2023-09-29 22:44:54
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The Teams: Tarleton Texans (3-1, 1-0 UAC) at Southeastern Louisiana Lions (0-4, 0-1 SLC)
Where: Hammond, Louisiana
Stadium: Strawberry Stadium (7,408)
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Chase Gispert, Lucas Hill, Alexis Genovese)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens, Laura Sadler)
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
The Texans travel back to Louisiana, where they played their season opener, for a Saturday afternoon contest at Southeastern Louisiana.
Tarleton’s game, set for 3 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Chase Gispert, Lucas Hill and Alexis Genovese on the call. The game can be heard on Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas, with Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens and Laura Sadler leading the broadcast.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
This is the first all-time meeting between the Texans and Lions.
The Lions made a second round run in the 2022 NCAA FCS Playoffs, beating Idaho in the first round 45-42, falling 48-42 to Samford next. They’ve made the second round three times in the last four years.
SLU has lost five straight dating back to last season, they’re longest skid since six straight from Oct. 31, 2015, through Sept. 10, 2016.
SLU was once No. 15 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll this year.
After three road games to open 2023, SLU lost the home opener to Houston Christian last week 34-19. SLU was 28.5-point favorites.
QUICK HITS
The Texans have started the season 3-1 for the second straight season. They began 2022 4-1.
Todd Whitten is one win away from the century mark as the head coach at Tarleton State, currently sitting at 99 wins in 150 games (99-51, .660). He is already the winningest coach in Texan Football history.
This is Tarleton’s second game in Louisiana this season already, having beaten McNeese 52-34 in the opener on Sept. 2. Before this season, the Texans hadn’t made the trip to Louisiana since Sept. 3, 2016 (at McNeese).
Tarleton sits at the top of the United Athletic Conference standings at 1-0 with the best overall record at 3-1. Austin Peay and Central Arkansas are also 1-0 in the UAC, and both are 2-2 overall.
Tarleton has led at halftime just once this season, 7-6 against Southwest Baptist last week. In second halves, Tarleton has outscored opponents 93-44 (+12.3 points better in the second half on average).
Tarleton is 3-0 when trailing the time of possession this season, and 0-1 when leading TOP.
The Texans just set a new attendance record at Memorial Stadium, hosting 22,251 fans. In each of their two home games this year, they’ve hosted 20,000+, sitting fourth in the FCS in total attendance this season.
Tarleton has won three straight against current SLC teams (McNeese, Houston Christian and Lamar).
FEELING 100
Todd Whitten is one win away from the century mark as the head coach at Tarleton State, currently sitting at 99 wins in 150 games (99-51, .660). Already the winningest coach in Texan Football history, with one more win, Whitten will become just the 12th head coach among all current NCAA Division I schools in Texas to reach 100 wins with one program:
1. TCU’s Gary Patterson (181-79, 2000-21)
2. Texas’ Darrell Royal (167-47-5, 1957-76)
3. Houston’s Bill Yeoman (160-108-8, 1962-86)
4. Texas’ Mack Brown (158-48, 1998-2013)
5. Rice’s Jess Neely (144-124-10, 1940-66)
6. Texas A&M Commerce’s Ernest Hawkins (132-92-6, 1964-85)
7. Sam Houston’s Ron Randleman (131-125-3, 1982-2004)
8. Baylor’s Grant Teaff (128-105-6, 1972-92)
9. Texas A&M’s R.C. Slocum (123-47-2, 1989-2002)
10. North Texas’ Odus Mitchell (122-85-9, 1946-66)
11. TCU’s Dutch Meyer (109-79-13, 1934-52)
DEFENSE HOLDING THEIR OWN
Although they’ve allowed 29.8 points per game, Tarleton’s defense has held their own, especially with the amount of plays they’ve seen and time on the field. Tarleton’s defense has defended 329 plays, the second most across the entire FCS, only behind North Alabama’s 368 through five games, one more than Tarleton. The Texan defense has been on the field an average of 31:36, the 28th highest average across the FCS. In the largest difference this season vs. North Alabama, the Lions had the ball for 36:13 compared to the Texans’ 23:47. North Alabama ran 109 plays to Tarleton’s 56. The Lions averaged just 5.2 yards per play to Tarleton’s 8.6.
