ODESSA, Texas (November 21, 2025) – For the second time in the last three seasons, UT Permian Basin football will be playing in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The No. 10-ranked Falcons will take on the No. 4 ranked and No. 3-seeded Colorado State University Pueblo ThunderWolves of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in the first round on Saturday, November 22, with kickoff scheduled for 1:02 p.m. Mountain Time / 2:02 p.m. Central Time from inside the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE
The Falcons will be searching for their first playoff win and first postseason win in program history. In UTPB's first-ever playoff appearance in 2023, the Falcons dropped a low-scoring 10-3 decision at home against No. 21 Bemidji State University in the first round.

In addition, it will be UTPB's second matchup at CSU Pueblo in as many seasons as the Falcons look to earn their first win against the ThunderWolves. UTPB is 2-1 this season against top-15 opponents, including two wins over teams ranked in the top-five in the country at the time. The Falcons will need to earn their third win this season against a top-five opponent to keep their season going.

The winner of Saturday's game between UTPB and CSUP will face the winner of Saturday's first-round game between No. 15-ranked Western Colorado (9-2 overall) and No. 5-ranked and No. 2-seeded Central Washington (10-1 overall) in a second-round game next Saturday, November 29. The Western Colorado-Central Washington first-round game is slated for a 1:05 p.m. Pacific Time kickoff in Ellensburg, Washington.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE FALCONS
UTPB is 9-2 overall and finished tied for second in the Lone Star Conference with a 7-2 record. In addition to having the second-winningest season in program history, the Falcons have now had three straight winning seasons under Head Coach Kris McCullough, who now with 26 wins, becomes the Falcons' all-time winningest coach. UTPB comes into the game having won four straight games to close the regular season.

UTPB had the Lone Star Conference's top-rated defense, allowing just 301.2 yards per game. The Falcons were also first in passing yards allowed per game (159.9 ypg) and were second in points allowed per game (17.7 ppg). The Falcons' offense sat second in the LSC, averaging 39.5 points per game, 469.4 total yards per game and 328.5 passing yards per game. As a team, UTPB ranked third in the nation in passing offense, sixth in total offense and ninth in scoring offense. UTPB was also the least penalized team in the league, averaging just 51.7yards per game.

Led by the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Linebacker of the Year Tristan Exline, The University of Texas Permian Basin football team had 27 All-Lone Star Conference selections. It was a new record for the most Falcons honored in one season by the LSC for the third year in a row under Coach McCullough.

FALCONS IN THE POLLS
Heading into the first round NCAA Division II Football Playoffs, The University of Texas Permian Basin football team (9-2 overall, 7-2 Lone Star Conference) has moved five spots from No. 15 to No. 10 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' Poll. In addition, in the D2Football.com Media Poll, UTPB moved up two spots from No. 13 to No. 11.

FALCONS' LAST TIME OUT
No. 15 UTPB rolls past Sul Ross State, 74-10: Kanon Gibson passed for five touchdowns to lead an offense that racked up 639 yards and No. 15 UTPB cruised to a 74-10 win over Sul Ross State. It was the fourth straight win for UTPB, which finished 7-2 in LSC play. Head coach Kris McCullough became the Falcons' all-time wins leader with 26. Gibson was 26-for-50 and five different receivers caught touchdowns, led by Jaylon Tillman's two. Tristan Exline had 10 tackles and Kharel Coney had an interception for UTPB, which led 32-10 at halftime. SRSU's Kye Callicoatte passed for 189 yards – 134 to Yamil Oaxaca – and a touchdown. Evian Thompson had 10 tackles and Brendon Martin had an interception for the Lobos.

THUNDERWOLVES UNDER THE LENS
The No. 4/6th-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team will make its second consecutive and 11th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs this Saturday, Nov. 22, as the Super Region No. 3 seeded ThunderWolves host UT Permian Basin of the Lone Star Conference in a first-round game set for a 1:02 p.m. kickoff in the ThunderBowl.

CSU Pueblo makes a second straight trip to the postseason after qualifying for the 32-team playoffs as the automatic qualifier from the RMAC after earning its second straight league title with its 30-27 double overtime win last Saturday over 22nd-ranked Chadron State. For the second straight season, the Pack finished the regular season with a 10-1 overall record and an unblemished 9-0 RMAC in back-to-back seasons. The undefeated record in RMAC is the sixth for the program since its reboot in 2008.

The Pack, who is 9-9 all-time in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, including being 5-4 in home playoff games, enters the postseason having won nine straight games since suffering a 36-35 home loss in its second game of the season to Fort Hays State. The nine-game win streak is currently tied for the fourth-longest active streak in Division II football.

In last weekend's double overtime win over Chadron State, the Pack extended its RMAC win streak to 25 consecutive victories, which is the longest active conference win streak in Division II football, after using a 19-yard walk-off touchdown pass from senior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) to sophomore receiver Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Denver, Colo./Eastern Washington) to cap the victory and secure its 10th all-time RMAC Championship.

