September 13th, 2024 7:00am
Week 1 Recap
Here are the main themes coming from week 1:
Now, about last week:
#6 Colorado Mines wins at home over West Texas A&M 41-13
The Good: West Texas A&M might have itself a quarterback. Sean Johnson Jr. showed good touch on some deep passes and was effective running the ball, although many of those runs were the result of Mines pressure. Zorian Stanton had 5 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, and was the recipient of some of Johnson’s best passes of the game.
The Bad: The WT running game was nowhere near as effective as it was against Sul Ross State, with the Buffaloes only gaining 99 yards with Johnson as the top rusher with 60 yards, many of those coming from runs created by Mines pressure. The WT defense was also caught flat-footed too often, with the Mines offense turning shorter, quick passing plays into big gains.
The Ugly: JT Cavender was ejected for targeting on a hit to star Mines receiver Max McLeod. WT entered the red zone just one time and didn’t sack Mines quarterback Evan Foster once. The WT offensive line looked slow to react against the Mines defensive front, contributing to low rushing yards and pressure on Johnson.
Overall, the Buffaloes showed signs that they are working their way up, but there is still some work to do before they are competing for LSC titles again.
Colorado Mines improves to 1-0 and West Texas A&M falls to 1-1.
Emporia State wins at home over Angelo State 17-12
On the strength of four Bradley Larson field goals and another strong effort by the ASU defense (ASU outgained ESU 368 to 282 yards and held ESU to 1 of 15 on third downs), the Rams were up 12-7 late in the third quarter. But a Kingsley Bennett touchdown pass from Gunnar Gundy with 3:35 left in the third quarter put the Hornets up 14-12, a lead they would not give up. Not only did ASU outgain ESU, they held the ball for 36:32 of the game and ran for 239 yards. The two-quarterback system worked a little better this week, with Braeden Fuller the leading passer with 118 yards and Kaeden Smith the main rusher with 94 yards. However, to say they did “a little better” is honestly not saying all that much since ASU quarterbacks were more effective at running than passing, combining for 126 rushing yards and 129 passing yards on 13 of 43 passes.
Also, as a result of the Rams’ offensive difficulties, ASU was actually worse on third down than ESU, a woeful 1 for 20. They were also 0 for 2 on fourth downs. The Rams entered the red zone four time and each time came away with field goals. ASU won the turnover battle 2-0 but only scored 3 points off those turnovers. ASU has scored just one touchdown in their first two games of 2024 and a total of just 19 points. The Rams did a lot of positive things, but in the end, touchdowns beat field goals.
Emporia State improves to 2-0 and Angelo State falls to 0-2.
University of San Diego wins at home over #7 Central Washington 26-7
Like Angelo State, Central Washington did a lot of things right. They held San Diego to just 288 total yards and just had six fewer yards than their Division 1 opponent. They held the ball for 33:10 of game time and outrushed the Toreros by 173 to 57 yards. But, San Diego had much more success in the passing game, outgaining CWU by 231 to 109 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kennedy McGill looked more comfortable running the ball than throwing it, as he was the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 122 yards on 15 carries, 95 yards more than CWU top rusher Tyler Flanagan. However, McGill threw for just 109 yards and threw a 33-yard pick-six returned by defensive lineman Jae’Von Reels early in the third that put San Diego up 19-7 and was the back-breaker for CWU.
CWU had a legitimate shot at winning this game, but their offense only reached the red zone once and the two times they got close to the red zone (the 23 and 24-yard lines), the Wildcats came up empty because they weren’t consistent with both the pass and the run. Certainly they will finish drives more easily against Division 2 opponents, but if you’re picked to win the LSC and be a playoff team, is it enough to beat the best in the LSC and in the region?
San Diego improves to 2-0 and Central Washington falls to 0-1.
Idaho State wins at home over Western Oregon 50-10
OK, where to begin here…Western Oregon did win the turnover battle 2-1. This was just a Division 1 team from a good FCS conference beating up on a Division 2 team, that’s really all it comes down to here. Idaho State was forced to punt on its first drive of the game but got points the next five times that had the ball on their way to scoring the first 34 points of the game. WOU managed a field goal to pull within 34-3, but they wouldn’t score again until it was 50-3 late in the fourth quarter. ISU outgained WOU 556 to 221 yards, 343 of those yards coming from the arm of winning quarterback Kobe Tracy.
