GAMEDAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Sept. 20 | 5 p.m. (CST)

Where: Arlington, Texas | AT&T Stadium

Series: First Meeting with Florida Tech | Streak: N/A

Last Meeting: N/A

Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on KTRL 90.5 FM | Listen Live | Pregame Show begins at 4:30 p.m.

Web Stream: LoneStarConference.org, if available

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

THE GAME
Fresh off its first win in Canyon since 2004, Tarleton State will now turn its attention to a 2-0 team from the Gulf South Conference as the Texans are set for an AT&T Stadium Showdown against Florida Tech Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Lone Star Conference Football Festival.
 
COVERING THE GAME
Saturday's contest will be aired on the brand-new Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The game will be broadcasted live on KTRL (90.5 FM) with Casey Hogan calling play-by-play and Andrew Hansen joining him for color commentary. Keltin Wiens will provide reports from the sideline for the broadcast team. The game can also be found online at www.tarletonsports.com/listenlive.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE TEXANS
Tarleton State leaned on a heavy run game to surge past No. 22 West Texas A&M and earn its first win in Canyon since 2004. The Texans ran the ball 51 times for 298 yards and RB Cody Burtscher scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one with 10 minutes left to put Tarleton on top for good.
 
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS
This season will celebrate Tarleton's 20 years in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Texans joined the NCAA Division II in 1994.
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
Tarleton State was named the Lone Star Conference preseason favorites at Media Day in late July. This is the first time Tarleton was named the preseason favorites of the conference since being chosen to win the LSC South Division in 2006.
 
GAME HISTORY: GAME NO. 2
Tarleton is 1-3 under Cary Fowler in the second game of the season with the lone win coming last year when they traveled to San Angelo and won 38-34 against the Rams to improve to 2-0. Since joining the NCAA, Tarleton is 13-7 in its second game of the season and have started the season 2-0 eight times.
Tarleton against The panthers
This is the first-ever meeting between Tarleton State and the Florida Tech Panthers.
 
FIT PANTHER FOOTBALL
Florida Tech is in just its second year of football after starting the program in 2013. The initial development of the program began in 2010, but it finally came to fruition on Sept. 7, 2013 when Florida Tech won 20-13 in its inaugural game against Stetson. The Panthers went 5-7 in their first season and are 2-0 to begin this season for an overall record of 7-7 as an NCAA Division II football program.
 
QUEST FOR LSC WIN NO. 100
Since moving into the NCAA in 1994, Tarleton State has won 99 conference games. The historic quest for LSC win No. 100 will have to wait at least one more week as the Texans play their only non-conference foe of the season, Florida Tech.
 
RANKED NATIONALLY BY AFCA
Tarleton State has moved up to No. 12 in the national AFCA Coaches Poll, which is the highest ranking ever under head coach Cary Fowler. The Texans reached No. 14 last season and are still in search of their first top-10 ranking since the final poll of the 2009 season.
 
AFCA POLL HISTORY
The Texans had been ranked inside the AFCA Top-25 for 85 different weeks since becoming a member of the NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference. Tarleton was ranked inside the AFCA Poll for five straight weeks last season before falling out. They have been in all three polls to begin this season. Tarleton's first-ever ranking inside the AFCA Top-25 Poll was a No. 24 national ranking on Nov. 6, 2001. The Texans went on to finish that season ranked No. 10 in the nation. The Texans earned its highest ranking in school history in 2002, from Sept. 9-24, after earning the No. 6 spot for three consecutive weeks.
 
TEXANS UNDER FOWLER
The Texans are now 23-20 under head coach Cary Fowler and have claimed the school's first LSC title since 2009. Fowler's first LSC championship is just the third LSC championship for the Texans in school history. Fowler is 18-14 against LSC opponents and 4-6 overall against non-conference schools.
 
TEXANS IN THE LSC
The Texans are 99-134 (.420) all-time against opponents in the LSC. Tarleton had won six straight LSC games dating back to last season before a 22-20 loss to A&M-Commerce on Oct. 26. The Texans finished the 2013 season at 5-1 in LSC play en route to the school's third LSC title.
 
RUSHING TO A FAST START
Tarleton State ran the ball 51 times against West Texas A&M for 298 yards on the ground. That is the most rushing yards for the Texans since Sept. 22, 2012 against Eastern New Mexico in Stephenville when the Texans ran for 324 yards on 48 attempts. Zach Henshaw ran for over 100 yards in the 2012 game against ENMU (113) as well as last Saturday against WT (107).
 
TARLETON'S SCORING STREAK
The Texans have now scored a touchdown in 38 straight games dating back to the 2010 season. The last time a Tarleton team was held without a TD came in a 65-3 loss to Abilene Christian back on Sept. 25, 2010. Tarleton has scored at least a field goal or touchdown in 48 straight games heading into Saturday's game. The Texans have not been shutout since Nov. 8, 2008.
 
