ODESSA, Texas (October 4, 2024) – Coming off a dominating defensive performance in a 27-3 win at Midwestern State University last weekend, The University of Texas Permian Basin football team will look to continue its momentum in an important matchup this weekend against Angelo State University. The Falcons will host the Rams during "Week 5" starting at 6 p.m. inside Astound Broadband Stadium.

In the win last week, UTPB (3-2 overall, 1-2 Lone Star Conference) limited Midwestern State to 89 rushing yards, just one trip to the redzone, and a 3-for-12 rate on third down. In addition, the Falcons sacked the Mustangs four times for a loss of 36 yards.

Offensively, the Falcons finished with points in all four quarters and outgained the Mustangs 441-253 overall. It was their third game with at least 400 yards of total offense so far this season and was a balanced attack as the team threw for 242 yards and rushed for 199.

Despite the outcome, Head Coach Kris McCullough believes his team still "left some meat on the bone" offensively, something they will not be able to do to have a chance to take down Angelo State this weekend.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: ASU AT UTPB
Last season, (RV/#25) UTPB beat (#19/#18) Angelo State 28-23 on the road. This was the second win over a ranked opponent in school history and was the first win over ASU in program history.

Angelo State got off to a 10-0 lead with 12:31 to go in the second quarter, and UTPB got on the scoreboard at the 8:52 mark as graduate student Kenny Hrncir hit senior Jeremiah Cooley with a 16-yard pass for a touchdown.

Four minutes later, the Rams scored to push the lead to 17-7. On their next possession, the Falcons scored with 41 seconds left as junior Deon Cook scored on a 32-yard pass from Hrncir.  That closed it to 17-14. ASU managed to hit a field goal on the last play of the half for a 20-14 lead.

In the third quarter, with 10:20 to go from the Angelo State 7-yard line, Hrncir hit junior La'Quan Wells in the endzone. That put UT Permian Basin up 21-20.

The Rams took over five minutes off the clock hitting a field goal to go back up 23-21 at the 4:56 mark.  Sophomore Kory Harris took off for 55 yards, finally being brought down at the ASU 15-yard line. Two plays later, Hrncir and Wells hooked up for another touchdown, this one for 14 yards for a 28-23 lead.

Hrncir was 21-of-27 for 203 yards and four touchdowns and added 43 yards on the ground for 246 yards in total offense.

In the fourth quarter, the UTPB defense shut down Angelo State. The Falcons held the Rams to just 60 yards in total offense in the period, had a sack and ended two possessions with interceptions.

For the game, the UTPB defense held the Rams to 122 yards in the air, well below their average of 240.8 yards. Graduate student Hayden Kelly had 13 tackles while junior Champ Mathis had eight tackles and senior Dominique Varela had 1.5 sacks.

UTPB VS. NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED TEAMS THIS SEASON
UTPB's first game this season against a team receiving votes in the AFCA Division II Coaches' Preseason poll did not go as planned as the Falcons fell 40-23 on the road at CSU-Pueblo in its first road game of the season. The Falcons scored on their very first offensive play from scrimmage, but the ThunderWolves responded with 23 unanswered points to end the first half and held on for the victory.

Then in their most recent home game against Texas A&M University-Kingsville, UTPB fell 20-14 against the Javelinas, who are now receiving votes in the "Week 5" edition of the AFCA Division II Coaches' poll. Kingsville led 17-0 after scoring on each of its first three possessions of the game and used four seniors on its offensive line to put up a total of 125 rushing yards. After accumulating just 13 rushing yards in the first half, UTPB finished the game with just 46 rushing yards and a 1.9 average per attempt. The Falcons were also 0-for-2 on field goal attempts and did not reach the redzone until their final possession of the game, which ended in an interception.

RAMS UNDER THE LENS
The Falcons and Rams meet for the eighth time on the gridiron this Saturday with ASU holding the 6-1 advantage in the series. Saturday marks the fourth home game for UTPB against ASU and will be the Rams' third trip to Midland.

The Angelo State football team collected the No. 2 spot in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Rams tallied six first-place votes in the poll to earn 260 points overall. The Rams were also selected 24th overall in the American Football Coaches' Association Preseason Top 25. ASU was one of three LSC schools in the poll with Central Washington at 8th and UTPB at 21st.

