August 28th, 2024 5:00am
Week 1 Preview
“Hey fellas, this is what you work all off-season for. This is why you lift all them weights. This is why you do all that (beep)”
-Bill Parcells
LSC fans will notice right away that unlike last year, there are no completely out-of-conference weeks. The LSC jumps right into conference action with two games, including the LSC debut (or return, for the old-school LSC fans) of Sul Ross State, who hosts West Texas A&M in the LSC’s first game of 2024. The LSC will have conference games every week except for Week 2, although it gets a bit weird. Eastern New Mexico and Sul Ross State will play each other in a non-conference game. It was a carry-over from their previous contract (the teams played last year) and they decided to keep the game, so they will play each other twice this season, with their second matchup counting as a conference game.
Also, with the MIAA leaving their silo schedule, two of their teams face LSC opponents this week. Missouri Southern heads to Midwestern State and Angelo State travels to Fort Hays State. Good practice for when the MIAA joins Super Region 4 next season along with the GAC (but the GAC is still sticking to their silo, so no reason to talk about them right now). The NSIC is going to leave the region next season, but we don’t need to discuss them either since they’re not on any LSC team’s schedule until maybe the playoffs.
The LSC and RMAC clash twice this week - Eastern New Mexico starts the Three-Way Dance for New Mexico Dominance (I really think I need to work on this title) by traveling to New Mexico Highlands, and Texas A&M-Kingsville and Colorado Mesa have a rematch of last season’s game won by the Javelinas.
The Pacific Northwest stays quiet this week, as both Central Washington and Western Oregon have the week off before hitting the road to face Division 1 opponents.
Note that all game times are listed in the Central time zone as that is the time zone where the LSC home office is located (Richardson, Texas specifically). If you’re not in the Central time zone, here’s the math for you:
Time to pull out my trusty Magic 8-Ball (or maybe I should use AI now?) and get to the games!
The following games are on Thursday, August 29.
West Texas A&M at Sul Ross State, 6:00 PM
Series History: West Texas A&M leads 1-0
Last meeting: 1956 (West Texas A&M won 48-0)
Game 1 of the 2024 Season.
Sul Ross State’s Division 2 debut is the opening game of the 2024 LSC schedule, and it will be their first game with West Texas A&M since the 1956 season. If you were at all curious, in 1956 WT went 8-2 in Frank Kimbrough’s tenth season and beat Southern Mississippi in the Tangerine Bowl 20-13 with a 20-point second half. Sul Ross State in 1956 – not so good, they finished 1-9 for Al Milch in his last of five seasons as head coach. WT is expecting significant improvements on its 3-win 2023 season, and Sul Ross State is hoping the transition process will ultimately work out for them after two consecutive 4-6 seasons in the Division 3 American Southwest Conference.
One of the biggest questions for WT is the quarterback position. Nebraska-Kearney transfer Sean Johnson and returning sophomore Kanon Gibson have had a spirited training camp season and coach Josh Lynn has named Johnson the starter for the Sul Ross State game. JT Cavender and Josh Beaird are the top linebackers, while wide receiver Tyrie Tipton and transfer running back Tre’Jon Henderson look to anchor the Buffaloes’ offense with whoever is named quarterback.
While Sul Ross State does bring back some talented players like wide receiver Vicente Luevano, quarterback Andrew Martinez, offensive lineman Xavier Garcia, and defensive back Quincy Blair, you might as well stick a giant question mark on their helmets for how the Lobos will respond. Sul Ross State brings in 57 players in their first recruiting class, but it remains to be seen how many of them will see time.
I’m sure Lobos fans will be excited to see new teams come to Alpine and some teams they haven’t seen for many years, but the bottom line, for at least this year, is that they have two major issues to deal with – building Division 2 depth and experience. Both of those take time (although the transfer portal might beg to differ). WT has more of both and that will be the difference in this one, as it will likely be in most of Sul Ross State’s games this season. West Texas A&M by 17 to 21 points.
Missouri Southern (MIAA) at Midwestern State, 7:00 PM
Series History: First meeting
LSC versus MIAA – Round 1.
With the departures of Northeastern State and Lincoln (MO), the MIAA has ditched the silo schedule and allowed their members to go out of conference for games. Two LSC teams have scheduled MIAA members this week – Midwestern State and Angelo State.
The Missouri Southern Lions had a 5-6 record in 2023, finishing eighth in the MIAA. Of note was a 47-41 season-ending upset win over MIAA fourth-place Missouri Western. Nathan Glades is the Lions’ top returning rusher, Luke Sampson returns after a solid season at quarterback (25 touchdowns to 7 interceptions), and Deontay Campbell and Akeem Gilmore the top receivers. On defense, linebackers Colton Bass and Zach Bergmann anchor the defense as the team’s top two returning tacklers, and undersized defensive lineman Brian Lively is the top returning defender in tackles for loss and sacks. Missouri Southern will need to replace top defensive backs Ife Current and Halid Djibril.
