UT Permian Basin Football is home for the final time in 2022 this weekend against Western New Mexico.  The Falcons welcome the Mustangs to the Permian Basin for the first time since 2018 and have won four of the last five in the series.  The last time these teams met in Odessa the Falcons won a thriller 21-20 with a touchdown in the final minute to win it.
 
Prior to the game the team will be honoring the 11 seniors on the squad.  These festivities will begin approximately 25 minutes before kickoff.
 
Live Stats
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Forecast – 68 degrees at kickoff, 12 mph wind, clear skies
The Main Ticket Office will open at 4 PM
Falcon Walk at 4 PM
 
Scouting the Opponent
The Mustangs have won five games for the first time since 2014 and are coming off a trilling 41-37 victory over West Texas A&M. 
Devin Larsen leads the show with a Lone Star Conference high 2,285 passing yards and 20 touchdowns.  He's also a threat to run with three rushing touchdowns on the season. 
Maurice Smith is the Mustangs leading rusher with 222 yards and a pair of scores.  In the air David Telles is Larsen's leading target with 45 catches for 480 yards and three touchdowns.  Charles Byers is also a threat with 344 yards and five scores. 
Watch out for Sam Moala on the defensive line with a team high five sacks and eight pass break ups. 
The Mustangs boast the leading passing offense in the LSC at 267.7 yards per game.  They also lead the league in average punting yards and are second in kickoff return average.
 
Close Games
The Falcons have found themselves in a tight game nearly every week this season.  Seven of their nine games have been decided by one-score or less and all but one saw the game winning score happen in the final 90 seconds of regulation or gone to overtime.  The team's point differential in Lone Star Conference games is –5.  Their last three losses have been by a combined 5 points and held the lead in the final 2 minutes of regulation.
 
Record Breaking
MJ Link now holds all but one receiving record at UTPB.  This season he has set records for catches, yards, and touchdowns, while also setting career records for those categories.  He also holds single game records for catches and touchdowns and has the longest reception in school history.  The only stat that Link's name is not at the top of the list is the single game yards record of 215.
 
In the Zone
No team in the LSC has been better than the Falcons inside the red zone, scoring 88 percent of the time.  They have scored a touchdown on 16 of their 25 trips to the red zone this year.  The Mustangs are the fourth worst in the league at red zone defense, allowing opponents to score 81.6 percent of the time.
 
Applying Pressure
The Falcons are second in the conference in sacks with 27 while the Mustangs are good at keeping the quarterback upright only allowing 11 sacks, the second fewest in the conference.  Dominque Varela leads the defense with 5.5 sacks on the year.
 
Air Raid
Expect a lot of passing as Western New Mexico leads the LSC in passing offense at 267.7 yards per game.  The Falcons are fourth in the league at 230.1 yards per game.
 
At the Top
The Falcon offense boasts some of the best players in the nation.  MJ Link is 11th in Division II with nine touchdowns on the year.  Brock Johnson is tied for second among tight ends with four, trailing the national lead by one.  Johnson is fourth in the conference as is Gunnar Abseck.
 
Leaders
Passing—Dylan Graham, 1,808 yards, 16 touchdowns, 183 completions, 58.7 completion percentage
Rushing—Kory Harris, 301 yards, 1 touchdown, 78 attempts, 3.9 yards per carry
Receiving—MJ Link, 741 yards, 9 touchdowns, 51 catches, 82.3 yards per game, 14.5 yards per catch
Tackles—Hayden Kelly, 74 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception