No. 20 MIDWESTERN STATE vs No. 17 ANGELO STATE

Saturday, September 18 — 6 p.m.
Legrand Stadium (San Angelo, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 15-8

SAN ANGELO, Texas — No. 20 Midwestern State faces its second straight ranked opponent Saturday night against No. 17 Angelo State. Kickoff at Legrand Stadium is set for 6 p.m.

The game is available on streaming video courtesy AngeloSports.com or listen to the call of the Voice of the Mustangs — Pete Stein — via free streaming audio at MSUMustangs.com/streaming.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1 |  Midwestern State faces its second consecutive opponent ranked in the American Football Coaches' Association Division II Poll. The Mustangs last defeated two straight ranked foes in 2017 when MSU rolled to a 56-43 victory at No. 20 Eastern New Mexico to finish off a perfect 10-0 regular season. The Mustangs then upended No. 18 Sioux Falls (S.D.) 24-20 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. 

2 |  Midwestern State rallied from a program record 23-0 deficit to beat No. 7-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday night at Choctaw Stadium. Meanwhile, Angelo State fell behind Chadron State 24-0 in the first second quarter before rallying for a 28-24 win. 

3 |  Midwestern State boasts a 23-29 record (.442) against nationally ranked opposition during the Bill Maskill era. The Mustangs, however, are 15-6 versus nationally ranked foes since the start of the 2011 season.

4 |  Midwestern State aims for his seven straight start to a fully scheduled season Saturday night at Angelo State. The Mustangs started 12 of their 20 seasons under Bill Maskill by winning at least their first three games. MSU has boasted at least a 3-0 start in every season since 2014 with exception of the shortened campaign last spring.

5 |  Midwestern State has won 18 more games than any other active Lone Star Conference program since the start of the 2000 season. The Mustangs are 159-65 over the timeframe and are averaging nearly eight wins a season. MSU managed at least eight wins in 11 seasons since the start of the 2000 campaign. The Mustangs are trailed by West Texas A&M (141-101/.583), Angelo State (107-116/.480) and Eastern New Mexico (94-110/.461).

FIVE OFFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 61st in NCAA Division II averaging 392.5 yards of total offense per game. The Mustangs are third in the LSC and 33rd nationally piling up 195 rushing yards per game, while ranking sixth in the league and 86th national with 197.5 passing yards per game.

2 |  Midwestern State finishes drives with the best in the national. The Mustangs have scored on all nine of their drives reaching the Red Zone including eight touchdowns and one field goal. MSU was particularly impressive in the second half of last week's 31-30 win over No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce. The Mustangs ate up 19:08 on three second-half drives of 60, 99 and 49 yards -- all ending in touchdowns.

3 |  Senior quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole ranks fourth in the LSC and 51st in NCAA Division II in pass efficiency rating. The Arizona State transfer connected on 34-of-57 passing attempts for 376 yards with five touchdowns and one interception through the first two games of the season. 

4 |  Freshman Jalen March leads the rushing attack ranking eighth in the LSC at 57 yards per game. He led the Mustangs with 44 yards on seven carries in last week's win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Junior Trenton Kennedy stands 11th in the LSC at 51 yards per game.

5 |  Five different receivers accounted for at four receptions through the first two weeks of the season for Midwestern State. Redshirt-freshman Ja'Juan Mason leads the way with six receptions for 99 yards, while sophomore Ja'Marzeyea Arvie has six catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. Senior Kandin Robertson is next with five receptions for 63 yards and a TD, while seniors Kylan Harrison (80 yards, 2 TDs) and Anthony Tennison (52 yards) have four receptions apiece.

FIVE DEFENSIVE STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State ranks eighth in the Lone Star Conference and 134th in NCAA Division II allowing 461 yards per game, but most of that is coming off of big plays in the first half. The Mustangs allowed just 109 yards in the second half in last week's 31-30 win over No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce. MSU was even stingier after the Lions went 76 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. After that, the Mustangs permitted 33 yards in the final 25 minutes. A week before, MSU allowed Quincy to stack up 363 yards in the first half to just 143 after halftime.

2 |  Sophomore cornerback Dylon Davis earned Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after returning an interception 70 yards for a touchdown and forcing a fumble that led to three more points to pull the Mustangs to within 23-10 over No. 7-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce last week at Choctaw Stadium. The Abilene Cooper High School product also led the team with nine tackles. It was the second consecutive week Davis returned an interception for a touchdown also going 23 yards for a score in the season opener at Quincy. The NCAA Division II interceptions leader matched Steve Prestwood (1990) for the most interception returns for TDs in a season for Midwestern State and also matched the MSU record of two interception returns for scores during a career matching Prestwood and Rickey Weaver. Ironically, Davis returned four his 16 interceptions for touchdowns during his senior season at Cooper High School in 2019.