Kainoa Jones was the Wolves’ leading passer coming in relief of starter Jordan McCarty with 63 yards. McCarty was more of a runner in this game with 36 yards to lead WOU (he also had 44 passing yards). Damon Hickok caught 2 passes for 48 yards and defensive back Tyler Copeland led WOU defenders with 8 tackles. Outside of that, we’ll see if we can learn anything else about the Wolves next week when they play yet another Division 1 opponent in Cal Poly.
Idaho State improves to 1-1 and Western Oregon falls to 0-1.
Western New Mexico wins at Adams State 46-36
I wrote in the preview for this game that this was an opportunity for WNMU to find some bearing against a team that was in a similar place as the Mustangs, and that is exactly what happened. A tight first half delayed by lightning (this won’t be the first of those in the column) turned into a shootout in the second half. The first half of the third quarter was back-and-forth, with WNMU and ASU trading the lead 3 times before the Mustangs took over in the fourth, extending their lead to 32-20, and the two teams essentially traded scores until the end with the Grizzlies unable to draw any closer than the final scoring margin.
WNMU gained 564 yards on offense and showed very rare offensive balance with 232 rushing yards and 332 passing yards. Josh Magana was one of many offensive stars for the Mustangs on this night, throwing for 300 yards on 17 of 23 passes. Jamon Chambers led Mustangs rushers with 138 yards on 18 carries and Deuce Zimmerman caught six passes for 119 yards. Three defenders led WNMU with 7 tackles each.
And with all due respect to who (or what) is responsible for keeping statistics for Adams State’ sports teams – please fix your stats tracker! Even the local newspaper in Adams Stae's hometown of Alamosa, Colorado got the score wrong.
Western New Mexico improves to 1-1 and Adams State falls to 0-1.
https://www.alamosacitizen.com/western-new-mexico-39-adams-state-30/
CSU-Pueblo wins against #15 Texas-Permian Basin 40-23
A defining characteristic of UTPB’s 2023 season was their ability to make plenty of big plays and limit big plays from their opponents.
Well, this isn’t 2023.
After Dylan Graham hit a flea-flicker to Jeremiah Cooley from 66 yards to put the Falcons up 7-0, CSU-Pueblo went on their own big-play rampage, scoring 29 of the game’s next 31 points to lead 29-9 at the half. Reggi Retzlaff caught touchdown passes of 70 and 32 yards from Devin Larsen, Keith McKaney pick-sixed Graham on a 48-yard interception return, and Russell Howard V ran it in from 46 yards out. McKaney’s pick-six was the second-straight UTPB drive that ended in an interception, and the ThunderWolves scored touchdowns on both of them. UTPB tried to fight their way back into it as the game went on deep into the Colorado night thanks to an extended lightning delay, but the Falcons never got any closer than 14 points at 37-23 in the late stages of the fourth quarter. The barrage of big plays by the ThunderWolves were just too much for UTPB to recover from.
CSU-Pueblo improves to 1-1 and Texas-Permian Basin falls to 1-1.
#19 Western Colorado wins at home over Midwestern State 38-33
When Sean Jastrab threw a pick-six to Western Colorado star linebacker Kendall Lightfoot early in the third quarter, the score was 35-24 Mountaineers, and it could have easily spelled doom for the Mustangs. If that pick-six didn’t doom the Mustangs, then the field goal the Mountaineers got on their next drive to make it 38-24 should have, right? Well, it wasn’t without a lot of sweating for the Mountaineers. Sean Jastrab decided that even despite the pick-six, that he wasn’t going to be the subject of another one of my rants about MSU quarterbacks (because I have that kind of power, you know?) and he was going to bring MSU back in the game. He had MSU in position for a potential MSU win, leading two scoring drives to bring the Mustangs back to within 38-33 when they took a WCU punt at their 42-yard line with 2:46 left in the game. Jastrab led MSU down to the WCU 29-yard line, where a miscommunication between him and his receiver led to his fifty-first and final pass falling incomplete and well short of its target. A couple of WCU kneel-downs later, MSU is left with a hard-fought loss.
Like UTPB in their game at WCU last season, MSU found itself down big and rallied back to nearly snatch a huge road win, but just like UTPB last year, the Mustangs came up just short. While Jastrab was the star with 395 passing yards on 30 of 51 passes, the MSU rushing attack wasn’t there, just gaining 45 yards after gaining over 200 yards last week. Maybe if Jastrab continues to contribute more positives in the passing game, MSU can establish a more balanced offense and ultimately finish more drives with touchdowns, but as it is with many things, it’s easier said than done and there are many defenses that will look to prevent MSU from doing that.
Western Colorado improves to 1-0 and Midwestern State falls to 1-1.
