TARLETON AT SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA: The Tarleton Texans hit the road for the first time since the season opener to face Southwestern Oklahoma at 6 p.m. in Weatherford, Okla. on Saturday, Sept. 24. The Texans are coming off a 34-25 victory over Northeastern State, handing the Redmen their 14th straight defeat. Southwestern Oklahoma is coming off a 41-14 road loss to West Texas A&M.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: This will be the 20th meeting between the two schools with Southwestern Oklahoma leading the all-time series, 11-8. Tarleton won the series opener on Sept. 16, 1961, and the Texans have won five the last six contests. Last season, Tarleton won in Stephenville on Nov. 6, 46-12. The last Bulldog win came the prior season with SWOSU taking a 21-17 victory on Nov. 8, 2003 at home. SWOSU is 6-1 against the Texans at home since the 1964 season.

A LOOK AT THE RANKINGS: Tarleton was ranked No. 19 in last week's American Football Coaches Association preseason rankings, but have moved up two spots to No. 17 after last week's victory. The Texans were not ranked in the D2Football.com poll or Don Hansen's Football Gazette poll. Tarleton is ranked No. 19 in this week's CollegeSportsReport.com poll. Southwestern Oklahoma State has been left off of each of the polls.

STREAKING ALONG: The Tarleton Texans are on a seven-game winning streak dating back to the 2004 season. The last Tarleton loss was at Sam Houston State on Oct. 7, 2004 (44-14).

JOINING THE RANKS: Tarleton handed first-year head coach a victory in his debut at the helm of the Texans, and his coaching staff and players gave him the traditional game ball after the victory. Two week ago, the win made McElroy just the fifth coach in school history since becoming a senior college to start his career 2-0 (Hal McAfee, 1988; Ronnie Roemisch, 1993; Todd Whitten, 1996; Craig Wederquist, 1997). The win last Saturday made him just the third coach to start his tenure 3-0 (McAfee and Whitten). A win this Saturday would put him with McAfee as the only two coaches to start their career with a 4-0 mark.

BARTEL NAMED OFFENSIVE POW: Tarleton's Richard Bartel was named the Lone Star Conference South Division Offensive Player of the Week and the Dallas Morning News Regional Player of the Week. The Texan quarterback, a 6-3, 215-pound junior from Grapevine, led Tarleton to a 507-yard offensive outing on Saturday in the 34-25 victory over Northeastern State.  He completed 18 of 26 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns.  He spread the ball to five different receivers and connected on scoring plays of 52, 42 and 18 yards.

LAST WEEK'S GAME: The No. 19 Tarleton Texans outscored their opponents to take a Family Weekend victory on Saturday over Northeastern State, 34-25.

The Texans used a 206-yard attack by senior runningback Derrick Ross and a 308-yard passing performance by junior quarterback by Richard Bartel to top the visiting Redmen.

Tarleton racked up 507 yards of total offense on Saturday, including 199 on the ground and 308 through the air.  Northeastern State also had a strong offensive night, putting up 435 yards of total offense, including 214 yards rushing and 221 yards passing. Leading the Texans in receiving was Madkins with 10 receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns.  Dustin Pleasant was second with three catches for 63 yards.

Tarleton was led by Richard Chambers with six solo and five assisted tackles and Erick Smith was second with four solo and seven assisted tackles.  Both had 11 total stops.  Smith recorded one tackle for a loss of four yards and one interception.

The Texans had 15 penalties for 125 yards while NSU was called for 10 penalties for 105 yards.

SPREADING IT AROUND: The Texans have spread the scoring around in the first three games of the season to provide a more balanced offensive attack. This season, nine different Texans have put points on the board. Two weeks ago, the Texans had all seven people who have scored this year score. Dustin Pleasant, Jason Mathias and Jeremy Madkins all caught touchdown passes. Derrick Ross, Treeo Gibson and Harold Jeffrey all ran the ball in to the endzone. Drew Womble was six of six in point after attempts, plus he had a 33-yard field goal. On Saturday, Madkins added two touchdowns while Paul Williams hit field goals from 34 yards and 27 yards out. Ross had a 52-yard pass reception and Tim Williams had a 35-yard interception return for a score.

LEADING THE NATION: Tarleton's runningback Derrick Ross leads the nation with 193.7 yards rushing per game. He has recorded 581 yards on 72 carries in the first three games this season. If the Texan senior stays on pace, he could finish the season with almost 2,000 yards rushing after setting a school record last season for single-season rushing yards (1,560 yards in 10 games).

SCORING MACHINE: Derrick Ross has scored a touchdown in all 13 contests in which he has played for the Texans. Despite not putting a rushing touchdown on the board on Saturday, the Texan had a 52-yard pass reception for a score.

THE LAST TIME: The Texan defense held Texas A&M-Commerce to just 93 yards passing on Saturday, Sept. 3. The last time Tarleton held an opponent to less than 100 yards passing was on Aug. 26, 2004 when New Mexico Highlands recorded just 70 yards passing in a 35-7 Texan victory. Richard Bartel threw for 308 yards on Saturday against Northeastern State, which was the first time a Texan quarterback had achieved the 300-plus mark since Nov. 1, 2003 when Cliff Watkins passed for 363 yards against West Texas A&M. That was the last time the team also had over 300 yards passing.

Tarleton racked up 508 yards of total offense on Saturday against the Redmen and 535 yards on Sept. 10 over the Western New Mexico. Those two games were the first time the Texans had achieved the 500-plus offensive yard total since putting up 520 yards at Northeastern State last year on Oct. 23.