Yardage has been hard to find by Tarleton’s opponents. They’re averaging 4.49 yards per play, the 14th lowest average across the FCS.
Tarleton’s pass defense has been special. Through four games, only one team has had a passing touchdown against the Texans this season, and that was Texas Tech in Lubbock. Opposing quarterbacks have combined for 92-of-174 (.529) for 929 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. That’s 10.1 yards per completion, the tied-20th lowest mark in the country.
The Texan defense has proven to be explosive as well. Through four games, they’ve forced eight turnovers, the tied-13th most takeaways across all of FCS. The Texans have forced seven fumbles this season, recovering five, and have had four interceptions. In three of the four games, Tarleton has scored a defensive touchdown; a 71-yard pick-six by Patrick Jones in the fourth quarter of the season opener at McNeese; a 50-yard pick-six by Robert Rios in the fourth quarter of the home opener vs. North Alabama; a 16-yard pick six by Ty Rawls in the fourth quarter of last week’s game vs. Southwest Baptist. With three defensive touchdowns, they lead the entire FCS in the category by themselves. They’ve also recorded 15 total sacks, the tied-second most in the nation, only behind Illinois State’s 20. The Texans are averaging the tied-11th most tackles for loss per game at 8.0.
LAST TIME OUT
In front of the greatest crowd ever hosted at Memorial Stadium, the Texan defense stymied the Bearcats all night to lift the Purple and White to victory 27-13. There were 22,251 fans at Saturday’s game between Tarleton State and Southwest Baptist on Family Weekend, surpassing last year’s all-time record crowd of 20,237 at the homecoming game. Already this season, the Texans set a new record crowd for a home opener, seeing 20,127 fans through the turnstiles just two weeks ago in the first ever United Athletic Conference game against North Alabama.
Tarleton allowed just 29 net rushing yards on the night on 33 attempts, forcing 0.9 yards per carry by the Bearcats. The Texans had an interception return for a touchdown, forced 10 punts, had 11 SBU plays go for negative yardage, including four sacks, and allowed just one first down conversion on third or fourth down the entire night, as SBU went 1-of-16 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down. Sterling led the Texan defense with 2.5 tackles for loss and a team-high eight tackles, to go with a pass breakup. Four Texans had a sack; Charles Perkins, Ahmir Crowder, O’tay Baker and Keldric Williams. Ty Rawls had three tackles and a quarterback hurry to go with his pick-six.
NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED
Through the first two weeks and the first six total United Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, Tarleton won four of the six.
In Week 2, wide receiver Keylan Johnson was the UAC Offensive Player of the Week and D.J. Harris was the UAC Defensive Player of the Week. Johnson scored four touchdowns, finishing with 219 receiving yards on six receptions. He tied a program record for touchdowns scored in a single game at four, and had the fifth most receiving yards in a single game in team history at 219. Johnson has the tied-most receiving touchdowns in a single game at the FCS level this season, and the tied most across all of NCAA Division I, FBS and FCS. His 219 receiving yards are the second most in a single game at the FCS level this season, and the seventh most across all of D1, FBS and FCS. Johnson has the only 200-plus yard, 4-plus TD game across all of D1, FBS and FCS, this season.
Before stat corrections hit, Harris had a team-high 12 tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry. It marked his 11th career double-digit tackle game.