Eastern New Mexico wins at home over Sul Ross State 36-17
This game was eerily like Sul Ross State’s game with WT last week – Lobos get behind early, mount a second-half rally to make it close, and run out of gas at the end while the favored team pulls away. Sul Ross State fell behind 22-3 at halftime with ENMU scoring touchdowns on their first three drives of the game. An Elijah Zeh fumble on ENMU’s first possession of the second half set up the Lobos’ first touchdown, a 10-yard completion from Andrew Martinez (221 passing yards on 19 of 31 passes) to Vicente Luevano (5 catches for 71 yards) to make it 22-10. A 5-yard touchdown completion from Martinez to Luevano brought the Lobos to within 22-17 with 14:39 left in the fourth quarter, but their defense ran out of gas under the pressure of the ENMU rushing attack, and the Greyhounds scored the last two times they had the ball to pull away late. ENMU had 366 rushing yards, led by Ron Craten, who had 141 yards on 26 carries and 2 touchdowns.
Eastern New Mexico improves to 2-0 and Sul Ross State falls to 0-2.
LSC Week 1 Standings
School | LSC | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
Texas-Permian Basin | 1-0 | 1-1 | |
West Texas A&M | 1-0 | 1-1 | |
Eastern New Mexico | 0-0 | 2-0 | |
Midwestern State | 0-0 | 1-1 | |
Central Washington | 0-0 | 0-1 | |
Texas A&M-Kingsville | 0-0 | 0-1 | |
Western Oregon | 0-0 | 0-1 | |
Angelo State | 0-0 | 0-2 | |
Western New Mexico | 0-1 | 1-1 | |
Sul Ross State | 0-1 | 0-2 | |
Three-Way Dance for New Mexico Dominance Standings
School | Record |
|---|---|
Eastern New Mexico | 1-0 |
Western New Mexico | 0-0 |
New Mexico Highlands | 0-1 |
Week 2 Preview
What’s on the docket for Week 2?
All games are on Saturday, September 14. All game times are in the Central time zone.
Wayland Baptist (TX) (NAIA Division 1 – Sooner Athletic Conference, 1-1) at Sul Ross State, 1:00 PM
Series History: Sul Ross State leads 4-0
Last meeting: 2023 (Sul Ross State won 27-7)
After two weeks, how does Sul Ross State compare to other recent LSC newcomers, particularly our friends from the Pacific Northwest? Well, it isn’t fair to compare them to Central Washington, who has been solid since entering the LSC. Western Oregon hasn’t been as successful, but has still had wins over LSC teams like West Texas A&M. What about one-and-done (and now gone) Simon Fraser? I would say Sul Ross State has already shown me more than Simon Fraser by fighting back in the second halves of their first two games. This week they step out of Division 2 and face NAIA member Wayland Baptist, who they beat last year and hold a 4-0 record against as a Division 3 school.
Wayland Baptist holds a 1-1 record, with a win over new NAIA program North American and a loss to Oklahoma Panhandle. The Pioneers have averaged 27 points a game and 310 yards per game on offense, with 186 of those on the ground. Their top rusher is Damon Ford, who has gained 166 yards on a 5 yards per carry average. Quarterback Davian Guajardo (203 yards and 5 touchdowns) will be looking for receivers Jasiah Barron, Dequan Green, and Marques Hall. Linebacker Isaiah Brooks and defensive back Donovan Henry lead in tackles with 10 and Brooks is tied in tackles for loss with 2.5. This is team that is coming off a 2-8 2023 season and has had one winning season since reinstating football in 2012.
Given Sul Ross State’s energy and effort over the first two weeks against more talented teams, and also given their history against Wayland Baptist, I am calling for the Lobos to get their first win as a Division 2 program. Sul Ross State by 13 points.
#10 Central Washington at Colorado Mesa (RMAC, 1-0), 2:00 PM
Series History: Central Washington leads 2-0
Last meeting: 2009 (Central Washington won 10-0)
CWU looks to regain momentum against a Division 2 opponent in Colorado Mesa. The key need for the Wildcats is to finish drives against a Mesa team whose defense was the best in the RMAC at forcing offenses to settle for field goals in 2023. This was shown in their season-opening win at Texas A&M-Kingsville, where they held the Javelinas to just one touchdown and five field goal attempts, three of which were missed. Mesa came back to win with backup quarterback Liu Aumavae, who replaced injured starter Leslie Richardson late in their win against Kingsville. For the Mavericks, Aiden Taylor was their top rusher and Alex Turpin the top receiver. Linebacker Charlie Smith led with 11 tackles.