Richard Bartel became the first Texan quarterback to throw for three touchdowns in one game on Saturday since Cliff Watkins achieved the feat on Nov. 1, 2003 when the Texans defeated West Texas A&M in Stephenville, 47-27. Bartel repeated the effort last Saturday against the Redmen.

Jeremy Madkins had 147 yards receiving on Saturday on 10 receptions. The last time a Texan had 100-plus yards receiving was Chris Daniels on Sept. 11, 2004 when he recorded 102 yards on four catches.

The Texans Tim Williams had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown, which is the first time a Texan has achieved the feat since Sept. 11, 2004 when Steve Williams returned an interception

A LOOK AT THE TEXANS: Tarleton is led by Derrick Ross with 72 carries for 581 yards and two touchdowns. The senior is averaging 8.1 yards per carry and 193.7 yards per game, the top in the nation.

Richard Bartel leads the squad with 578 yards passing after completing 37 of 62 attempts. The junior transfer has thrown for six touchdowns, three in each of the last two games, and one interception.

Jeremy Madkins leads the squad with 16 receptions for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

Erick Smith leads the team with 14 solo and 17 assisted tackles for 31 total stops, including two and a half tackles for a loss of six yards. He also has one interception, two pass breakups and a blocked kick. Tywain Myles leads the team with three tackles for a loss of 10 yards, including a team-high two sacks for eight yards. He has 20 total stops.

ROSS RUNNING MORE THAN BULLDOGS: Derrick Ross has 581 yards on his own, while the Bulldogs of SWOSU have gained 288 as a team. Last week, Ross had 71 yards on his first three carries. Add that with the 52-yard touchdown reception, and Ross had 123 all-purpose yards on his first four touches.

A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS: Southwestern Oklahoma is coming off a 41-14 loss on the road to West Texas A&M in Canyon last Saturday. The Buffaloes jumped out to a 28-0 lead before the SWOSU Bulldogs scored once in the second quarter. The Bulldogs gained 63 yards on 40 carries and 169 yards in passing in the loss.

This season, SWOSU is averaging 183.5 yards of total offense per game, including 72.0 yards on the ground and 111.5 through the air. They are allowing opponents 421.5 yards of total offense, including 245 yards on the ground and 176.5 yards through the air. The Bulldogs are being outscored 128-27 this season, an average of 32.0 to 6.8.

Steve Ihekona leads the team with 45 carries for 126 yards, an average of 2.8 per carry and 31.5 per game. Terry Sampson has 34 carries for 105 yards, an average of 3.1 yards per carry and 35.0 yards per game.

Steve Day leads the team with 325 yards passing and one touchdown after completing 28 of 69 passes with two interceptions. He is averaging 81.2 yards per game.

Chase Pratt has 14 receptions for 159 yards, an average of 11.4 yards per catch and 39.8 yards per contest.

The defense is led by Greg Franklin with 12 solo and 23 assisted tackles for 35 total stops. He has two tackles for a loss of 17 yards, both being sacks. Charles Bolds is second with 15 solo and 16 assisted tackles for 31 total stops. He has one tackle for a loss of one yard, one interception return for 26 yards and two pass breakups. Terry Joiner leads the team with five tackles for a loss of 12 yards, including two and a half sacks for 16 yards.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TWO TEAMS: The Tarleton Texans hosted Southwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 6, 2004 in the last game of the season for both teams. Tarleton scored 43 points before the Bulldogs put points on the board late in the third quarter. The Texans won the contest 46-12.

The Texans racked up 453 yards of total offense, including 227 rushes on 48 carries while throwing for 226 yards as David Durell went 18 of 24 and threw two touchdowns. Beau Dodson completed nine of 26 passes for 159 yards with one interception. He also threw for one touchdown.

Ross led all runners with 24 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Kirven led the Bulldogs with two carries for 20 yards.

Scoring in the contest for Tarleton was Ross on two rushing plays; Durell on a rushing play; Paul Williams on field goals from 39, 30 and 34 yards; T.J. Douglas on a 15-yard pass from Durell; Dustin Tabor on a seven-yard pass from Durell; and Ken Jones on a safety. SWOSU had scores from Chase Pratt, who returned a kickoff 96 yards, and Danny Howard, who caught a 42-yard pass from Dodson.

IT'S SO NICE TO BE BACK HOME WHERE WE BELONG: The Texans return to the Lone Star Conference South Division after a three-year hiatus in football and men's and women's basketball. When Harding and Ouachita Baptist left the LSC, unbalanced divisions remained, so the conference set up a two-year rotation for schools to compete in the North Division. Tarleton took its turn and then opted for a second two-year term. However, the Texans switched with Texas A&M-Commerce at the request of the Lions, who joined the North Division on a permanent basis.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Both Sam Skidmore and Derrick Ross received preseason accolades for the 2005 campaign.

Skidmore collected preseason All-America honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette and www.CollegeSportsReport.com.

Ross was tabbed as a preseason All-American from Don Hansen's Football Gazette and www.CollegeSportsReport.com. He was also named to the Consensus Draft Services All-Underappreciated Second Team.

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tarleton's Derrick Ross was named the Lone Star Conference South Division Offensive Preseason Player of the Year for 2005. Ross gained 1,560 yards on 254 attempts last season in a record-setting season. Abilene Christian's Danieal Manning was named the division's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

NEXT WEEK: The Texans will return to the road for the second of two straight away games. The Texans will travel to Kingsville to face the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Javelinas are ranked No. 3 in the nation and face perhaps their toughest task so far this season at West Texas A&M this Saturday.