Midwestern State brings back a strong running game with Devin Cross and Jalen March. James Cooper Jr. is the most experienced returning quarterback and may yet have the starting job, but Andrew Knebel and Sean Jastrab did well in Spring practices and the Spring game and maybe one of them gets a shot? Justin White Jr. hopes for more targets as the top returning receiver. Kaleb Manning is the Mustangs’ top returning defender.
Midwestern State kept games close last year with a solid defense and running game and I expect they will ride those again in 2024, but their offense is very much a question mark past the running backs. I think the Mustangs keep it close but Missouri Western pulls away in the fourth quarter. Missouri Western by 7 points.
Angelo State at Fort Hays State (MIAA), 7:00 PM
Series History: First meeting
LSC versus MIAA – Round 2.
Angelo State has their first of two games against MIAA opponents when they travel to Kansas to face Fort Hays State. Next week’s opponent, Emporia State, won a 45-42 shootout over Fort Hays State in the final game of the 2023 regular season for both teams. Fort Hays State finished 2023 with a 7-4 record, finishing fifth in the MIAA. Their top win of 2023 was a 17-6 Week 3 win over Northwest Missouri State. Fort Hays State was picked fifth in the MIAA Preseason Poll.
Angelo State, picked second in the LSC, still has strength and playoff-level experience on both sides of the ball returning from a team that lost three games by a total of 18 points. Braeden Fuller edged out Kaeden Smith for the starting quarterback job and will direct an offense where ASU’s top six wide receivers and top running back Brayden Wilcox return. Offensive lineman Jake Long returns after transferring back to ASU from Duke and the Rams’ offensive line looks to be a strength. Linebackers Eric Rascoe and Stephen Woods along with safety Jordan McKinney and defensive back Andrew Pitts also return on defense.
Jack Dawson leads the Tigers’ offense after throwing for nearly 3000 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2023. Top returning rushers Travis Watts and Shane Dixon combined for nearly 1300 yards on the ground and their top 3 returning receivers combined for over 1800 yards. On defense, the Tigers return their top 9 tacklers from 2023 and their top 3 interception leaders. This is a team that has many seniors among their likely starters and is a team that could be a sleeper in the MIAA.
Both ASU and FHSU bring back strong cores on both sides of the ball. I think the key to the game is whose defense has the best showing, and I can see Fort Hays State winning with all experienced players they have returning. This was the toughest game for me to pick this week, but I’m taking ASU because I see ASU as an improved team compared to last year. As was implied in the season preview, I am bullish on the Rams in 2024 since they were this close to being a playoff team. FHSU’s overall skill and experience keeps it very close, but Angelo State wins with a late touchdown. Angelo State by 4 to 7 points.
https://sanangelolive.com/news/sports/2024-08-26/no-24-angelo-state-rams-kick-season-kansas-thursday
Eastern New Mexico at New Mexico Highlands (RMAC), 7:00 PM
Series History: Eastern New Mexico leads 35-13
Last meeting: 2023 (Eastern New Mexico won 28-26)
LSC versus RMAC – Round 1.
Question before we get into discussing this game – how come the three New Mexico Division 2 colleges aren’t all in the same conference? Does the LSC need (or want) another team?
Like last season, all three New Mexico Division 2 schools will face each other in a Three-Way Dance for New Mexico Dominance. Last season, all three teams finished with a 1-1 record, with Eastern New Mexico giving away the title with a late collapse in the Green Chile Bowl against Western New Mexico. In this matchup last year, ENMU held on for a 2-point win after nearly blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Mario Sanchez enters his second season running the ENMU triple option after a solid 2023 season. Top rusher Elijah Zeh returns in the all-important fullback position along with running back Ja’Calvin Newsom. The Greyhounds will need to replace production from three of their top rushers and their top receiver Andre Jones. Defensive lineman James Apsey and linebacker Matthew Quartieri are the top returning tacklers from a defense that also needs to replace a significant amount of production.
Highlands has two winning seasons wince 1999 and none since a surprise 8-3 season in 2012. The Cowboys have brought in new head coach Kurt Taufa'asau from New Mexico Military Institute (who ENMU happens to have a 7-6 record against) after finishing 2-9 with a season-ending 8-game losing streak. With the hiring of Taufa'asau came the gutting of the roster – 58 of the Cowboys’ 98 players are freshmen and another 10 are sophomores. Joey Cave is the team’s top returning passer (681 yards) and rusher (261 yards) and the likely starter at quarterback. Teneil Nichols is the top returning receiver, and their top returning defender is defensive lineman Evan Richardson, who was their TWENTIETH leading tackler with 10. Yep, I had to go through 19 players to find someone who was still on the roster. Possibly the most surprising thing about Highlands is that even with all the upheaval and roster turnover, they were still picked ahead of Fort Lewis in the RMAC Preseason Poll. I’m not too sure I want to know what’s going on at Fort Lewis!
