PUEBLO, Colo. (November 22, 2025) – Kanon Gibson and Traylen Suel connected for two receiving touchdowns in the first quarter to highlight a dominant first half, and Gibson totaled five touchdowns for the game (3 passing, 2 rushing) as the No. 10 nationally-ranked University of Texas Permian Basin football team earned its first playoff win in program history with a 37-24 victory at No. 10-ranked and No. 3-seeded Colorado State University Pueblo on Saturday at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

Just two plays into the game, Gibson went downfield for 23 yards on a back-shoulder catch by Suel. Two plays later, Gibson found Ben Patterson in the middle of the field for 11 yards and another first down, and then Gibson and Patterson hooked up on the very next play for 25 yards. A defensive holding penalty got the Falcons down to first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, but after a sack on third down from the five-yard line, UTPB sent out the field goal unit, and Angel Diaz converted from 28 yards out to open the scoring (3-0).

Gibson was 3-for-3 for 59 yards on UTPB's nine-play, 77-yard opening possession, but the drive stalled out after back-to-back running plays on first and second down with the goal to go.

Fortunately, after going 40 yards in three plays on its first possession of the game, CSUP's Jackson Smith missed wide right on his 36-yard field goal attempt to try and tie the game.

A two-yard run by Gibson on third-and-one picked up a first down to start the next UTPB drive, and then the very next play saw Gibson open it up to Suel for 33 yards on a slot fade route. Three plays later, Suel made a beautiful catch for 17 yards, and then on the very next play was wide open in the middle of the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown catch. Diaz converted on the extra point to make it a 10-0 start for the Falcons. Suel finished with three catches for 59 yards during the eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, the first touchdown of the game for either team, while Gibson was 8-of-9 for 136 yards and a touchdown through just two possessions.

After a three-and-out by CSUP, Suel continued to shine in the opening quarter, picking up an 11-yard completion on third-and-three. UTPB picked up two more first downs on a 10-yard completion to Kylin Mathis and a four-yard run by Gibson lowering his shoulder and losing his helmet on the play to pick it up it third-and-one. Gibson, however, came back into the game and on third-and-seven from the 17-yard line, scrambled and found Suel in the back, right-corner of the endzone for his second touchdown catch of the first quarter. Diaz again made the kick to make it 17-0. It was an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive, UTPB's shortest drive of the first quarter in terms of yards, but its longest in terms of plays.

The first quarter was an absolute clinic put on by the Falcons' offense. Through three drives for the Falcons, Gibson was 12-for-16 for 181 yards and two touchdowns and Suel had six receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

UTPB outgained CSUP 215-52 in the first quarter, held the ball for 11:41, and held the ThunderWolves to just 10 plays, two first downs and a 0-for-2 mark on third down.

The UTPB defense held CSUP to a 35-yard field goal on the first possession of the second quarter, but then the ThunderWolves' defense got its first three-and-out by the Falcons' offense on the next drive.

Jolon Cabello followed with a 52-yard punt that rolled down to start the next CSUP drive and its own 17-yard line, and that drive started with a two-yard tackle for loss by Jacob Humphrey. UTPB would get the ball back after a pass breakup by Jamarion Ravenell on a third-down pass to Reggie Retzlaff.

The UTPB offense would continue picking up first downs, doing so on a 16-yard completion to Patterson and a nine-yard pass on a crossing route to Jace Wyatt. That was followed one play later by an incredible catch by Suel falling out of bounds with one foot down to add 15 more yards to his total.

On third-and-eight, Gibson used his legs to pick up 12 yards and the fourth first down of the drive, getting the Falcons down to the 15-yard line. Kory Harris picked up another first down to make it first-and-goal from the three, and then back-to-back rushes by Gibson saw him punch it in from two yards out to make it a 20-point lead (23-3) with under two and a half minutes left before halftime. It was a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive eating up six and a half minutes of clock time, but the extra-point kick was blocked.

UTPB put up over 300 yards of offense (302) in the first half, led by Gibson's 15-for-22 for 221 passing yards and two touchdowns. Gibson also added 12 rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown, a team-high in all three categories. Suel, meanwhile, accounted for seven of Gibson's 15 completions and accumulated 125 yards and two touchdowns at the break. For CSUP, quarterback Roman Fuller was just 5-for-17 for 50 yards as UTPB led 221-50 in passing yards in the first half. UTPB was also 4-for-4 in the redzone in the first half while CSUP was 1-for-2, and the Falcons were 6-for-8 on third down while holding the ball for over 20 minutes.

There were two major themes of the first half. The first being the multitude of weapons scattered along the Falcons' offense and receiving corps. Whereas the UTPB defense knew who the top players to stop on the CSUP offense were, there are no such one, two or even three players you can take away to slow down the Falcons' offense. The second theme was the speed of the UTPB defense and secondary playing dividends. The CSUP skill players had a hard time with Falcons' defenders being played plastered onto them on every single play.

It was an uphill battle for a CSUP offense that typically dominates on the ground. However, the job was not done yet as this was a CSUP team that trailed at halftime during each of its last three games before coming back to win all three, including the last two in overtime.

