ODESSA, Texas (October 24, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin football team (5-2 overall, 3-2 LSC) looks to get back on track as the Falcons return home to host West Texas A&M University (4-3, 4-1) during "Week 8" at Astound Broadband Stadium. The Falcons and Buffaloes will square off starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, to cap off UTPB's Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend. It will also be the 100th game in the history of UTPB football.

UTPB is coming off of back-to-back losses against then No. 13-ranked Central Washington University and at Western Oregon University. WT has won three straight games by at least 28 points, all at home, and is off to a 4-1 start in the Lone Star Conference, good enough for a tie for second place with Western Oregon. WT is leading the league in total offense at 487.4 yards per game. In addition, the Buffaloes have received the opening kickoff in each of their first seven contests and have scored points on their first possession in six of the first seven games this season.

BATTLE OF THE TOP TWO DEFENSES IN THE LSC
UTPB has the Lone Star Conference's top-rated defense so far this season, allowing just 313.4 yards per game. WT is next at 343.3 yards per game.

FALCONS IN THE POLLS
The Falcons are now ranked No. 18 in the D2Football.com Media Poll and No. 23 in the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll. They fell from No. 11 to No. 18 in the D2 Poll and from No. 13 to No. 23 in the AFCA Poll after last week.

FALCONS' LAST TIME OUT
Western Oregon upsets No. 13 UT Permian Basin, 31-28: Jordan McCarty had a 10-yard touchdown run with 1:55 to play and Malcolm Liufau forced a fumble that was recovered by Tamaaulelei Ma'alona with 25 seconds left as Western Oregon upset No. 13 UT Permian Basin 31-28 at McArthur Field. It was WOU's first win over a ranked opponent since 2016. WOU built a 17-7 lead at halftime. UTPB took its first lead, 28-24, with 6:46 left in the game thanks to a Kanon Gibson 14-yard touchdown run. McCarty finished 19-for-28 passing for 166 yards and two touchdowns – one to Jermaine Land and the other to Keyvaun Eady – and added 75 yards on the ground. Liufau also had an interception, one sack and two tackles for a loss of eight yards. Aden Murphy had a game-high nine tackles. Gibson was 28-for-40 for 348 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 84 yards and two more scores. Kylin Mathis (eight catches) and TJ McKenzie (six catches, one touchdown) both went for over 100 yards receiving. UTPB's defense was led by Tristan Exline, who had eight tackles – 2.5 for loss.

THE SERIES (UTPB VS. WT)
The Falcons and Buffaloes meet for the ninth time on the gridiron this Saturday with WT holding the 5-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 2016. The Falcons will be looking to take down the Buffs for the third year in a row after winning 41-40 in overtime two seasons ago inside Astound Broadband Stadium and winning 21-7 last year for the team's first win in program history in Canyon, Texas.

A LOOK BACK AT THE START OF UTPB'S CURRENT WINNING STREAK VS. WT
Falcons storm back to corral Buffaloes in overtime, 41-40: A raucous crowd of over 7,000 saw a spirited comeback as UT Permian beat West Texas A&M 41-40 in overtime at Astound Broadband Stadium. After coming up with a successful onside kick and overcoming a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation, the Falcons' quarterback Kenny Hrncir scored on a one-yard rush and then WT saw the UTPB defense stop its two-point conversion pass for the win. UTPB scored 31 points in the fourth quarter and 17 in the final four and a half minutes. Hrncir had a hand in all five touchdowns for the Falcons. He ran for 105 yards and two scores and threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with 424 yards in total offense, the second-best mark in school history.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Early offense, timely takeaways power UT Permian Basin to road win over West Texas A&M, 21-7: UT Permian scored on its first three possessions and its defense forced three turnovers as the Falcons took down West Texas A&M, 21-7, on Saturday for the program's first win in Canyon, Texas. The game featured no scores in the second half. UTPB's Ben Patterson caught four passes for 161 yards and the game's first touchdown from Isaac Mooring, who also ran for a score. Tyler Cleveland had the Falcons' other touchdown, a 17-yard run. WT made it 7-7 in the first quarter on a Kanan Gibson 33-yard pass to Zorian Stanton. Tristan Exline had 12 tackles, Dante Heaggans had two interceptions and Yemi Oyesanya had a sack and a forced fumble to lead the Falcons' defense. WT's Zach Schlager had 19 tackles – the most in a single game in the LSC this season – and JT Cavender added 11.