ASU is coming off a 7-3 overall record and a third-place finish in the conference in 2023. The Rams return a strong core of receivers with Zorhan Rideaux, Kyle Bradford, and Kel Williams returning for their final seasons. The three have combined for 178 receptions, 2,933 receiving yards, and 17 touchdowns. The Rams will also have a pair of LSC Offensive Lineman of the Year in the trenches this season. Noah Plsek earned the award in 2023 and will be joined by Jacob Long who makes his return to the Rams after playing last season at Duke. Long earned the LSC honor in 2022.

So far in 2024, the Rams went 0-2 in a pair of nonconference games against MIAA opponents in Kansas to open the season, but since then have gone 2-0 with a home win over Eastern New Mexico University (W, 26-20) and a shutout win on the road at Western New Mexico University (W, 21-0) to start Lone Star Conference play undefeated. The Rams then had a weekend off for their bye week before returning to LSC play at UTPB this weekend.

In its most recent outing, the Angelo State football team put together a complete performance, defeating Western New Mexico 21-0 on the road at Ben Altamirano Field two weeks ago.

The Rams recorded their first shutout since the 2022 season as they improved to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams scored with just under three minutes to go in the second quarter as Braeden Fuller found Kel Williams at the top of the endzone on a seven-yard touchdown pass.

Williams finished with a career-high six catches for 70 yards, averaging over 11 yards per reception.

ASU's defense allowed only three drives of more than 24 yards during the game while forcing the Mustangs to punt on their first five possessions.

Late in the first half, Andrew Pitts recorded his third interception of the season, bringing his career total to 19 which set a new program record for ASU.

The Rams held WNMU to 160 total yards of offense while collecting 383 yards of offense including 183 yards on the ground.

ASU extended the lead in the third quarter after Fuller broke away on a 39-yard touchdown run to put the Rams ahead 14-0. Fuller finished with 78 yards on the ground while throwing 23-for-38 for 222 yards and two scores.

The Rams collected seven tackles for loss, including two sacks while Kenton Allen led ASU with eight tackles. Eric Rascoe and Dylan Neeley each recorded a sack while finishing with five and four tackles respectively.

With 6:54 to go in the game, the Rams moved the ball 70 yards down the field for their third score, ending with a 17-yard touchdown catch by Kyle Bradford.

ASU HEAD COACH
Jeff Girsch enters his sixth season as head coach of the Rams, 11th overall at Angelo State. He has compiled a 41-13 overall record since taking over the program in 2018 after serving as the defensive coordinator. Girsch has led the Rams to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship in 2021 and 2022 while claiming the 2022 Lone Star Conference title.

LSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
The reigning LSC Special Teams Player of the Week is UTPB's Rafael Vargas. Vargas averaged 44 yards on punts, made a 31-yard field goal and handled kickoff duties to fuel a 27-3 road win over Midwestern State. Vargas pinned one of his punts inside the 20-yard line. His field goal was the only score in the fourth quarter and he added an extra point in the third quarter. Of his five kickoffs, two were touchbacks. Vargas is tied for the longest punt in the LSC this season at 73 yards and he is averaging 42.6 yards per boom.

Two weeks ago, quarterback Braeden Fuller was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Fuller, a junior kinesiology major from Floresville, Texas, led the Angelo State football team to a road victory over Western New Mexico, and accounted for all three of ASU's touchdowns in the win, making the Rams the conference's only 2-0 team in league play. He passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and also ran for 81 yards and a score on 10 carries. His TD run was for 39 yards and came in the third quarter to put the Rams up 14-0. Fuller, who completed 23 passes against WNMU, has not thrown a pick in four games this season.

CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
Western Oregon, UT Permian Basin, Texas A&M-Kingsville and No. 13 Central Washington were all victorious in "Week 4" of Lone Star Conference football. Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico had byes.

CWU, TAMUK, ASU and WOU are all 2-0 in the conference standings. UTPB is also above .500 at 2-1.

Eastern New Mexico has the league's top offensive at 466.3 yards per game, followed by UT Permian Basin (446 ypg) and CWU (418 ypg). CWU owns the top defense, allowing just 200.8 yards per game. The Wildcats are coming off a 36-0 shutout of Western New Mexico. UTPB (266), ASU (289.3) and TAMUK (289.8) are also holding opponents under 300 yards per game.

"Week 5" will feature just three conference matchups (ASU at UTPB; CWU at ENMU and MSU at TAMUK) – all on Saturday – as four teams have a bye. All three of the matchups were one-score games last season.

GAME INFORMATION
UT Permian Basin plays at home for the fourth time in its first six games of the season as the Falcons take on Angelo State University starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 5. In addition to being a Black Out, the UTPB community will also be celebrating Energy Day, Family Weekend, the Special Olympics, and Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

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