ODESSA, Texas (October 3, 2025) – The No. 9 UT Permian Basin football team travels to No. 5 Angelo State University for a matchup that very well could determine the outcome of the Lone Star Conference Championship. The action between the Falcons and the Rams is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 4, from LeGrand Stadium in San Angelo, Texas. Both teams are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the LSC.

It is one of just two top-10 nationally-ranked matchups between all levels of NCAA football this weekend.

This season, the Falcons have started 4-0, the best start in program history, including earning the highest nationally-ranked win in program history (34-14 win over No. 5/No. 3 Central Oklahoma) and continuing to build upon their highest national-ranking in program history.

After ranking at No. 11 during each of the last two weeks, UTPB rose two spots to No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' Poll for Week 5. UTPB also remained No. 7 in the D2Football.com Media Poll for the third week in a row and was ranked No. 9 in Wayne Cavadi's DII football Power 10 rankings (Week 4) for the second week in a row. Despite being on a bye this week, Angelo State rose from No. 6 to No. 5 in the AFCA Poll, giving the Falcons an opportunity to knock off their second top-5 opponent this season. The Rams are also ranked one spot ahead of the Falcons in the D2Football.com Poll at No. 6, and are slotted in at No. 5 in the Power 10 rankings.

UTPB head coach Kris McCullough is in his fourth season as a head coach and his third year with the Falcons. McCullough is 21-7 at UTPB and is 30-10 including a season at East Central University. With 30 career wins between his three years at UTPB and one year at East Central, McCullough is believed to be the fifth head college football coach to win 30 games before turning 30 years old.

Kanon Gibson pilots a Falcons offense that sits fourth in the Lone Star Conference, averaging 38.8 points per game while the junior West Texas A&M transfer has tossed for 848 yards and eight touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, their defense ranks atop the conference allowing 16.5 points per game led by junior linebacker Tristan Exline who has registered 33 tackles, 6.5 for loss, three sacks and an interception.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: UTPB AT ASU
The Falcons and Rams meet for the ninth time on the gridiron with ASU holding the 7-1 advantage in the series. The road team has won each of the last two games in the series.

Two years ago, (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.

In that matchup in 2023, UTPB rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to defeat Angelo State behind a strong performance from quarterback Kenny Hrncir, who threw for 203 yards and four touchdowns while adding 43 rushing yards. Hrncir connected twice with La'Quan Wells in the second half, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter. UTPB's defense dominated late, holding ASU to just 60 yards in the fourth quarter with a sack and two interceptions. Overall, the Falcons limited the Rams to 122 passing yards, well below their season average, while Hayden Kelly led with 13 tackles.

However, in their meeting last year at Astound Broadband Stadium, it was Angelo State earning a 36-7 road win over UTPB.

After an early injury to starting quarterback Dylan Graham on the Falcons' second drive of the game, it became clear that defense and turnovers were potentially going to be a determining factor in the ballgame.

The two teams remained scoreless under halfway through the second quarter when a rush by UTPB's backup quarter, Christian Kaopua, saw a fumble from his own five-yard line that resulted in a scoop-and-score by ASU's Kentron Allen to get the scoring started.

The fourth straight three-and-out by the Falcons' offense was followed by a seven-play, 65-yard ASU drive that saw three penalties and two pass interference calls against UTPB. It was the longest drive of the game to that point in terms of yardage. In the end, ASU quarterback Brayden Fuller hit Brayden Wilcox for a six-yard touchdown catch, and then a two-point conversion thrown by the kicker made it a 15-0 lead for the Rams with just 47 seconds left before halftime.

The third quarter started with a three-and-out for both teams, but just one play into ASU's second drive of the quarter, Fuller took the ball himself 86 yards for a touchdown to take the life out of the home crowd.

Kapoua and the Falcons got down to the Rams' 38-yard line on their next drive, but an interception on second-and-nine again kept UTPB from taking advantage of its chance to get on the scoreboard.

Freshman quarterback Issac Mooring started the next Falcon drive and came out throwing as he connected with Deon Cook for a 32-yard completion on his first play. That drive, however, would end with an incompletion on fourth-and-six from the ASU 30-yard line.

UTPB would finish the game just 3-for-18 on third down, but was 4-for-5 on fourth down.

The next ASU drive was a big 14-play, 70-yard scoring drive that saw Fuller's first of two short touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, this one from two yards out to make it 29-0.

UTPB would finally break through with 5:45 left in the contest when Mooring found Ben Patterson down the middle of the field for a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Mooring finished by completing seven of 17 passes for 113 yards and the touchdown. Cook (53 yards), Jeremiah Cooley (42 yards) and Wells (24) yards all finished with four catches.

ASU would answer the first points of the game by UTPB with a scoring drive of its own, going 48 yards in seven plays and finishing off the game with a four-yard run by Fuller.

Fuller was 9-for-15 for 112 yards and one passing touchdown for ASU, but was a killer on the ground, taking off 15 times for a grand total of 146 yards and three scores.

Total yards were just a three-yard difference, 280-277 in favor of ASU. The Rams outrushed the Falcons 168-108 while passing yards were 169-112 in favor of UTPB.

Kory Harris ran the ball 18 times for 61 yards for the Falcons while Camden Tyler ran six times for 20 yards and Kapoua took off 11 times for 18 yards.