In Week 1, Texan defensive back Patrick Jones was named the UAC Defensive Player of the Week and Texan kicker/punter Adrian Guzman was named the UAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Jones had a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown that sealed the game in the fourth quarter. He also had a team-high seven tackles and a pass breakup. Jones became the first Texan with a defensive touchdown scored in the season opener since 2018. Guzman made all eight of his kicks, splitting the uprights on a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, plus he went 7-of-7 on extra points. He also had three punts cover 118 yards (39.3 average), with a long of 45 yards and a punt inside the 20-yard line. Guzman’s 41-yard field goal make is his longest since Sept. 10, 2022, at TCU (47 yards).
GREAT START OFFENSIVELY FOR…
VICTOR GABALIS
– Threw four touchdowns in the home opener, the tied-14th most in a game at the FCS level this year and the tied-second most by a UAC QB.
– His 344 yards passing in the season opener mark the most in a Tarleton season-opener since Ben Holmes had 375 at Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 7, 2019. It was his fourth career 300+ yard game.
DERREL KELLEY III
– Has rushed for 282 yards on 48 attempts (5.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.
– Is 32nd in the FCS, third in the UAC, in yards per rush.
– Has the fourth most rushing yards in the UAC.
– Rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries (7.6 yards per rush) in the season opener, marking his fifth 100+ yard game on the ground in a six-game stretch.
KAYVON BRITTEN
– Has 245 yards on 52 carries (4.7 yards per rush) and four touchdowns.
– Has five total touchdowns scored (four rushing, one receiving), the tied-16th most in the FCS, second most in the UAC.
– His four rushing TD’s are the tied-19th most in the FCS and the tied-second most in conference.
– Scored three touchdowns, rushing for 82 yards and two scores on 19 carries (4.3 YPC), adding 25 yards and a TD on two receptions in the season opener at McNeese.
– Has scored eight touchdowns over his last five games.
KEYLAN JOHNSON
– Has 288 yards on nine receptions and five touchdowns.
– Has the third most receiving touchdowns in the FCS.
– Has the 28th most receiving yards in the FCS and the fourth most in the UAC.
– Had four touchdowns on six receptions, with 219 receiving yards in the home opener. Entered the contest with six receptions for 96 yards and 0 TD in previous 10 games since 2020.
– Was UAC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 2.
BENJAMIN OMAYEBU
– Leads the team in receptions by a wide margin, recording 32 catches for 279 yards this season. Next closest Texan in receptions is at nine (Keylan Johnson).
– Has the tied-third most receptions across all of the FCS at 32, averaging the tied-fifth most per game (8.0).
– Has had 5+ receptions in all four games this year.
– Had a career-high 12 receptions at Texas Tech, Tarleton’s first 12+ reception game in two years.
– Had 21 receptions over the last two games for 175 yards
GREAT START DEFENSIVELY FOR…
PATRICK JONES
– Leads the team in tackles with 28 (21 solo), along with an INT returned for a touchdown and two pass breakups.
– Was UAC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 1.
D.J. HARRIS
– Was UAC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 2.
QUA’SHAWN WASHINGTON
– Has 18 tackles, two TFL, a FR and two QB hurries.
BLAKE SMITH
– Has the second most tackles on the team (22).
– Had two forced fumbles in the home opener.
JALEN CARR
– Leads the team in pass breakups with three.
O’TAY BAKER
– Has a tied-team high three sacks, plus a tied-team high 4.0 TFL, to go with 15 tackles, one FF and two QBH.
– Has the tied-20th most sacks in the FCS at three.
DEVIN STERLING
– Just led the Texans vs. Southwest Baptist in tackles (eight) and tackles for loss (2.5), adding a pass breakup.
– Has 3.5 TFL on the season, second most on the team.
TY RAWLS
– Just had a 16-yard interception return for touchdown.
ROBERT RIOS
– Had a 50-yard pick six in the home opener vs. North Alabama.
CAIMYN LAYNE
– Had two sacks in the season opener, the most by a Texan in a game since 2021.
