ODESSA, Texas (September 27, 2025) – The No. 11 nationally-ranked University of Texas Permian Basin football team stayed perfect on the season with a 37-15 home win over Midwestern State University on Saturday night inside Astound Broadband Stadium.

UTPB improves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference while also earning its third win in a row vs. Midwestern State (0-4, 0-2). In addition to ranking No. 11 in the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll, the Falcons are also ranked No. 7 in the D2Football.com Media Poll.

UTPB scored 24 points in the second quarter and led 31-0 at halftime.

UTPB's lone score of the first quarter came on first-and-goal from the nine-yard line when quarterback Kanon Gibson completed a pitch pass ahead to tight end Caleb Sedegan for the touchdown. It was a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive for the Falcons as the first quarter did not feature many of the big plays that fans have come to expect from the Falcons' offense, but the second quarter did not disappoint.

In the second quarter, both running backs got into the scoring column, first Kory Harris with a one-yard rush. Then after a run on a fake punt by MSU came up short, two plays into the ensuring UTPB drive came a 24-yard touchdown rush by Camden Tyler, who broke three tackles on his way into the endzone.

On the next UTPB drive, Harris showed his prowess as a pass catcher as he tallied a 25-yard catch and run, and then after 20-yard pass to Jaylon Tillman on third-and-11, the very next play saw Gibson hook up with Ben Patterson for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Patterson hauled in the catch within the 10-yard line and shook off his defender to walk into the endzone and make it 28-0 Falcons just halfway through the second quarter.

UTPB then made it five scoring drives in a row as Harris continued to tear it up as a receiver, breaking off a 20-yard catch to get the Falcons into field goal range for a 36-yarder by Angel Diaz.

At the half, UTPB led 18-3 on first downs and outgained the Mustangs 77-15 on the ground, 269-71 through the air, and 346-86 in overall yardage. The Falcons were also 3-for-3 on fourth down and 3-for-3 in the redzone in the first half while holding MSU to 0-for-7 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down without a trip into the redzone.

Gibson was 19-for-26 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Defensively, Tristan Exline had two big sacks, including a sack on third down in the first quarter and a big 12-yard sack in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter to help keep the Mustangs from getting onto the scoreboard during their two-minute drive. Lastly, Demonte Greene, the 2024 Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year at wide receiver, was held to just two catches for 22 yards on four targets in the first half.

UTPB had only one score in the second half and saw MSU convert on two defensive scores, the first a 93-yard fumble return on a Falcons' extra-point conversion in the third quarter and the other a 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Rushing yards finished pretty even at 94-93, but passing yards were 470-203 and total yards were 564-296, all in favor of the Falcons. MSU entered the game ranking as the seventh most prolific passing offense in NCAA Division II with 337 yards passing per game while senior quarterback Jakolby Longino was 12th in the nation with 1,011 yards passing. The Falcons' defense would limit Longino to just 9-for-15 passing for 71 yards and zero touchdowns before he was pulled at halftime.

After adding a 42-yard touchdown pass to Tillman in the third quarter, Gibson would finish the game 21-for-29 passing for 331 yards and three touchdowns. Tillman led the team in both receptions (5) and receiving yards (102) while Harris finished with four catches for 71 yards and TJ McKenzie had four catches for 62 yards. Exline and Layne Horak led the defense with seven tackles apiece.

Head Coach Kris McCullough was able to empty the bench in the second half as backup quarterback Issac Mooring entered the contest starting on UTPB's third drive of the third quarter. Another quarterback, Solomon James, who was handed UTPB's final drive of the game, completed a 36-yard pass to Diego Nunez and had runs of 14 yards and 11 yards himself to help the Falcons drain over four minutes of clock time. Eight Falcons recorded a rushing attempt in the game while 15 had at least one reception.

Coach McCullough spoke on the game and said, "I am proud of the team. We started really strong and held a shutout into the third quarter. I felt like we played a really strong game on all three phases and played over 80 guys, which is critical for development in our program."

Its was the 30th career win for Coach McCullough (30-10) between his three years at UTPB and one year at East Central University. He is believed to be the fourth head college football coach to win 30 games before turning 30.

"I want to say thank you to all of the players, coaches and admin that I've worked with here and at East Central University," said McCullough. "We are successful because of them. And my wife for being my rock even when we are working 16 hours a day, seven days a week."

Next up is the big one. No. 11 UTPB travels to No. 6 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. The last time the two teams met up in San Angelo in 2023, UTPB beat Angelo State 28-23. It was the second win over a ranked opponent in school history, and was the first win over ASU in program history.