FROM BUFF TO FALCON
UTPB starting quarterback Kanon Gibson makes his first start against his former team. Gibson started against the Falcons in each of the previous two matchups between UTPB and WT. Gibson started in 12 games in two seasons at WT and had 2,341 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 608 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. One of those games included an unforgettable meeting between the Falcons and the Buffs in 2023 that featured a high-scoring offensive shootout in which UTPB won 41-40 in overtime at home. Despite the loss, Gibson had himself a day, going 23-of-26 for 197 yards and three touchdowns passing while rushing for 123 yards off 14 carries and one touchdown. In UTPB's win last year in Canyon, Gibson finished the night completing 17-of-28 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown to go along with nine carries for 25 yards.

Gibson has been the focal point of the Falcons' offense so far in 2025, passing for 1,735 yards and 13 touchdowns for an average of 247.86 passing yards per game. He's passed for a completion percentage of 61.65 percent and has only thrown four interceptions out of 206 attempts. Gibson also leads the UTPB rushing room, earning 322 yards on the ground and has added seven touchdowns as well.

Gibson has passed for over 300 yards in a game three times this season and has three games with at least four combined touchdowns between the air and the ground. He also had a career-high three rushing touchdowns in UTPB's 28-14 win at No. 5 Angelo State University (Oct. 4). He is coming off a game in which he completed a career-high 28 passes, passed for a season-high 348 yards, and ran for a season-high 84 yards. His 432 combined yards against the Wolves rank as the second-most in the Lone Star Conference so far this season. In the LSC, Gibson ranks third in passing touchdowns and is fourth in completions (127), passing attempts (265) and passing yards. On the ground, he is second in attempts (98) and touchdowns, and is eighth in total yardage in the conference.

BUFFALOES' LAST TIME OUT
West Texas A&M claims Wagon Wheel with 43-14 victory over Eastern New Mexico: West Texas A&M scored on the first play of the game and never looked back as they raced past rival Eastern New Mexico 43-14 in the 37th annual Wagon Wheel Game at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. It was the third consecutive win for WT. RJ Martinez connected with Drew Zamar for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Buffs the early lead. They built a 28-7 lead by halftime thanks to three more touchdown passes from Martinez, who finished 26 of 43 for 424 yards and five touchdown tosses. Zamar had three catches for 99 yards and Zach Phillips caught two touchdowns. Jamel Acosta-Lewis (11) and Miles Hills (10) had double digit tackles and Cam Manahan had an interception for WT. ENMU's offense was led by Demarion Finch (27 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns) and Gerry Gomez (nine catches). Matthew Quartieri had nine tackles – seven solo – and an interception for the Greyounds.

WT HEAD COACH
Josh Lynn is now in his third season at the helm of the West Texas A&M Football program after being named the 29th head coach in WT history. Lynn, widely regarded as one of the nation's up-and-coming head coaches, came to Canyon following six seasons at the University of Nebraska-Kearney where he led the Lopers to an overall record of 35-25 including a run to the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Playoffs.

CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, No. 10 Central Washington is atop the Lone Star Conference football standings at 5-0. 

In addition to CWU (6-1 overall), No. 21 Angelo State, Western Oregon, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico all won Week 6 matchups at home. WOU upset No. 13 UT Permian Basin, 31-28.

CWU has won five games in a row, while WOU (5-2, 4-1 LSC) and WT (4-3, 4-1 LSC) each improved their winning streaks to three games. WOU and WT are tied for second place in the conference standings.

Week 8 will feature all 10 teams in action with five conference matchups – all on Saturday.

WT is leading the league in total offense at 487.4 yards per game, followed by WNMU (450.1) and TAMUK (436.7). CWU is scoring a league-high 44.3 points per game.

UTPB has the conference's top-rated defense, allowing just 313.4 yards per game. WT is next at 343.3 yards per game then CWU (345.4). Opponents are scoring just 19.3 points per game against CWU, which leads the league.

UTPB is the least penalized team in the league, averaging just 45.9 yards per game.

The LSC has had three D2Football.com national player of the week selections this season. UTPB junior linebacker Tristan Exline was named National Defensive Player of the Week after the first week of the year, while CWU sophomore kick returner Beau Philllips (Sept. 30) and MSU freshman punt returner Cedonyae Lott (Oct. 7) earned the title of National Special Teams Player of the Week.

ASU is the favorite to win the LSC title this season, according to the preseason poll. Exline and ASU quarterback Braeden Fuller were voted preseason players of the year.

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday night's contest will be broadcasted on FloCollege. The LSC and FloCollege reached a historic agreement in August 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month).

To follow the action for the Falcons all season long, please check out our Live Events page for all of the video and live stats details: https://utpbfalcons.com/coverage.

In addition, all UTPB home and away football games can be heard live on KQRX 95.1 FM, 95X, a West Texas Radio Group station" with the pre-game show beginning 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Monty Montgomery (Play-by-Play) and Chad Kelly (Color Commentary) begin their first season together in the broadcast booth.