For CWU, the key will be to finish drives. The Wildcat offense was inconsistent in last week’s loss to San Diego, with quarterback Kennedy McGill’s legs the most effective part of their offense. CWU must get Tyler Flanagan and Darius Morrison more involved to keep Mesa guessing. The CWU defense was perfectly fine against their Division 1 opponent last week, only giving up 288 yards, but 231 of those yards were in the air.
This might be my meat-grinder game of the week, with points coming at a premium and very possibly coming down to who can make a key special teams or defensive play late. To that end, keep an eye out for Tanner Volk. Central Washington by a touchdown.
Adams State (RMAC, 0-1) at Texas-Permian Basin, 6:00 PM
Series History: First meeting
UTPB was replaced in the D2Football Top 25 poll by the team that beat them last week in CSU-Pueblo. Pueblo forced the Falcons into uncharacteristic errors early in their game and they never could get back into serious contention. Adams State lost a shootout to Western New Mexico and gets rewarded with a trip to the team that beat WNMU 41-3 in their first game. This is going to be my shortest game preview of the week since (1) I think this is the biggest mismatch outside of the two teams going out of Division 2 this week, and (2) Adams State never did fix their stats tracker, so I got left with next to no information about the Grizzlies since I didn’t think I had to take notes about a game that ended just as I was getting ready for bed that night, so I apologize for the lack of information. I do think that UTPB should be able to impose their physical will on Adams State, and I fear the Grizzlies will be pushed around and end up giving up quite a few yards and points to UTPB after giving up plenty of both to a WNMU team that looked woefully inept on both sides of the ball against UTPB. Dylan Graham and the UTPB offense gets a chance to clean up some things this week. Texas-Permian Basin by 24 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville at Mississippi College (GSC, 0-1), 6:00 PM
Series History: Mississippi College leads 3-1
Last meeting: 1993 (Mississippi College won 13-9)
Texas A&M-Kingsville dips their feet into the GSC pool by traveling to Mississippi College, a team they have not faced in over 30 years. Mississippi College plays an LSC opponent for the second straight season, having traveled to Midwestern State last season. MC is in their first season under new head coach Mike Kershaw, who is in the process of changing the offensive system from a run-heavy style to a more pass-friendly style. The Choctaws are 0-1 after Shorter outscored them 26-2 in the second half after a 3-3 first half. MC was outgained 341 to 238 yards and lost the turnover battle 3-0. Eli Anderson led MC with 130 passing yards, but he needed 34 passes to get that much. Running back Marcus Williams was the leading rusher (52 yards) and receiver (45 yards) while Desmond Young was MC’s top wide receiver (32 yards). Three Choctaws had 7 tackles each on defense.
Kingsville had last week off after a disappointing loss to Colorado Mesa where the inability to finish drives with touchdowns (and a rare bad night for kicker Gilberto Garza) ultimately spelled doom. The Javelinas only managed 233 yards of offense but stayed in the game thanks to a solid effort from their defense, which gave up just 237 yards and intercepted Mesa quarterback Leslie Richardson twice. TAMUK will likely rely heavily on Roger Hagan and Santana Scott on the ground and look for some timely passing from Kannon Williams.
The best unit on the field this week will be the TAMUK defense, and I think that will be the difference in a game which I expect to be very low scoring. First to 24 wins here. Texas A&M-Kingsville by 10 points.
Eastern New Mexico at Angelo State, 6:00 PM
Series History: Angelo State leads 28-19-1
Last meeting: 2023 (Angelo State won 23-14)
Angelo State returns home for their first home game and first LSC game of 2024 after going 0-2 in their two road trips to Kansas. Whatever playoff hopes the Rams have need require a win this week over an ENMU team that has run over, around, and through two lower-tier opponents. ASU has yet to solve the two-quarterback conundrum, as Kaeden Smith was the runner and Breaden Fuller the passer last week against Emporia State. Common to both quarterbacks was the failure to reach the end zone, as the Rams could only muster four field goals in their loss to the Hornets. That being said, the ASU defense has been solid so far in 2024, still keeping opponents’ yardage and point totals down. The bottom line is that ASU needs to score more and have more offensive balance, preferably with one quarterback being able to contribute to both.
ENMU took advantage of a very soft opening two weeks to go out to a 2-0 record on the strength of 904 rushing yards, with five Greyhounds having at least 93 rushing yards already. Now, the level of competition increases significantly and we will now see how the Greyhounds will run against a higher-quality defense. Last year, Angelo State outrushed ENMU 207 to 191 yards, and if ENMU is held to a rushing total approaching that again, the result will be the same.