Fuller's walk-off touchdown pass to Honeycutt, Jr., was his school record 66th pass attempt of the game and his school record 40th pass completion as he finished the game 40-for-66 passing for a career-high 442 yards and had three touchdown passes. The Pack offense ran a school record 109 plays in the win, tallied a school-record 38 first downs, held the ball for nearly 37 minutes, and converted a school-record 12 third-down conversions.

Fuller's top targets in the passing against Chadron State were senior receivers – Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) and Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland). Retzlaff, who is the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Year, capped off the regular season with a school-record 14 catches for 166 yards and two touchdown receptions to push his season total to 15, while Rakowsky added 11 catches for 118 yards.

Entering Saturday's game with UTPB, Fuller, who was named this week's RMAC Offensive and NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week, is 257-for-419 passing for 3,221 yards and has had 30 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He is completing 61.3 percent of his passes and has had five games with 300 or more yards passing. He leads the RMAC in passing yards (3,221), passing yards per game (292.8), completions per game (23.36), and passing touchdowns (30) and is second in total offense (289.1), points responsible for (192), and sixth in passing efficiency (146.7). He is also one of three quarterbacks in school history with 4,000 career passing yards and 40 career touchdown passes.

While its offense gained 542 yards against the league's No. 1 defense, the Pack defense also played a role in Saturday's win, as they held the Eagles to 242 yards of offense (143 rushing, 99 passing) and just three second-half points before overtime.

The Pack defense, which has held four of its last seven opponents to less than 300 yards of offense and has forced a total of 14 turnovers and recorded 18 sacks. In addition, they have held four opponents to less than 15 points.

On the season, the Pack ranks second in the RMAC in scoring defense (19.4 ppg), rushing defense (122.2 ypg), passing defense (187.8 ypg), and is third in total defense (310.0 ypg). In addition, they are tied for fourth in Division II interceptions (17) and are second in red zone defense (71.4 percent).

Before Saturday's game, one of the Pack's strengths was red zone offense as they entered the game having converted on 47 of their 49 red zone chances this season, but were just 5-for-9 in the red zone against Chadron State, and are now 52-for-58 in the red zone, which is still tops in the RMAC and 16th in Division II.

Since rebooting the football program in 2008, the Pack has advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs 11 times beginning in 2011. Those 11 appearances (counting this season) are the 10th most among the 32 teams that earned playoff bids this season. In addition, the Pack is one of eight schools in this year's playoff field to have won a national title in football. The other Division II programs that have won national titles in this year's playoff field are Northwest Missouri State (1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016), Valdosta State (2004, 2007, 2012, 2018), Ferris State (2021, 2022, 2024), Pittsburg State (1991, 2011), Minnesota-Duluth (2008, 2010), West Florida (2019), and Harding (2024).

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
No. 21 UT Permian Basin suffers first loss at CSU-Pueblo, 40-23: No. 21 UT Permian Basin got off to a quick start, scoring on its first offensive play, but the Falcons eventually fell 40-23 on the road to Colorado State Pueblo on Saturday night at ThunderBowl. CSU Pueblo had 23 straight points to end the first half. UTPB's Jerimiah Cooley caught two touchdown passes.

Saturday's game marks just the second-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron and the first since the Pack opened the home portion of its schedule last season with a 43-20 win over the Falcons. In last season's regular season game, the Pack scored on four of its first five possessions and led 26-9 just 16 seconds into the second quarter before a 90-minute lightning delay halted play. Following the delay, the Falcons closed within 29-16 late in the third quarter, but a four-yard touchdown pass from Devin Larsen to Taylor Tosches gave the Pack a 37-23 lead with 9:19 left in the game. For the game, the Pack defense recorded four sacks and two interceptions and held UTPB to a 3.8-yard average per play on their 90 snaps.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: UTPB AT CSUP
Judging by the statistics, Saturday's game will feature two teams that mirror each other on both sides of the ball. The Pack and UTPB are eighth and ninth nationally in scoring (39.6 to 39.5), 14th and sixth in total offense (469.4 to 453.5), and ninth and third in passing offense (328.5 to 302.2), and are both tied for third in offensive first downs (286), while being 21st and 30th in total defense (301.2 to 310.0) and is seventh and 13th in pass efficiency defense (101.23 to 108.91).

Offensively, the Falcons are averaging 39.5 points, 469.4 yards, and 328.5 passing yards per game, and is 10th nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (71.9 percent). Over its last four games, the Falcons averaged 52.3 points and 571.8 yards of offense per game, including posting two games of more than 600 yards of offense.

