ODESSA, Texas (October 25, 2025) – Coming off of back-to-back losses and needing a win to right the ship and keep its playoff hopes alive, The No. 23 nationally-ranked University of Texas Permian Basin football team dominated defensively en route to a 22-6 win over West Texas A&M University on Saturday night inside Astound Broadband Stadium. It was a battle between the top-two rated defenses in the Lone Star Conference (UTPB #1, WT #2), but one defense clearly shined over the other.

UTPB (6-2 overall, 4-2 LSC) held WT (4-4, 4-2) to just six first downs, eight rushes for 18 yards, only 11 completions on 33 pass attempts, only 187 yards of total offense, less than 14 minutes of possession time, and only a 4-for-11 mark on third down.

WT entered the contest leading the LSC in total offense at 487.4 yards per game. In addition, the Buffaloes had received the opening kickoff in each of their first seven contests and had scored points on their first possession in six of the first seven games this season. Instead, the UTPB defense limited the Buffs to 300 yards below their season average and forced them to punt on each of their first three possessions of the game.

The UTPB offense, meanwhile, picked up 30 first downs, totaled 418 yards of offense, maintained possession for over 46 minutes, and was 13-for-20 on third down. UTPB came into the game ranking 46th in all of NCAA Division with 410.9 yards per game.

Playing against his former team, UTPB quarterback Kanon Gibson completed 29 of 45 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He completed seven of those passes to Traylen Suel for 72 yards and a touchdown and six to Kylin Mathis for 56 yards. In all, nine difference receivers caught at least one pass for the Falcons, showcasing their equal-opportunity offense.

The Falcons scored points on their first two possessions of the game and never looked back.

On the very first drive of the game, UTPB went 12 plays for 75 yards, opening the contest with a 27 yard pass to Kory Harris out of the backfield before scoring on a five-yard touchdown pass on a pick play to Suel on third-and-goal.

Then after a three-and-out by WT, UTPB went 11 plays for 48 yards on its second drive, this time ending with a 43-yard field goal by Angel Diaz. After completing three passes to Suel during the opening drive, Gibson completed three passes to Mathis and two to both Suel and Heston Kelly during the second drive.

UTPB made it 17-0 a little bit more than halfway through the second quarter as Gibson completed a 20-yard pass and a 14-yard pass both to Jace Wyatt on back-to-back plays, the second of which went for a touchdown on a contested catch in the endzone.

WT answered UTPB's seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a seven-play, 75-yard drive. The Buffs began to try and force the ball downfield, completing passes of 26 yards to Drew Zamar and 44 yards to Jamir Roberts before ending the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to backup quarterback Sean Johnson. The Buffs, however, missed the extra point kick wide left, and that would be their only points of the night.

Late in the third quarter, a turnover on downs by the Falcons forced WT to start its ensuing drive and its own three-yard line, and the UTPB defense made the Buffs pay on the second play as freshman linebacker Warren Richardson charged the quarterback and drew a holding call in the endzone for a safety.

WT would get only one possession in the fourth quarter as the final drive of the game saw UTPB run 15 plays for 51 yards and take the final 8:48 off the clock. Of those 15 plays, the Falcons ran it 10 times for 28 yards.

WT did record five sacks in the game, but UTPB's initial scoring push proved to be the decisive factor in maintaining the lead. The Buffs could not prevent UTPB from controlling the clock, concluding the game by kneeling it out.

In all for the second half, UTPB ran the ball 30 times for 90 yards.

For the game, Harris ran 17 times for a season-high of 70 yards, including 12 runs for 41 yards in the second half. Playing in his first game after a three-week absence, Adrian Cormier ran 11 times for 42 yards, all in the second half to help UTPB salt the game away.

On defense, UTPB combined for eight pass breakups, including two apiece by defensive backs Jalani Jefferson and Caimon Mathis. On special teams, Diaz was 4-for-4 kicking on the night, converting on both extra point attempts and making two 40-plus yard field goals (43 yards, 42 yards) while Jordan Cartwright made his season debut handing the kickoff duties.

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Falcons are still a nationally-ranked team in both the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll (No. 23) and the D2Football.com Media Poll (No. 18).

It was the third win in a row for UTPB over WT, which began the day tied for second place in the LSC standings, but saw its streak of three straight wins by at least 28 points come to an end.

"I am so proud of our #FAMILLY for the performance tonight," spoke UTPB Head Football Coach Kris McCullough. "It was the most complimentary game we've played all season. That was a big-time win for our program and players. Kanon Gibson played masterfully and I'm so happy for him to get this win. Our defense played elite football and held a top-five offense in the country to their season-lows in all categories. Our offensive line put the game on their backs in the end and ran the clock out. That is not easy to do in college football, which makes me very proud."

Next up, the Falcons will play on the road for the final time during the regular season starting at 1 p.m. Central Time / 12 p.m. Mountain Time on Saturday, November 1, at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico.