Midwestern State vs. Tarleton State
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 | 7 p.m.
Memorial Stadium | Stephenville, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (7-1, 6-1 LSC); Tarleton State (5-4, 5-2 LSC)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Watch: TarletonSports.com 
Listen: Mustangs Digital Network  
Live Stats: TarletonSports.com 
 
SETTING THE STAGE
No. 12 Midwestern State takes on rival Tarleton State Saturday night Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
FOR STARTERS
- Midwestern State can clinch a share of its fourth LSC championship with wins in the final two weeks of the regular season.
- MSU is searching for consecutive wins in Stephenville for the first time since 1999-00.
- Tarleton State can clinch a share of the Lone Star Conference championship with wins over Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce in the final two weeks of the regular season.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Tarleton State meet for the 32nd time on the gridiron Saturday night  in Stephenville.
- The Texans own a 20-10-1 edge in the series which dates back to 1925.
- The teams met four times as junior colleges in 1925, 1926, 1930, and 1946.
- The MSU/Tarleton State series is the longest running in program history.
- Midwestern State is 4-9 against the Texans during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002) and own a winning ledger against seven of the nine current members of the LSC.
- The Mustangs snapped a four-game skid at Tarleton Memorial Stadium with a 27-23 win in their last trip to Stephenville in 2014.
- MSU has won four of the last seven meetings between the programs dating back to 2010. Each of Tarleton's wins during the stretch have come by 3 points.
 
SCOUTING THE TEXANS
- Tarleton State has won four of its last five games since suffering through a 1-3 start to the season. The Texans' lone loss came 21-17 to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 22 in Stephenville.
- Tarleton is playing its sixth home game and is 3-2 with losses to No. 23 Southwest Baptist (Mo.) and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Junior quarterback Zed Warner leads the LSC's No. 5-ranked passing attack as the Texans average 275.2 yards through the air per game. Warner has thrown for 2,181 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.
- Junior transfer receiver Del'Michael High leads the receiving corps with 749 yards on 50 receptions and nine touchdowns. High logged his third 100-yard receiving game making nine catches for 126 yards last week against Panhandle State.
- Senior Bubba Tandy is in the midst of a career high posting collegiate highs with 39 receptions for 640 yards and seven touchdowns. Tandy is coming off of his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with 100 yards on three catches featuring a 74-yard TD last week against Panhandle State.
- Senior Joseph Sadler leads the TSU rushing attack going for 457 yards on 101 carries and four touchdowns. He boasts three 100-yard performances this season with a high of 151 yards on 20 carries against Angelo State (9/17).
- Defensively, Tarleton State ranks eighth in the LSC and 137th nationally yielding 442.6 yards per game giving up 288.3 through the air and 154.2 on the ground.
- Senior linebacker Cody Burtscher leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 13th in NCAA Division II with 10.9 tackles per game. The Glen Rose product is sitting on 99 total tackles for the season with double-figure stops in seven games this season.
- Todd Whitten is in his third stint as head coach of the Texans posting an overall record of 50-27 (.649). He was 5-5 in his first stint in 1996-97, then went 40-18 from 2000-05 leading the Texans to the Division II playoffs in 2002 and 2004.
 
ABOUT BILL MASKILL
- Bill Maskill is in his 17th season as a head coach and 15th 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, 2012 and 2015 seasons while amassing a 118-44 record (.728).  He was named LSC Coach of the Year in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and was the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2011.
- In all, Maskill has coached 21 All-Americans, 47 all-region selections and 60 All-Lone Star Conference first teamers in his 15 seasons in Wichita Falls.
- Maskill is starting his 48th year as a football coach. His coaching experience includes stops as a Division I assistant at Vanderbilt (twice), Southern Methodist, Wake Forest, Oregon, Tulane, Louisville, Arizona State, Bowling Green and Iowa.
- Maskill has a 131-52 overall record (.716) and led Southeast Missouri State to a 1988 MIAA co-championship.
 
MUSTANGS SECOND IN SUPER REGION FOUR
- Midwestern State moved to second in the NCAA Division II Super Region Four rankings after improving to 7-1 with a 76-21 win over UT-Permian Basin.
- The top seven teams in each of NCAA Division II's four Super Regions advance to the playoffs beginning at campus sites on Nov. 19.
- If the season ended last week, the Mustangs would play host to Ashland (Ohio) and -- with a win -- would host the second round versus the winner of the first round matchup between Southwest Baptist (Mo.) and Truman State (Mo.).
- MSU is in search of its seventh NCAA II playoff appearance and fourth in the last six seasons (2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015).
 
MSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Midwestern State improved one spot to No. 12 in this week's AFCA Division II Top 25.
- The Mustangs have carried a national ranking for each of the last 19 polls dating back to last season.
- The Mustangs moved up to No. 10 in this week's D2Football.com rankings.
- MSU is ranked 14th in the Massey Ratings.
- The Mustangs are 15th in the Hero Sports Bennett Rankings compared to Tarleton State which is 55th.
- The Hero Sports Bennett Rankings have the Lone Star Conference as the third strongest league in NCAA Division II.
 
