept. 12), Angelo State (No. 6/Oct. 3), West Texas A&M (RV/Oct. 10), Humboldt State (No. 17/Oct. 17) and Texas A&M-Commerce (No. 20/Oct. 24).
- The Mustangs spent four weeks in the Top 25 in 2014 topping out at No. 16 on Sept. 29.
 
MSU AMONG GRIDIRON ELITE
- Midwestern State is one of just two Texas four-year football playing institutions actively sporting 15 straight winning seasons.
- The Mustangs are the only scholarship-granting program in the State of Texas with a current string of 15 consecutive winning seasons.
- NCAA D3 power Mary Hardin Baylor also sports 15 consecutive seasons.
- Hardin-Simmons (NCAA D3) had 22-straight winning seasons before suffering a 4-6 year in 2013.
- Mary Hardin Baylor (3-0) takes on Belhaven (Miss.) on Oct. 3 in Belton.
 
MSU TOPS LSC IN NEW MILLENIUM
- Midwestern State has blazed its way to the top of the Lone Star Conference as one of the steadiest programs in all of NCAA Division II.
- The Mustangs have averaged more than seven wins a season since the start of the 2000 season and overtook Tarleton State to become the league's winning percentage leader over the last decade after defeating Southwestern Oklahoma 46-9 on Sep. 18, 2010.
 
MASTERFUL AT MEMORIAL
- Since Bill Maskill took over the reins of the MSU football program in 2002, the Mustangs have compiled a 56-13 record at Memorial Stadium - good for an impressive .812 winning percentage.
- MSU has a 90-50 overall record in its 26th season playing home contests at Memorial Stadium.
- The Mustangs are 63-15 (.808) at home since 2000.
- MSU has won 27 of its last 30 regular season games at Memorial Stadium dating back to the 2008 season.
 
MUSTANGS STREAKING...AGAIN
- Midwestern State is on the verge of posting its 18th winning streak of at least four games if it defeats Tarleton State.
- The Mustangs have posted 11 winning streaks of at least four games since the start of the Bill Maskill era in 2002.
- Also with a win over Texans, the Mustangs will start a season with four consecutive victories for the seventh time during the Maskill era.
- Midwestern rolled to 10 straight wins from the start of the 2011 season, had five consecutive wins at the start of the 2006, 2007 and 2010 campaigns and were 4-0 to begin the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
- With a win, MSU would win four straight games for the first time since reeling off seven consecutive victories from Sept. 21-Nov. 2, 2013.
 
OFFENSIVE TEAM NOTES
- Midwestern State delivered a season-high 400 yards in total offense in a 28-24 win over Eastern New Mexico in the Lone Star Football Festival at AT&T Stadium (9/19).
- Junior quarterback Quade Coward engineered a game-winning 13-play, 90-yard drive in 2:42 and scored the winning touchdown with 21 seconds remaining against Eastern New Mexico.
- True freshman running back Vincent Johnson rushed for a career-best 83 yards including a 9-yard TD run in the second quarter to pace MSU's season-best team total of 193 yards.
- Vincent's 9-yard touchdown burst in the second quarter was MSU's first rushing touchdown scored by a running back this season.
- Coward came on in relief of starter Hagen Hutchinson to complete 12-of-29 passes for 132 yards while rushing for 43 yards on nine carries with a touchdown.
- Senior wide receiver Arsenio Phillips set career highs with seven receptions for 84 yards including a 49-yard TD reception on a halfback pass from Hutchinson in the third quarter.
- Senior wide receiver Terrence Smith also set career bests with six catches for 85 yards against the Greyhounds.
MUSTANGS SHIFTING AWAY FROM RUN
- The Mustangs have rushed for fewer than 200 yards in season opening wins over Truman State, Colorado Mesa and Eastern New Mexico. MSU has not been limited to fewer than 200 rushing yards in four consecutive games since the 2010 went six games without accomplishing the feat from Oct. 2-Nov. 6.
RED ZONE / TENDENCIES
- MSU has scored on 10-of-12 trips to the Red Zone including touchdowns on six of those possessions.
- Midwestern's play call tendencies are 55.8 percent run and 44.2 percent passing.
- The passing game has produced 52.8 percent of MSU's offensive production.
HISTORIC NOTABLES VS. COLORADO MESA
- MSU failed to account for an offensive touchdown for just the fifth time in the Bill Maskill era (since 2002) in a 16-13 overtime win over Colorado Mesa on Sept. 12. MSU didn't score an offensive touchdown previously in a 2008 game against Northeastern State (W, 7-3), in the 2006 playoffs against Northwest Missouri State (L, 27-0) and twice in the 2004 season (Tarleton State (L, 19-3) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (L, 27-3)).
- The Mustangs failed to account for a rushing touchdown against Colorado Mesa (9/12) for the first time since falling 27-24 to Tarleton State in the 2013 season opener at AT&T Stadium.
MUSTANGS ROLL OVER TRUMAN STATE
- Midwestern State churned out 321 yards of total offense including 196 yards through the air and 125 rushing in a 31-3 win over Truman State.
- Sophomore quarterback Hagen Hutchinson completed 18-of-26 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another score in his first collegiate start.
 
DEFENSIVE TEAM NOTES
- Midwestern State boasts one of the top defensive units in all of NCAA Division II ranking 13th nationally in scoring defense (13.3 ppg) and 35th in total defense (303.0 ypg).
- MSU tops the Lone Star Conference in scoring defense (13.3), total defense (303.0 ypg) and passing yards allowed (134.3 ypg).
- The Mustangs have forced seven turnovers (4 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions) which have netted 21 points.
- Midwestern has not allowed an opponent to throw for more than 200 yards this season. The last time the Mustangs limited four consecutive opponents to less than 200 yards came in Y2K when MSU held 10 consecutive opponents to under 200 yards including five under 100 yards.
- The Mustangs limited Eastern New Mexico's third-ranked rushing attack to less than half of its season average holding the 'Hounds to 179 rushing yards on 58 attempts (3.1 ypc). ENMU came in averaging 362.5 rushing yards per game.
- Eleven different MSU players recorded at least five tackles against the Greyhounds including career highs by Calvin Steward (9), Emerson Evans (9), Deneldric Hudgens (7) and Darian Childers (6).
- Senior safety Marqui Christian earned Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after finishing with a team-high 13 tackles against ENMU.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
- Midwestern State ranks sixth in NCAA Division II with three blocked kicks over the first three weeks of the season.
- Junior defensive end Kerry Holiday was credited with a block against Truman State (9/5), junior defensive lineman Robert Kitchen got one at Colorado Mesa (9/12) and Cameron Drummond blocked a field goal against Eastern New Mexico (9/19).
- Senior safety Tari Jones accounted for MSU's lone touchdown at Colorado Mesa on Sept. 12 scooping a fumbled punt snap and racing 30 yards for a TD. It was MSU's first fumble returned for a touchdown since Taiyon Jackson returned on 90 yards for a score at Angelo State on Oct. 26, 2013.
- Senior kicker Andy Alkhazshvilly is a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal chances this season with a long of 31. He has made each of his last 21 point-after attempts dating back to Oct. 25, 2014.
- Sophomore punter Mitchell Henton ranks second in the LSC with a 40.6 punting average.