UT Permian Basin football returns to the road after two straight weeks at home as the Falcons look to shut down the Eastern New Mexico triple option when the Falcons square off against the Greyhounds at 7 p.m. (MDT) in Portales, N.M.

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LAST TIME OUT
UT Permian Basin is looking to rebound after a 44-20 defeat against Angelo State in Midland. 

The Falcons led halfway through the third quarter Saturday night against Angelo State, but the Falcons gave up 27 unanswered points in a 44-20 loss.

Taylor Null threw his third touchdown pass of the game on a five yard pass to Mitchell Leonard for a 20-17 lead with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter. 

Angelo State tied the game at 20-20 late in the third on a 26-yard field goal, and added three touchdowns in the fourth.

Null threw for over 400 yards for the second straight game, completing 32-47 passes for three touchdowns and 409 yards on the night. Kyle McBride was the main benefactor, catching a team-record 11 passes for 142 yards and a 34-yard touchdown. Chris Hoad led the defense with 17 total tackles on the night.

UP NEXT
UT Permian Basin travels to Portales, N.M., for an 8 p.m. road game at Eastern New Mexico. Coming into the game, the Greyhounds rank fourth in the conference with 383.1 yards per game but are followed right behind by the Falcons with 380.9 points per game.  The Greyhounds triple option attack has them leading the conference in rushing yards with 316.9 per game.  They are led by Paul Terry with 705 yards and seven touchdowns.  Quarterback Wyatt Strand has added in 581 yards and six scores while the team has 23 rushing touchdowns as a whole.  Marquis Simmons leads the Falcons on the ground with 460 yards and two touchdowns.

The Falcons excel at the aerial attack where freshman quarterback Taylor Null is second in the conference in passing yards with 1,797 while adding in 14 touchdowns.  Kyle McBride leads a balanced receiving group for the Falcons with 536 yards and three touchdowns, while Ben Galaviz leads the team with five touchdowns to go along with 33 receptions and 414 yards.  Kristian Brown rounds out the group with 26 catches for 452 yards and four touchdowns.  Strand has thrown for just 389 yards with two scores for the Greyhounds who average 66.25 yards per game in the air.  Johnny Smith leads them with 325 receiving yards and has been on the receiving end of all five of their touchdown passes.

The Falcons bring to the game Chris Hoad who has 86 tackles on the season which is tied for the lead in the Lone Star Conference and is among the top tacklers in the country.  The Falcon defense is also tied for the conference lead with 21 sacks which also ranks 31st nationally.  The Greyhounds are led by Brad Hardin with 58 tackles on a defense that allows 372.1 yards per game.

NULL GOES DEEP
Freshman quarterback Taylor Null has made a name for himself quickly in 2018. Null ranks second in the conference averaging 299.5 yards per pass and is third in the league with 14 touchdowns through just six games of action. Null has had the two biggest games of his career the past two weeks, throwing for 430 yards on 31-48 passing with four touchdowns in a 36-17 homecoming victory against Humboldt State. Three of the four scores came from beyond 40 yards, including a 57 yard pass six minutes in to the game to Kristian brown and a game-long 62 yard touchdown to Baylon Ware early in the third quarter. Last week, Null came back to complete 32-47 passes for 409 yards and three TD's last week against Angelo State.

JUSTIN CARRIGAN SHOW
Join UT Permian Basin head coach Justin Carrigan every Wednesday night from 6-7 p.m.at Linx Bar and Grill at Ratliff Country Club for the Justin Carrigan Show. Broadcast on Rock 95.1, listen to Coach Carrigan break down the previous week's game and preview the team's upcoming opponent each week.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Fans that can't make it out to Ratliff this season now have even more ways to follow the Falcons each week. Beginning this season all five home games will be streamed live on utpbfalcons.com, along with the re-broadcast on MYTV16 at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays after each home game. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast featuring Graham Pollard and Derek Catsam on Rock 95.1 and utpbfalcons.com, and can follow live stats available at utpbfalcons.com. Don't forget to catch Coach Carrigan break down each week's game Sunday night's at 10:30 p.m. on CBS 7 on the Falcon Focus Coach's Show.