WINNING BIG
- Midwestern State's 76-21 win over UT-Permian Basin (10/29) marked the 10th time in program history the Mustangs posted a 50-point win.
- The 76 points were also the second most in program history second only to the 82 points scored in a 76-point win at Western New Mexico on Oct. 13, 2001.
- The 76 points were the third most scored in NCAA Division II this season trailing only Colorado Mesa (87-14 at New Mexico Highlands on 10/29) and California (Pa.) (79-3 vs. Cheyney on 9/10).
- The win was MSU's third by 40-or-more points on Homecoming as the Mustangs rolled to a 73-6 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2007 and beat Abilene Christian 70-28 in 2011.
- The 76-21 win over UT-Permian Basin was MSU's first 40-point blowout since walloping McMurry 71-13 on Oct. 18, 2014.
 
THE DEAD ZONE
- Midwestern State ranks fourth in the LSC in Red Zone defense per the NCAA allowing the opponent to score 74.3 percent of the time.
- The Mustangs are second in the LSC in points yielded per Red Zone trip at 4.2.
- The Mustangs have allowed touchdowns on 18 of 35 opponent Red Zone trips this season, but permitted touchdowns three of UT-Permian Basin's four trips last week.
 
REWIND: MSU 76, UTPB 21
- Midwestern State rolled up the third most points in NCAA Division II this season in a 76-21 Homecoming win over UT-Permian Basin.
- The 76 points were the second most in school history falling just shy of the 82 scored at Western New Mexico in 2001.
- The 55-point margin of victory was the seventh largest in program history.
- MSU's 63 points scored in the first half were the most in a single half in school history.
- The 35-point first quarter explosion represented the second most points scored in a single period falling a point shy of the 36 scored in the first quarter at Western New Mexico in 2001.
- MSU's 609 yards of total offense were the 14th most in program history and best since rolling up 676 against Tarleton State on Sept. 25, 2015.
- MSU's 350 rushing yards were the most since running for 351 at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Nov. 1, 2014.
- Midwestern State has won 35 of its last 38 games at Memorial Stadium dating back to the start of the 2008 season.
- Junior DeAndre Black earned LSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after returning a punt 67 yards for touchdown. It was his third return of at least 45 yards over the last two games.
- Sophomore Vincent Johnson rushed for two touchdowns (2, 51) and now has 16 on the season. It was his sixth game with at least two scores.
- Senior Jordan Meyers scooped and scored on a 26-yard fumble return. It was MSU's first defensive score of the season and first since Harold Wills returned an interception for 4 yards to account for the winning points in MSU's 37-33 win at Texas A&M-Commerce last season in the LSC Playoff title game on Nov. 14, 2015.
- Junior cornerback Jerrell Sykes broke up three passes and intercepted a ball in the end zone. It was MSU's fourth end zone interception this season.
- Sophomore Nicholas Gabriel became the fourth MSU rusher to go over 100 yards this season finishing with 121 yards on 17 carries.
- Sophomore Quinton Childs had a receiving touchdown (11) and a rushing TD on a jet sweep (58) for his first two tallies as a Mustang.
 
OFFENSIVE TEAM NOTES
- Midwestern State exploded for a school record 63 points in the first half against UT-Permian Basin (10/29). The 35 points in the first quarter were the most since MSU scored 36 against Western New Mexico in 2001, while the 76 total points were the second most in school history falling just shy of the 82 scored against WNMU also in 2001.
- MSU also rolled up a season highs with 609 total yards and 351 rushing yards.
- The Mustangs boast the No. 2 rushing attack in the LSC ranking 28th nationally churning out 213.8 yards per game.
- MSU ranks third in the LSC and 42nd in NCAA Division II in total offense at 445.5 yards per game.
- Midwestern tops the LSC and is 22nd nationally allowing 4.75 tackles for loss per game.
- MSU set season highs in both rushing touchdowns (5) and passing scores (4) against UT-Permian Basin (10/29).
- The Mustangs have rushed for 200-or-more yards five times this season, while rolling up 400 yards of total offense on five occasions.
- MSU's play breakdown is 59.2 percent rush (322-1710) and 40.8 percent pass (132-222-1854).
 
DEFENSIVE TEAM NOTES
- Midwestern State boasts the top Red Zone defense in the Lone Star Conference as the Mustangs have permitted touchdowns on just 18-of-35 (51.4 percent) of opponent trips inside the 20-yard line yielding 4.2 points per trip.
- Four of MSU's seven interceptions this season have come in the end zone.
- MSU has yielded 400-or-more yards of total offense in four games after holding Truman State to a season low 255 yards in the season opener.
- Midwestern has held its last three opponents to fewer than 400 yards of total offense.
- The Mustangs have produced 56 points off of 14 turnovers this season.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
- Midwestern State ranks seventh in the LSC and 81st in NCAA Division II in kickoff returns at 20.54 yards per return, while second in the LSC and ranking ninth nationally in kick return defense giving up 16.11 yards per return.
- MSU ranks third in the LSC and 16th in NCAA Division II with a 14.86 yards per punt return average, while ranking fourth in the LSC and 51st nationally allowing 7.08 yards per return.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State closes the season with a Lone Star Conference showdown against Eastern New Mexico Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Military Appreciation Day is set for a kickoff time of 1 p.m.