UT Permian Basin (0-0) at Texas Southern (0-0)
September 1, 7 p.m. 
BBVA Compass Stadium - Houston, Texas
Television: ATTSportsnet Southwest
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UT Permian Basin Football kicks off the 2018 season on the road this weekend, traveling to Houston, Texas for a non-conference game at Div. I Texas Southern Saturday, Sept. 1 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Falcons are 1-1 all-time in season openers, winning their first ever game in 2016 at home against Sul Ross before dropping their first game of the season last year to SRSU.

GAME NOTES

TEXAS SOUTHERN GAME NOTES

Mathis Named Starting QB
Head Coach Justin Carrigan named Kameron Mathis the starting quarterback Monday, Aug. 27. Mathis, a junior from Bushland, Texas, threw for 1,806 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. In his career at UTPB, Mathis has thrown for 27 TD, 3,884 yards, rushed for 81 yards and has a pair of touchdowns on the ground in 21 total games.

Scouting the Tigers
Texas Southern ended 2017 averaging 17.5 points per game on offense, while allowing 28.9 on defense for the season. TSU ran the ball more than they threw on the season, ending the year with 346 total rushes to just 260 passing attempts. The Tigers averaged 3.7 yards on the ground and 126.5 yards per game rushing, to 144.3 yards per game passing on 12.13 yards per catch. They also scored more on the ground than through the air, getting 12 rushing touchdowns to seven passing TDs.

The Tigers return two of its top three rushers from last season, including leading running back Brad Woodard who led all TSU players with 497 yards rushing, averaging a team-best 4.7 yards per carry and tying for the team lead with four rushing touchdowns. 

Texas Southern brings back just one quarterback to see playing time in 2017. Graduate student Jay Christope appeared in three games, going 29-80 for 409 yards with a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions.

TSU returns two of its top five wide receivers this season. Malik Webb cought 16 balls for 264 yards, and DeAndre Angelle had eight receptions for 90 yards in 2017.

On the other side of the ball, the TSU defense returns its top two tacklers from last season. Julian Marcantel led the Tigers with 83 total tackles and 8.5 TFL. Sean Jones added 68 tackles with 6.0 TFL including tying for the team lead with 2.5 sacks.

As a team in 2017, Texas Southern allowed 4.5 yards per rush on the ground, good for 157.8 yards rushing per game. TSU also gave up 239 yards per game in the air on 13.5 yards per catch. On the season, opponents scored 20 rushing TDs with 16 passing touchdowns. 

2018 Non-Conference
The Falcons start the season on the road for the first time in their three-year history, traveling to Houston for an opening-night kick-off at Texas Southern Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.. The next week sees UT Permian Basin play its first ever opponent away from the South when the Falcons fly to Marquette, Michigan, to face Northern Michigan Sept. 8th at 1 p.m.. UTPB closes out its non-conference schedule a month later when it hosts Humboldt State Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at Ratliff Stadium for Homecoming.

Falcons Picked 8th in Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll
The Falcons were selected to finish 8th in the league after receiving 57 points in voting by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members. That reflects where the Falcons ended 2017 after going 1-7 in conference play in their second season as a Lone Star Conference member. UTPB opens LSC action Sept. 15 when defending Lone Star Conference champion Midwestern State comes to Ratliff Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick-off.

Dynamic Duo
Linebackers Chris Hoad and Keegan Gray have been two of the best tacklers in the Lone Star Conference through each of their first two seasons. Hoad tied for the individual lead in the conference last season, averaging 11.1 tackles per game to end the year with 61 solo and 61 assisted tackles to rank first with 122 total tackles. Gray ranked 7th in the Lone Star, making 52 solo tackles and 44 assisted tackles for 96 tackles in 11 games (8.7 tackles per game). Ranking near the top in individual defense is nothing new for Hoad. As a freshman, he placed second in the Lone Star in 2016 with 114 total tackles.

O'Kelley Named LSC Freshman of the Year
Sophomore linebacker John O'Kelley enters his sophomore season as reigning Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year.  O'Kelley appeared in all 11 games last season, recording 38 total tackles, 25 of them solo. He had 9.5 tackles for loss, averaging 5.5 yards on each of those tackles. He led the Falcons with 5.5 sacks on the season for 29 yards, tied for the team lead with three forced fumbles, and tied for the NCAA lead with four total blocked kicks on the year.

Don't Mess With Texas
The 2018 Falcons have a roster that is predominantly from the Lone Star State. Of 104 players on the roster, 95 are from Texas. This year's roster also includes two players from California, and one from each Virginia, Washington, D.C., New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Utah and Illinois.

Roster Breakdown
Entering their third year as a program, UT Permian Basin's roster now features a large junior class. The Falcons feature six seniors, 37 juniors, 16 sophomores and 45 freshman in 2018.

In Good Hands
UT Permian Basin returns its two best receivers in 2018. Senior Mitchell Leonard and junior Kristian Brown have been the Falcons top two targets over their first two seasons. Leonard led UTPB with 42 catches and 601 yards in 2017, adding three touchdowns. Brown scored in three straight games in the middle of the season and led the Falcons with five touchdowns on 35 catches for 584 yards.