BEST IN TEXAS
Since the start of the 2018 season, Tarleton has been one of the best scholarship football programs in the entire state of Texas. The Texans enter Saturday’s game with 43 wins since the start of 2018, the most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program. They have a .729 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state. Tarleton is one of two Texas D1 or D2 schools with all five winning seasons since 2018, only joined by Sam Houston. The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
#
School
Conf.
Win Pct.
1.
Tarleton State
UAC
.729
2.
Angelo State
LSC
.707
3.
Sam Houston
C-USA
.684
4.
Texas A&M
SEC
.656
5.
Incarnate Word
SLC
.650
6.
Texas
Big 12
.636
7.
Texas A&M-Commerce
SLC
.635
8.
SMU
AAC
.609
9.
Midwestern State
LSC
.592
10.
TCU
Big 12
.591
#
School
Conf.
Wins
1.
Tarleton State
UAC
43
2.
Texas
Big 12
42
Texas A&M
SEC
42
4.
Angelo State
LSC
41
5.
TCU
Big 12
39
Baylor
Big 12
39
SMU
AAC
39
Sam Houston
C-USA
39
Incarnate Word
SLC
39
10.
UTSA
AAC
38
ICED OUT THE O
Tarleton debuted brand new white helmets, their first non-purple helmets worn since 2014, at Texas Tech on Sept. 16. It was a “White Out” for the Texans, as they wore white helmets, white jerseys and white pants, and as the kids say it, they were iced out. But it seems the offense is much more comfortable in the usual purple helmets.
Before facing Power Five competition at Texas Tech, Tarleton’s offense had been nearly impossible to slow down. They scored 104 points over the first two games, 52 in each game, their most points over a two-game stretch since Nov. 2-9, 2019, also the last time they had back-to-back 50+ point games. Before the Texas Tech game, the Texans were averaging 517.5 total yards per game, the second most across all of the FCS at the time, only behind North Dakota (548.5). Through the first two games, they had two plays go for 60+ yards, three plays go for 50+ yards, four plays go 40+ yards, nine plays go for 30+ yards, and 15 plays go 20+ yards.
Since wearing the white helmets over the past two weeks, Tarleton has averaged 15.0 points and 336.5 yards. In the last two weeks, they’ve had zero plays go 40+ yards, one play go for 30+ yards, and six plays go 20+ yards.
NEW CONFERENCE, WHO DIS?
Like most of the nation, you’ll almost never know which conference Tarleton Football is in year-to-year. For the fourth time in five seasons, the landscape has changed for the Texans, now members of the United Athletic Conference. The UAC is a brand-new, football-only conference that features both WAC and ASUN programs. There are nine participating teams in 2023, with a 10th program set to start in 2024 (West Georgia) and an 11th program in 2025 (UTRGV); Tarleton State, Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Utah Tech. Before the UAC, Tarleton was in the Western Athletic Conference in 2022 and 2021, independent in 2020, and in the Lone Star Conference in 2019.
FACILITY UPGRADES ON UPGRADES
Tarleton State’s fieldhouse underwent its final stage of renovation this summer to further enhance recruiting, as well as the student-athlete and coaching experience. Completed additions include a multi-purpose room, nutrition bar, film room, nine coach offices, an academic advisement office and a full service barber shop. In 2021, Tarleton opened its multi-million dollar field house and locker room. The facility also includes a unified locker room, training room, hydro room and equipment space. Memorial Stadium has also undergone major upgrades recently, including new north end zone seating to boost capacity to 24,000 last season. In 2019, a grandstand was built on the west side of the stadium, plus a video board was added on the south side, a $26 million renovation.
NEW PLAY CALLER
For the first time in head coach Todd Whitten’s time at Tarleton State, he has handed over play calling duties. Whitten hired Mason Miller in January to be his offensive coordinator and to take over the play calling, so Whitten can better serve as “the CEO” of the team. Miller inherits a successful offense from a season ago, a group that led the WAC in yards per game (436.7) and rush yards per game (174.6), finishing second in scoring average (31.0 PPG).