The ENMU running game will churn out clock and keep this game close, especially since there hasn’t been a quick fix to the ASU offense. But the ASU defense will be the best unit on the field on this day, and that will put the Rams over the top in what will likely be a game won in the trenches. Angelo State by 10 points.
#16 Western Colorado (RMAC) at West Texas A&M, 7:00 PM
Series History: West Texas A&M leads 5-1
Last meeting: 2023 (Western Colorado won 28-6)
After holding on to beat Midwestern State to open their new football stadium, Western Colorado heads down to 3500-foot elevation Canyon, Texas to face the Buffaloes, who have their first home game of 2024 and are looking to avenge last year’s loss. The teams have split their games the last two years, with each team winning on their home field.
For the Mountaineers, it comes down to how well quarterback Drew Nash and linebacker Kendall Lightfoot play. Both were front and center in their win over Midwestern State, especially Lightfoot, whose pick-six put WCU up by 11 in a game where they needed nearly every point.
For the Buffaloes, they ran into a Colorado Mines team that still had many key pieces from their golden generation that has taken them to the past two National Championship games. Sean Johnson Jr. has had his positive moments running the WT offense, particularly with his legs and on the deep pass. The issue for the Buffaloes is where in the middle you think they will fall. If Mines is representative of how WT would look against someone near the absolute best, and Sul Ross State near the worst, then WT should have more positive moments against a WCU team who probably isn’t quite as good as Mines? I think this is the case, but I don’t think it’s going to be enough to win. Western Colorado by 10 points.
New Mexico Highlands (RMAC, 0-1) at Western New Mexico, 7:00 PM
Series History: New Mexico Highlands leads 35-32-3
Last meeting: 2023 (New Mexico Highlands won 48-41)
We have the second installment of the Three-Way Dance for New Mexico Dominance with La Batalla Bowl, where the winner will earn the Warrior’s Helmet. Given what both teams did in their most recent games, I’m thinking this one will be a shootout. Highlands did gain 522 yards but gave up 653 yards in losing to ENMU, and haven’t played since. WNMU gained 564 yards against Adams State while giving up 485 yards. Neither team has shown much on the defensive side of the ball, but plenty on offense so far. I think there will be a lot of the same in this one, with passes flying all over the place. I’m going with the homestanding Mustangs by 10 points.
Western Oregon at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (Division 1-Big Sky Conference), 7:00 PM
Series History: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo leads 1-0
Last meeting: 2007 (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo won 24-17)
OK, before this week I knew just one thing about Cal Poly – “Weird Al” Yankovic graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in architecture. As far as I know, he had no association with their football team, but if he’s reading this web site right now, feel free to let me know! On the field, it’s the Wolves facing their second-straight opponent from the Big Sky Conference, with Cal Poly having been picked to finish eleventh in the 12-team conference’s media poll and dead last in the coaches’ poll.
Cal Poly is 0-2, losing to San Diego (who beat Central Washington last week) and to FBS opponent Stanford. From their first two games, a team called the Mustangs should probably run a bit more – they only gained 74 yards over two games, including just 8 against San Diego. They averaged 245 passing yards, but have three touchdowns against 4 interceptions, including two pick-sixes against San Diego. Bo Kelly is the Mustangs’ quarterback and second-leading rusher (but that isn’t saying much since it’s 15 yards). They have a quartet of receivers with over 60 yards, led by Giancarlo Woods, who has 101 yards and a touchdown. Linebackers Judaea Moon and Je’Kob Jones lead in tackles, and defensive linemen Ethan Rodriguez and Elijah Ponder lead in tackles for loss.
For Western Oregon, playing another Division 1 opponent isn’t the best way to start the season (maybe the check is good?), but you could easily choose worse teams to start the season against than Cal Poly. How about Idaho State, for example? Idaho State didn’t let WOU breathe in that 50-10 game, so maybe we can learn something substantial about the Wolves against a lower-level opponent, and maybe we can see some positive moments as well. I still don’t see an upset here, even though Cal Poly is 0-2 coming off a 3-8 2023 season. However, I think it might be closer than expected. Cal Poly by 14 points.
https://bigskyconf.com/news/2024/7/19/football-montana-picked-to-win-bigskyfb-in-2024.aspx
https://www.aol.com/college-football-lone-star-conference-154600603.html
Midwestern State has the week off.