ENMU is a year past their own coaching change and Highlands is in a rebuild. I don’t expect this one to be a nail-biter like last year. ENMU, despite having to replace many starters, keeps Highlands at arm’s length most of the way. Eastern New Mexico by 14 points.
Colorado Mesa (RMAC) at Texas A&M-Kingsville, 7:00 PM
Series History: Texas A&M-Kingsville leads 2-0
Last meeting: 2023 (Texas A&M-Kingsville won 30-10)
LSC versus RMAC – Round 2.
Colorado Mesa comes to Kingsville for a rematch of last season’s 30-10 road win by the Javelinas. Both TAMUK and Mesa have been picked to finish a distant fourth in their conferences’ preseason polls, so a win in this one could build momentum and confidence into conference play, where they will both try to spring an upset or two.
Colorado Mesa showed some improvements in 2023 after the TAMUK loss, particularly along the young offensive line. The Mavericks finished 6-5, which included a win over Division 1 San Diego, who Central Washington plays next week. Mesa has yet to name their starting quarterback at press time, but Leslie Richardson and San Diego State transfer Liu Aumavae are the top candidates for the position. Northern Colorado transfer Brandon Belgrave is the likely starter at running back, and Trevin Edwards the top retuning receiver. On defense, the Mavericks return their top five tacklers and all last year’s starters in the secondary, which finished second in the RMAC in interceptions. Linebackers Levi Krebs (who’s interestingly from Harrisburg, PA and transferred to Mesa from PSAC bottom-feeder Lock Haven) and La’Markus Reed are also among the Mavericks’ top returning defenders.
TAMUK loses their starting quarterback Jacob Cavazos and their top two rushers from an offense that searched for consistency in 2023. Wide receiver Craig Clemons is the top returning player on offense. Along with Clemons, top returning players on offense include quarterback Kannon Williams, running back Roger Hagan, and wide receiver Walker Ring. On defense, Amos Coleman is gone and the bulk of returning talent is on the defensive line, led by Xavier Henderson and Demarcus Hendricks. The Javelinas also return special teamers Gilbert Garza and Dillon Bredesen.
This game looks like it will be a bit of a meat grinder with the defenses ahead of the offenses. I’ll take the home-standing Javelinas in what should be one of the better games of the week. Texas A&M-Kingsville by a field goal.
(Side note – anyone going to the game may notice that beer is now sold at Javelina Stadium.)
https://www.kjct8.com/2024/08/05/cmu-football-looks-take-another-step-forward-2024/
https://cmumavericks.com/news/2024/8/22/football-camp-update-running-the-show.aspx
The following game is on Saturday, August 31.
Western New Mexico at Texas-Permian Basin, 6:00 PM
Series History: Texas-Permian Basin leads 6-2
Last meeting: 2023 (Texas-Permian Basin won 56-3)
Texas-Permian Basin looks to get 2024 on the right foot having the entire offseason to think about the 10-3 playoff loss to Bemidji State and then watching Central Washington reach the Super Region 4 Final.
WNMU coach Billy Hickman needs lots of players. Last year’s top quarterback, Devin Larsen, is now at CSU-Pueblo and Hunter Davis looks to replace his big arm. Davis is also the team’s top returning rusher with all of 21 yards to his name. Anthony Flores and Deuce Zimmerman are solid options at wide receiver. The defense does return 4 of their top 5 tacklers from 2023 and have a solid defensive lineman in Devin Graham (4.5 tackles for loss). This is a very young team, with just 18 seniors, 26 juniors, 19 sophomores, and 53 freshman this season.
UTPB returns their top 6 wide receivers in terms of receiving yards along with top rusher Kory Harris. Dylan Graham steps back into the spotlight after stepping back for Kenny Hrncir in 2023. Linebacker Jalon Rocquemore and defensive back Champ Mathis are the top returning tacklers while defensive back Ashton Hamby returns after a solid 2023 season. UTPB has some holes to fill on defense, especially with the departure of top defender Hayden Kelly, but these three are a good starting point.
WNMU will need a whole lot to go right for them to be competitive in this one. Last year this game (and a few others) saw UTPB throw the hammer down and not let up until the clock showed triple-zeroes and a Falcons blowout. I expect that to happen again. Texas-Permian Basin by 27 points.
Oh, by the way, if you’re in the area, admission and tailgating to all UTPB football games this season is free for the 2024 season, so there’s no reason to not have a full house, right?
Central Washington and Western Oregon have the week off.