In the end, the Rams averaged 4.4 yards per carry compared to just 2.8 for UTPB, and averaged 5.2 yards per play overall compared to 3.9 yards per play for the Falcons.

UTPB was also done in by 11 penalties for 114 yards, while ASU committed just three penalties.

In addition, both teams finished with 14 first downs, but six of ASU's first downs came via a penalty by the Falcons.

Tristan Exline led the UTPB defense with nine tackles while Jamarion Ravenell had six and Jalen Williams added four.

RAMS UNDER THE LENS
Defending champion Angelo State was predicted to win the 2025 Lone Star Conference football championship according to the LSC Football Preseason Poll. Head coach Jeff Girsch's Rams were 9-3 overall last season, including going a perfect 9-0 in league play. ASU, which advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs, has won two of the last three LSC titles.

The Rams utilized a 21-point second quarter and a 28-point second half to take down Western New Mexico 56-27 back on September 20. Kaeden Smith tossed five touchdown passes to five different targets; finding Corey Sandolph, Hunter Wallis and Donny Bishop before providing Trevor Winn and Alon Dobbins with their first career touchdown grabs in the second half. Shamareon "Bobo" McKinnon was named Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week after grabbing an interception and returned it for a touchdown in the third quarter, extending the Rams' streak of interceptions in a game with 19.

Saturday will mark the first top-10 matchup for ASU since the Rams faced off against Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinals of the 2023 playoffs.

Jeff Girch's defense has been no stranger to forcing turnovers, as the Rams currently sit among the nation leaders in turnovers forced with 12; seven interceptions and five forced fumbles.

Four players have recorded over 100 rushing yards for the Rams this season including Cameron Dischler (199 yards, 3 TD), Jayden Jones (199 yards, 1 TD), Chad Pharis (142 yards, 2 TD) and Kaeden Smith (155 yards, TD).

Quarterback Braeden Fuller was selected as the Lone Star Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. A 2024 Harlon Hill Award Finalist and the 2024 OPOTY for the conference, Fuller led the conference in passing yards (2,318) and touchdowns (19). He also added 10 rushing touchdowns and 678 yards on the ground.

Owen Seaver and Kriovanni Johnson are back to lead the Rams' front line on defense. Seaver, the 2024 LSC Defensive Lineman of the Year, totaled 6.5 tackles for loss with 41 total tackles while Johnson finished with 26 tackles including six for loss.

The Rams had three players named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watchlist. Newcomer Stefaan Forbes was named First-Team punter while defensive end Owen Seaver was selected Second-Team Defense and Fuller was named to the Offensive Squad.

Jayden Jones and Cameron Dischler return in the backfield for the Rams. Jones finished with 315 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Dischler had 229 yards with three touchdowns and collected four receiving touchdowns.

Dalton Perry is back under center for the Rams after starting every game last season.

Zeek Freeman leads the returners at wideout, collecting 14 passes last season for 312 yards and two touchdowns.

Xavier Walton is the top returning tackler for the Rams after totaling 45 at the safety position, along with two interceptions.

ASU HEAD COACH
Jeff Girsch recorded his 50th career win as head coach to open the season, becoming the fastest coach in program history to reach that milestone. He holds a career winning percentage of .769 and has been selected as the LSC Coach of the Year three times in his career, most recently in 2024. Prior to being named head coach, Girsch spent five years as the defensive coordinator for the Rams.

Girsch is in his seventh season as head coach of the Rams. Girsch earned his third LSC Coach of the Year honor last year after leading the Rams to a 9-2 overall record, going 9-0 in conference play. Girsch is currently the winningest coach in program history, earning two LSC titles in the last three seasons.

WAYNE CAVADI'S CAN'T MISS GAMES:
UT Permian Basin at Angelo State 7 p.m.; This is the game of the week. Not only are there postseason implications on the line, but the winner of this could also be the winner of the Lone Star Conference. Both teams enter the game at 4-0 and have a win over a nationally ranked team to their credit.

Last week, UTPB's head coach Kris McCullough joined a rare club, earning his 30th win before the age of 30. The Rams are cruising in off a 56-point performance and are clicking offensively, even without Harlon Hill hopeful Braeden Fuller under center. His backup quarterback threw for five touchdowns last week.

Matchup to watch: All of it, just take it all in. A quick look at the scoring stats show how evenly matched these two are. Angelo State scores 39.0 points per game, while UTPB drops 38.8. UTPB has the best scoring defense in the LSC, allowing just 16.5 points per game. The No. 2 scoring defense is Angelo State, allowing 18.5 points per game. UTPB quarterback Kanon Gibson has been highly efficient through the air, throwing for eight touchdowns and no interceptions. The Rams' Kaeden Smith has also thrown for eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Angelo State's defense has picked the ball off seven times, while UTPB has snagged the ball six. The numbers are eerily close, so expect this one to go wire to wire.

Number to know: One. That's how many times UTPB has defeated Angelo State in the history of this matchup. Keep in mind, UTPB is relatively young, beginning its tenure in 2016, but the Rams hold a 7-1 edge all time. Additionally, in each of those seven victories, the Rams have won by no fewer than two scores. History doesn't favor UTPB, but this may be the best Falcons team we've seen yet.

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.