RHODES III RECORD TRACKER
Clifton Rhodes III is on pace to become one of the best wide receivers to ever don the purple and white. He has played in every game, and started all but one, since his freshman campaign of 2011. Entering Saturday's game, here is where he stands on his way to Tarleton history:
• With 2,284 yards, Rhodes is 330 yards away from passing Devin Guinn as the school's all-time receiving leader. Guinn, who played from 2006-09, is the current record holder with 2,613.
• With 166 career receptions, Rhodes is 23 catches away from breaking a 44-year old school record. Tarleton Hall of Fame member Harlan Wunsch, who played from 1967-69, has held the record for the previous four decades with 188 career receptions.
• With nine career 100-yard receiving games under his belt, Rhodes is two 100-yard receiving games away from passing Devin Guinn (10) for the all-time lead.
 
STRAHAN'S RECORD WEEK
Collin Strahan's first career start was a memorable one for Tarleton State. In addition to recording the best rushing performance by a quarterback in school history, the signal caller from Mesquite also led the Texans to a win over No. 22 West Texas A&M for Tarleton's first win in Canyon since 2004 and was also named the Lone Star Conference Player of the Week. Through the air, Strahan was 16-22 for 123 yards, no interceptions and a 119.7 pass efficiency rating while connecting with five different receivers for completions. In addition to his efforts in the passing game, the signal caller from Mesquite ran the ball 21 times for 124 yards and a touchdown for a team-high 5.9 yards per carry average. His rushing performance is the best by quarterback in school history and is just the fourth time – the first since 1992 – that a Tarleton quarterback has rushed for over 100 yards. He's also the second quarterback in school history to rush and pass for over 100 yards in the same game, joining Jimmy Hering who did the feat once in 1991 and again in 1992.
 
BLAKE BARNES: KICKING GAME SPECIALIST
In Saturday's opener against West Texas A&M, Blake Barnes took on a few more responsibilities than his usual field-goal kicking duties. In addition to a 34-yard field goal, he also had five kickoffs, which totaled 286 yards and an average of 57.2 yards per kickoff with one touchback. The junior from Stephenville also served as the team's punter for the first time in his career and found success with five punts for 194 yards for an average of 38.8 and a long of 46. Barnes had one punt land inside the 20-yard line. Barnes also made a touchdown-saving tackle on a second-half kickoff.
 
RECEPTIONS ALL AROUND
The Texans have an arsenal of offensive options and it showed Saturday as Tarleton had five different receivers record a pass in the victory over No. 22 West Texas A&M. The last time Tarleton State had less than five different receivers with a catch was October 31, 2009 in a 21-14 win over Angelo State. Tarleton completed just 13 passes: eight to Devin Guinn, two to Jahmeel Hobson and Keith Demby and one to Devon Gray, who is currently the Tarleton running backs coach. At least five receivers have caught a pass for the Texans in every game since Fowler became the head coach in 2010.
 
WEARING NO. 96
Senior defensive end Patrick Bettiol was awarded the Zach Shaver Award two springs ago and he will honor the memory of the former Texan by donning the No. 96 this season. Shaver passed away from a traumatic brain injury on Mar. 29, 2010. As a memorial to Shaver, each year a Texan player is chosen to wear the No. 96 jersey because of their dedication, their attitude, their heart and their love for the game of football.
 
DEFENDERS AT AT&T STADIUM
Senior members of the Tarleton defense, Marc Martinez and Charles Moore, have risen to the occasion of stepping onto the field at AT&T Stadium. Moore, a safety from R. L. Turner High School in nearby Carrollton, has 18 career tackles in two games at AT&T Stadium, which is the most by any active Tarleton player. Meanwhile, Martinez had made 17 tackles in two career games at the home of the Cowboys. He had 13 tackles against Midwestern State last season, which is the most tackles of any Texan at AT&T Stadium in a single game.
 
PACKIN' THE HOUSE PURPLE
In the last two seasons at the LSC Football Festival, the support by Tarleton State fans has been very evident. Texan Football fans have packed the stadium in both seasons with the highest game attendance each year. The festival is averaging 18,040 fans at Tarleton's games.
 
RISING TO THE AT&T STAGE
This is Tarleton's third straight season to play in the Lone Star Conference Football Festival at AT&T Stadium. Tarleton is 1-1 in its games at AT&T, including a win over #13 Midwestern State in the season opener last season. In those two games at AT&T, Tarleton State has averaged 468.0 total yards of offense while allowing just 336.0 yards to the other team. The Texans also average nearly 30 points per game at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton State will make its home debut next Saturday when the Texans host No. 23 Midwestern State at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville at 7 p.m.