CSUP got the UTPB defense to jump offsides on four-and-one during the opening drive of the second half. However, the Falcons' defense buckled down as a two-yard tackle for loss on first down by Kharel Coney was followed by a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage by Gary Holmes, making up for his offsides call. Then on third-and-12, a pass breakup by Jerrod Cameron put an end to the drive.

It was an important stop to get the ball back to the offense and not allow CSUP to pick up any momentum.

After UTPB scored on four of its five drives in the first half, not including a drive to run out the clock going into halftime, the Falcons wasted very little time going down field for another score on their first drive of the second half. Gibson completed back-to-back passes of 17 yards and 13 yards to Mathis before a 28-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to Jaylon Tillman to make it 30-3. It was a six-play, 77-yard scoring drive that occurred in only two and a half minutes. Gibson was 4-for-4 for 70 yards during the Falcons' first drive of the second half.

On second down on the next drive for the ThunderWolves, Fuller was sacked for an 11-yard loss by McKyle So'oto, leading to another three-and-out, the third three-and-out of the game by the CSUP offense. So'oto added a one-yard tackle for loss to start the next CSUP drive, but Fuller would go on to complete a 28-yard pass to Retzlaff on fourth-and-five to extend the drive. A pass interference call would get the ball down to the four-yard line and set up a four-yard rushing touchdown to make it 30-10 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.

UTPB survived a fumble scare three plays into its ensuing drive, but thanks to a recovery by center Tyler Ball, was able to march down the field with a five-yard run off-tackle run by Gibson on third down followed by a 15-yard pass to Suel on the very next play. Facing third-and-10, Gibson again found Suel for 13 yards to get the ball down to the 16-yard line.

The drive would extend into the fourth quarter, and on fourth-and-one from the seven-yard line, the CSUP defense was able to get the stop on a rush by Adrian Cormier. After being unable to score again and make it a four-score game, a dropped interception by Coney on what looked like a sure "pick-six" two plays into the next drive again gave the ThunderWolves hope.

After a bevy of penalties by both teams and a fumble scare by the CSUP offense near the endzone, the ThunderWolves finally scored the touchdown on a two-yard pass from Fuller to Retzlaff. That made it 30-17 with 9:13 left to play, wrapping up a 13-play, 93-yard scoring drive that only took off four minutes from the game clock.

UTPB failed to pick up a first down on its ensuing drive, leading to a punt by Cabello. Cabello got another great roll on his kick as it went for 53 yards, his second 50-plus yard punt of the game. CSUP started its drive at its own 18-yard line with 7:25 left to play, but on the first play, a fumble by running back Kiahn Martinez forced by Amari Bedford was recovered by Coney at the 13-yard line.
It takes all three phases to win a game like this, and the Falcons rose to the occasion.

On fourth-and-four from the from the seven-yard line, Head Coach Kris McCullough elected to keep the offense on the field in a similar situation for the second drive in a row. This time it paid off as Gibson completed a short five-yard pass to Wyatt to move the chains, and then one play later a two-yard touchdown rush by Gibson effectively put the finishing touches on the game, making it a 20-point margin (37-17) for the second time in the game, but this time with only three minutes remaining..

In the end, UTPB led 467-330 in total yardage, including 343-250 through the air and 126-80 on the ground. The Falcons also held the ball for 36-and-a-half minutes, were 9-for-15 on third down, and conversely, held CSUP to 5-for-16 on third down.

Gibson was 24-for-34 for 343 yards and three touchdowns, and added 22 rushing attempts for 51 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a team-high in all three rushing categories in addition to his passing prowess. He was just six yards short of 400 combined yards for the game. In addition, it was his sixth game this season with over 300 passing yards, was his fifth with at least three passing touchdowns, and was his third with five combined touchdowns. Suel would finish with nine catches for 153 yards and two scores to lead the receiving corps.

On defense, Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tristan Exline led all players with 11 total tackles and eight solo tackles. So'oto finished with eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, pacing a defense that totaled six tackles for loss. Ravenell (7 tackles) and Coney (5 tackles) both made two pass breakups and were two of five Falcons in the game with at least two breakups. The leader in the clubhouse was Cameron with four. As a team, the UTPB defense totaled 15 pass breakups.

Next up for UTPB will be No. 15-ranked Western Colorado University (10-2 overall), which defeated No. 5-ranked and No. 2-seeded Central Washington University (10-2 overall) 27-20 in their first-round game on Saturday in Ellensburg, Washington. The Falcons and the Mountaineers will face off in a second-round game next Saturday, November 29, with the location still to be determined.

Saturday's game allowed the Falcons to exercise their demons from a loss at CSU Pueblo (40-23) during their second game of the season last year. Next week, UTPB will look to do the same, taking on a Western Colorado squad that defeated the Falcons 35-27 in Colorado during the second game of the 2023 season.

With today's win over CSUP (10-2), UTPB (10-2) is now 3-1 this season against top-15 opponents, including three wins over teams ranked in the top-five in the country at the time. The Falcons will aim for their fourth win this season against a nationally-ranked opponent in the second round of the playoffs next weekend to keep their season going.