KINGSVILLE, Texas – Midwestern State is on the road Saturday night to face Texas A&M-Kingsville in a Lone Star Conference clash. The Mustangs are seeking their third straight win after defeating Sul Ross State last week, 71-0.

Midwestern State is 6-2 overall this season with a 5-1 record in the LSC.

Last week, the Mustangs scored 34 points in the first quarter and amassed 579 yards of offense while holding the Lobos to 41 total yards and just three first downs. MSU finished with 348 rushing yards and 231 passing yards.  Ace Traylor rushed for 108 yards on five carries.  Kaden Brown completed 12 of 16 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns and added 21 rushing yards. Sean Jastrab completed 4 of 4 passes for 79 yards and three touchdowns.

Midwestern State is No. 1 in NCAA Division II in total offense with 551 yards per game, and the passing attack is No. 1 in the nation with 336.3 yards per game. The Mustangs are the highest scoring team in the LSC and seventh in the nation with 45.3 points per game.

The Mustangs have picked up more first downs than any other program in D2 with 228 through eight games, and they are second in the league —10th in the nation — with a third-down conversion rate of 52 percent.

Brown is completing 69 percent of his passes (194-of-281) for 329.8 yards per game, which leads the conference and is third in the nation. Brown has thrown for 2,638 yards this season and 22 touchdowns. Brown surpassed Mitch Brown's 1998 season for the fourth-most passing yards in a season at Midwestern State. Brown is 467 yards behind Layton Rabb's 2018 campaign for third, and he needs 471 yards to move past Rabb's 2017 season. Zack Eskridge holds the school record with 3,295 yards passing in the 2009 season. Brown has the fourth-most touchdown passes by an MSU quarterback, surpassing Dillon-Sterling Cole's 20 TD passes in 2021. Rabb and Zack Estridge are the only MSU signal callers to throw more touchdowns in a season. Rabb had 31 in 2017. He tied Eskridge with 29 in 2018. Eskridge set the record in 2009.

Baez leads the team with 574 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. Dominic Cox has 368 yards receiving and has caught four touchdown passes along with Dalton Bailey.  Baez and Cox lead the Stangs in receptions per game. Baez with 4.75 and Cox with 4.4.

Joseph Dodds is the leading rusher for the Mustangs with 537 yards on 110carries and has rushed for a team-leading seven touchdowns. Dodds also leads MSU with 84 all-purpose yards per game. 

Midwestern State is third in the LSC in total defense, allowing 386 yards per game, and has the fourth-best scoring defense in the league with opponents putting up 28.4 points per game.

Brycen Lewis leads the team in tackles with 44, including 19 solo stops, and he leads MSU with three interceptions.  Oliver Jack leads the team with six of the Mustangs 56.5 tackles for loss. Ronald Manning has 3.5 of the team's 15 sacks this season.

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with the Javelinas, 19-8, including a 31-24 victory at Memorial Stadium last season, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs forced four turnovers in the victory. MSU is 7-5 all-time at Javelina Stadium but lost its last visit in 2024, 40-13.

The Javelinas are hosting the Mustangs for homecoming this Saturday night, but they have not won a homecoming game since 2022. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-4, 4-2) is coming off a 28-14 loss at Angelo State, but the Javelinas had 428 yards of total offense.  TAMUK is 12th in the nation and third in the conference with 469 yards of offense per game.

Wide receiver Christian Kretz leads the nation with 1,120 receiving yards this season and has the fifth-most touchdowns in NCAA Division II with 10, which leads the LSC. Kretz is averaging 140 yards receiving per game and is making 7.6 receptions per contest. 

Quarterback Mills Dawson is second in the LSC with 2,377 passing yards this season and 297.1 yards passing per game. Dawson is completing 61.2 percent of his passes (183-of-299). He has thrown 17 touchdown passes and eight interceptions this season. 

Running back Edward Chumley is the third-leading rusher in the LSC with 763 yards. He is second in the league with 109 yards per game, and he has rushed for eight touchdowns this season.

The Javelinas are fifth in the league in total defense with 405 yards allowed per game, and opponents are scoring 35.5 points per game, which is sixth in the LSC.
The TAMUK defense leads the conference with 23 sacks, and junior linebacker Travis Bielefeld leads the unit with 5.5 sacks this season. Sophomore linebacker Max Alvarez leads the team in total tackles with 56, including 26 solo stops. The Javelinas have forced 17 turnovers in eight games this season, which is third-most in the LSC. 

Midwestern State returns home for Senior Day and Military Appreciation on Nov. 7 when UT Permian Basin visits the Mustangs for the home finale of the regular season.