WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State and West Texas A&M resumes the Highway 287 Rivalry Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (3-2, 2-1 LSC) 
vs WEST TEXAS A&M (3-2, 1-2 LSC)

Saturday, Oct. 8 | 7 p.m.
Memorial Stadium | Wichita Falls

SERIES HISTORY | Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 35th time on the gridiron Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. The Buffs own a 19-15 edge in the series which dates back to the 1947 season. WT has won the last two meetings -- both in Canyon. The Mustangs, however, have won the last two matchups at Memorial Stadium taking a 24-23 overtime win in 2018 after routing the Buffs 45-3 in 2017 when the game was called after three quarters due to lightning.

THE DEAN OF THE LSC | Bill Maskill became the first six-time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year while leading the Mustangs to their fifth league title. Maskill's 166 career coaching victories are the fourth most by active NCAA Division II head coach and ninth most amongst all active NCAA football coaches. His 153 wins as a head coach at a Lone Star Conference institution are the second most in league history. Ron Harms won 172 games at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 21 seasons from 1979-99.

HOME SWEET HOME | Midwestern State has owned Joe Golding Field by posting an 85-19 record (.817) during the Bill Maskill era (since 2002). The Mustangs had a seven-game home field winning streak snapped in the season opener against Colorado State-Pueblo. MSU is 29-5 since the start of the 2015 campaign.

MAROON SEPTEMBER | Midwestern State owns a 64-11 mark in games played in September since the start of the Bill Maskill era in 2002. The Mustangs are 28-2 in September games since the start of the 2014 season with losses coming at Angelo State in 2019 and in the 2022 season opener against Colorado State-Pueblo. MSU is 54-29 (.651) during month of October during Maskill's tenure.

HIGH OCTANE MUSTANGS | Midwestern State ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 23rd in NCAA Division II averaging 439.2 yards of total offense per game. The Mustangs lead the LSC ranking 13th nationally with 230.4 rushing yards per game.

HOLDING THE LINE | Midwestern State's offensive line has permitted just two sacks this season with one coming on a bobbled flea flicker last week against Simon Fraser. The Mustangs also lead the LSC and rank 16th in NCAA Division II allowing a mere 3.8 tackles for loss per game.

SEE YOU AT THE CROSSROADS | Freshman running back Devin Cross boasts 100-yard rushing performances in three of the last four weeks which includes a season-high 139 at Eastern New Mexico (9/10), 111 against Simon Fraser (9/24), and 110 at Western New Mexico (10/1). Cross ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 25th in NCAA Division II with 476 rushing yards, while leading the league and ranking 29th nationally at 6.26 yards per carry.

OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSE | Midwestern State is one of three Lone Star Conference programs to score three defensive touchdowns this season joining Angelo State and UT Permian Basin. The Mustangs produced pick sixes in each of the first three games with Justin Guillory going 63 yards against Colorado State-Pueblo, Dylon Davis going 43 yards at Eastern New Mexico, and Melik Owens went 52 yards versus Michigan Tech.

MUSTANGS TRACKS | Senior wide receiver Kylan Harrison became the 10th player in program history to amass 100 career receptions last week against Simon Fraser and is eighth with 107 career receptions... Harrison, who is MSU's all-time leader with 22 career TD receptions, ranks fourth in all-time receiving yards at 1,841... Harrison needs 32 receiving yards to move past former teammate Xavier Land (1,871 yards from 2016-19) to move into third place... Senior quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole moved into 10th place on MSU's all-time passing yards list on Sept. 17 against Michigan Tech and now has 2,651... Sterling-Cole is eighth with 24 touchdown passes and is in range of Rahsaan Bell (26 TDs/6th), Jake Glover (25 TDs/7th), and Brandon Kelsey (24 TDs/8th)... Senior defensive end Melik Owens is MSU's all-time leader with 41.0 tackles for loss and yards from tackles for loss (185)... Owens is second all-time with 17.5 quarterback sacks and trails Russ Grissom, who had 32.0 sacks from 1989-91... Sophomore Ritse Vaes has converted all 23 of his point-after attempts this season and accounted for four successful field goals with a long of 40 last week at Western New Mexico... Vaes converted a school single-game record of 11 point-after attempts last week against Simon Fraser and connected on three more last week at Western New Mexico to extend his run to 37 straight... Vaes has been successful on 53-of-54 PAT attempts in his career with his lone miss being blocked last season against Texas A&M-Kingsville...

UP NEXT | Midwestern State heads to the Great Northwest to take on Central Washington Saturday night at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. (Central Time).