This is Miller’s fourth season overall with the Texans, but first since 2016. He was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2014-16 at Tarleton, serving under head coach Todd Whitten in 2016. He went on to Nevada (2017), Washington State (2018-19) and Mississippi State (2020-22) before returning home. Miller joined the late Mike Leach’s staff as offensive line coach upon his arrival to Mississippi State. Over his final two years, Miller’s offensive line ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 15 in the FBS in offensive line efficiency. MSU also led the SEC and ranked No. 3 in the FBS in lowest percentage of tackles for loss allowed during that period. Miller coached left tackle Charles Cross for two seasons before he was selected No. 9 overall in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
At Washington State, the Cougars had the top passing offense in the FBS for both of Miller’s seasons, leading the nation with 437.2 passing yards per game. They allowed 20 sacks in 2019 and 13 in 2018, both pacing the Pac-12.
At Tarleton State, Miller led his line to third nationally in total offense in 2014, averaging 522.8 yards per game, scoring 43.7 points per game
NIXING THE OFFENSE
Tarleton State’s defensive coordinator is back for his second season in Stephenville. The SEC-experienced DC Tyrone Nix had a strong first unit, a defense that held four opponents under 14 points, going 4-0 in those games.
The Nix-led defense opened 2022 with a bang, holding Mississippi Valley State to just 13 total points and 273 total yards. The Texans held the Delta Devils to just 73 passing yards and forced six punts. A 41-6 shellacking of Eastern New Mexico saw Nix’s defense hold the Greyhounds without a touchdown and limited them to 112 total yards on the day to pair with the Texans forcing three turnovers. A 24-10 win over Southwest Baptist was once again another impressive performance from the Texan defense as they held Southwest Baptist to just 62 yards rushing and intercepted two passes. Tarleton ended the season with a 49-7 win over Houston Christian as Nix’s defense held the Huskies to just 10 first downs, -21 net rushing yards and a -0.8 average yards per rush while forcing four turnovers. The Texans also forced a season-high 10 punts to go with nine tackles for loss.
Nix helped coach DB Donovan Banks to First Team All-WAC honors as well as linebackers Patrick Jones and Qua’Shawn Washington to the All-WAC Second Team.
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 12 NCAA Division I teams (eight FBS, four FCS) have a better winning percentage than Tarleton since 2018 (Cincinnati, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Appalachian State, North Dakota State, James Madison, Princeton, Dartmouth). So among some of the other elite programs, Tarleton has a higher W% than the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa, USC, LSU, etc.
#
School
Conf.
Win Pct.
1.
North Dakota State
MVFC
.905
2.
Ohio State
Big 10
.894
3.
Alabama
SEC
.890
4.
Georgia
SEC
.889
5.
Princeton
Ivy
.857
6.
Clemson
ACC
.849
7.
Notre Dame
Ind.
.826
8.
James Madison
SBC
.818
9.
Cincinnati
Big 12
.809
10.
Oklahoma
Big 12
.783
11.
Appalachian State
SBC
.739
12.
Dartmouth
Ivy
.738
13.
Tarleton State
UAC
.729
4: Since 2004, only four reclassifying programs have started the period with three straight winning seasons; Tarleton (2020-22), North Dakota State (2005-08), South Dakota State (2005-08) and Central Arkansas (2006-08).
5: Through three years of reclassification by teams since 2004, Tarleton posted the fifth highest winning percentage at .567. Only North Dakota State (.750), Central Arkansas (.630), South Dakota State (.600), and Bryant (.591) had better winning percentages.
1: Tarleton sits in first place in the United Athletic Conference, one of three teams to start 1-0 in conference play (Austin Peay, Central Arkansas). Tarleton has the best overall record among UAC programs at 3-1.
UP NEXT
The Texans will be back home for their third game at Memorial Stadium, a United Athletic Conference showdown on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. It will be Tarleton State’s Legends Game, where Tarleton Athletics will honor the historic 2002-03 Texan Men’s Basketball team.
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