3 |  Midwestern State ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and seven in NCAA Division II averaging five quarterback sacks per game. The Mustangs are also third in the league and seven in the nation with 11 tackles per loss a game. Junior linebacker Justin Guillory leads the way with two sacks followed by Alex Alvarado (1.5), Jaylon Abdul-Karim (1.0), Melik Owens (1.0), Zed Asowata (1.0), Zach Trevino (1.0), James Williams (1.0), Khristian Lee (1.0) and Konner Jones-Searcy (0.5).

4 |  The Midwestern State defense forced seven turnovers in a pair of wins over Quincy and Texas A&M-Commerce. Senior Malik Sonnier and freshman Dylon Davis boast a pair of interceptions each while the Mustangs have also taken away three fumbles for an overall plus-4 turnover margin. The Mustangs hold a 24-7 edge in points off of turnovers.

5 |  Midwestern State's strong second half defensive surge fueled strong closes for the Mustangs. MSU has won the fourth quarter 27-0 in wins over Quincy and Texas A&M-Commerce.

THREE SPECIAL TEAMS STORY LINES

1 |  Midwestern State's Ritse Vaes connected on a 42-yard field goal and was a perfect 4-for-4 on point-after attempts including the go-ahead score with 25 seconds remaining. Vaes was late addition to the travel roster, but earned Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors following his collegiate debut. He is a graduate of Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls, but was born in Denmark. He moved to France at young age before his family came to Wichita Falls when he was 14 years old.

2 |  Midwestern State's Fernando Piedra stepped in to handle punt and kickoff duties following the illness of three-year starter Dylan Spears. The Jacksboro native leads the Lone Star Conference averaging 37.1 yards on 11 punts this season placing four inside the 20-yard line and three fair catches. He boasts a long of 46 yards. Piedra is also averaging 48.3 yards on his six kickoffs. He transferred to MSU after spending a year at Tarleton State where he attempted to walk-on, but was denied.

3 |  Senior Kylan Harrison is the Mustangs top threat as a kick returner averaging 21.3 yards on three returns, while redshirt-freshman Tre Owens averages 13 yards on three punt returns with a long of 21.

HEAD COACH Bill Maskill is the dean of the Lone Star Conference football coaching fraternity and stands as the all-time winningest coach in program history boasting a 145-57 mark since taking over the reins of the Midwestern State program in 2002. During that time, Maskill coached the Mustangs to three Lone Star Conference titles (2011, 2012, 2017), eight playoff showings and one bowl appearance. Overall, Maskill sports a 158-65 career coaching record (.709) including a 13-8 run during two seasons at Southeast Missouri State in 1988 and 1989.

THE SERIES WITH THE RAMS

Midwestern State and Angelo State meet for the 24th time on the gridiron Saturday night at Legrand Stadium. The Mustangs own a 15-8 edge in the series which dates back to the 1946. Angelo State ended MSU's four-game winning streak in the series by defeating the Mustangs 28-6 on Sept. 28, 2019. MSU owns a 6-5 mark against the Rams in games played in San Angelo, but are 2-2 at since ASU moved to Legrand Stadium prior to the 2014 season. The Mustangs are 1-1 when playing a nationally ranked Angelo State squad. MSU claimed a 29-20 win over the No. 6-ranked Rams in 2015 and fell 21-19 to the No. 17-ranked Rams in 1999.

A Mustangs win would…

- make Midwestern State 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference.
- make Midwestern State 16-8 all-time against Angelo State.
- make MSU 3-0 for the eight consecutive fully scheduled season.
- make Midwestern State 16-6 against nationally ranked opponents since 2014.
- make Midwestern State 60-10 in the month of September during the Bill Maskill era.
- make Bill Maskill 146-57 at Midwestern State and 159-65 overall.

A Mustangs loss would…

- make Midwestern State 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Lone Star Conference.
- make Midwestern State 15-9 all-time against Angelo State.
- make Midwestern State 15-7 against nationally ranked opponents since 2014.
- make Midwestern State 59-12 in the month of September during the Bill Maskill era.
- make Bill Maskill 145-58 at Midwestern State and 158-66 overall.