FALCONS TO WATCH:
Leading the way for the high-powered Falcons' offense is junior quarterback Kanon Gibson. The West Texas A&M transfer has passed for 2,981 yards as he is 225-for-371 passing with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In addition, he has gained 374 yards rushing and has scored eight touchdowns, and is averaging 305 yards of total offense per game, which is eighth-best in Division II. 

Gibson's top targets in the passing game are junior receiver Traylen Suel and senior TJ McKenzie. Suel has caught 42 passes for 478 yards and has hauled in five touchdown passes, and is averaging 11.4 yards per catch, while McKenzie has caught 39 passes for 593 yards and has had six touchdown catches and is averaging 15.2 yards per reception. In addition, senior Ben Patterson is a big play threat in the passing game as he has caught 23 passes for 567 yards and is averaging 24.7 yards per catch and has caught five touchdown passes.

Gibson is joined in the run game by senior running back Kory Harris, who has rushed the ball 126 times for 550 yards and has scored nine touchdowns, and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and enters the game eighth among active Division II players in career rushing yards (2,882).

Leading the way defensively for the Falcons is junior linebacker Tristan Exline. Exline has recorded 104 tackles, including 59 solo stops, and has recorded 18.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, picked off one pass, and forced two fumbles.

In addition to Exline, junior linebacker McKyle So'oto has tallied 42 tackles, 4.0 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and has broken up two passes, while senior linebacker Jacob Humphrey has recorded 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks and junior free safety Jamarion Ravenell has had 18 tackles, six pass break-ups and three interceptions that have been returned for 121 yards, including a 96-yard interception return for a score against Adams State.

On special teams, sophomore kicker Angel Diaz is 10-for-16 on field goals and 46-for-50 on extra points. Diaz leads the team in scoring with 76 yards and is making 66.7 percent of his field goals. Freshman punter Jolon Cabello is averaging 41.0 yards per punt and has had five punts of 50 or more yards and has downed five punts inside the 20-yard line.

The Falcons' return game is paced by Suel as he is averaging 17.0 yards per kickoff return, while junior Heston Kelly is averaging 5.1 yards per punt return.

FALCONS' LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE (UTPB 3, BSU 10; NOV. 18, 2023)
Everything was left on the field as The University of Texas Permian Basin football team (#12 / #10) (10-2) lost 10-3 to #21 / #15 Bemidji State (9-2) in a first round game of the NCAA Division II Football Championships, Saturday afternoon at Astound Broadband Stadium.

This was a defensive battle on both sides as there was only 484 yards in total offense for the game.

In the fourth quarter, with time running out, UT Permian Basin drove down the field. Junior Rafael Vargas booted a 44-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 41 seconds left. The Beavers recovered the onside kick to seal the game.

Offensively, graduate student Kenny Hrncir was 15-of-37 for 153 yards and ran for 72 yards for 225 yards in total offense. He ended up breaking the single-season school records for completions (198) and attempts (354). Senior Gunnar Abseck caught three passes for 37 yards with two of them for first downs on 4th and 10 both times, all in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, senior Dominique Varela had eight tackles with 2.5 for a loss while graduate student Hayden Kelly and junior Jalon Rocquemore had seven tackles each. The Falcons held Brandon Alt to 151 yards passing, 102 yards below his average.

CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
The Lone Star Conference football regular season has come to a close and No. 6 Central Washington is the league champion for the first time in program history after a thrilling 19-17 win over No. 24 Western Oregon on the final play of the game.

No. 15 UT Permian Basin, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M also prevailed in Week 11.

UTPB, WT and WOU all finished as conference runner-up with a 7-2 league record.

CWU earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championship and UTPB received an at-large bid. In the first round on Saturday (Nov. 22), CWU will host Western Colorado at 3 p.m. CT and UTPB will travel to CSU Pueblo for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff.

GAME INFORMATION
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.

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.

COMPLETE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE FOR SUPER REGION FOUR
First Round – Saturday, Nov. 22 – (All games will kick off at 1 p.m. local time)
Northwest Missouri State (9-2) at #1 Harding (11-0)
Western Colorado (9-2) at #2 Central Washington (10-1)
UT Permian Basin (9-2) at #3 CSU Pueblo (10-1)
Chadron State (8-3) at #4 Pittsburg State (9-2)
 
Second Round – Saturday, Nov. 29
Harding/NW Missouri State vs. Pittsburg State/Chadron State winner
Central Washington/Western Colorado winner vs. CSU Pueblo/UTPB winner
 
Super Region Final – Saturday, Dec. 6
Second-round winners at highest remained seeded team
 
National Semifinals – Saturday, Dec. 13
Super Region winners (teams will be reseeded)
 
National Championship Game – Saturday, Dec. 20
National Semifinal winners, 12 p.m. MT (ESPN2)
 
The 2025 NCAA Division II playoffs will culminate with the championship game scheduled for December 20 at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas. Last season, Ferris State captured its third title in the last four seasons with a 49-14 win over Valdosta State.