GAMEDAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Sept. 27 | 7 p.m. (CST)

Where: Stephenville, Texas | Tarleton Memorial Stadium

Series: Texans lead 17-7 | Streak: TSU, Won 2

Last Meeting: TSU 27, MSU 24 on 9/14/13 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington

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

Web Stream: TarletonSports.com/ListenLive

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

THE GAME
The Texans will look to get back in the win column when they host rival, Midwestern State, in the 2014 home opener at Memorial Stadium on Family Weekend Saturday.
 
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
Tarleton State had its chances but ultimately couldn't overcome fourth-quarter turnovers as the Texans dropped their first game of the season 31-37 to Florida Tech at the Lone Star Conference Football Festival.
 
GAME HISTORY: GAME NO. 3
Tarleton is 2-2 under Cary Fowler in the third game of the season, including win in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Tarleton State started the season 3-0. Since joining the NCAA, Tarleton is 13-6-1 in the third game of the season and started 3-0 eight times. The tie came in a 21-21 game against Southern Arkansas in 1994. Tarleton's NCAA career began with a record of 1-1-1 over its first-ever three NCAA games.
 
TARLETON vs MIDWESTERN
This is the 25th all-time meeting between Tarleton State and Midwestern State and the Texans hold the all-time edge 17-7, including a 10-2 record in favor of Tarleton when playing in Stephenville.
 
QUEST FOR LSC WIN NO. 100
Since moving into the NCAA in 1994, Tarleton State has won 99 conference games. The next win against a Lone Star Conference opponent will be NCAA conference win No. 100 in Tarleton football history.
 
TEXANS UNDER FOWLER
The Texans are now 23-21 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 19-14 against LSC opponents and 4-7 overall against non-conference schools.
 
TEXANS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Since 2000, Tarleton is 13-23 when playing against a ranked opponent, with six of those wins coming against a top-25 ranked MSU team. The Texans are 6-2 all-time against the Mustangs when they have been ranked. MSU enters Saturday's game ranked No. 18. The win over WT in this season's opener was Tarleton's first win against a ranked team on the road since 2009 when they beat then-No. 13 Texas A&M-Kingsville in double overtime in the first round of the 2009 NCAA playoffs.
 
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.
 
TARLETON'S SCORING STREAK
The Texans have now scored a touchdown in 39 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.
 
RECORD TRACKER: CLIFTON RHODES III
Clifton Rhodes III is on pace to become one of the best wide receivers to ever don the purple and white. Entering Saturday's game, here is where he stands on his way to Tarleton history:
• With 2,286 yards, Rhodes is 328 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 167 career receptions, Rhodes is 22 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.
 
DUAL-THREAT QB: COLLIN STRAHAN
Quarterback Collin Strahan is the leading rusher for Tarleton State through the first two games of the season and is on pace to set for the greatest rushing season by a QB in school history. With 199 yards in two games, Strahan already has more net yards on the ground than the season totals of every Tarleton QB since Jimmy Hering in 1992, who was the last Texan signal caller to have at least 200 net yards in a single season with 585 in 10 games. Strahan is also getting things done from the pocket as the signal caller from Mesquite is coming off his first career 300-yard passing performance. Strahan threw for 305 yards on 23-39 passing against Florida Tech last week for the 57th 300-yard passing game in school history.
 
DEFENDERS ON RECORD PACE
Tarleton State has had only three Texans top the 100-tackle in a season plateau since 1999 and, through two games this season, there are already three Tarleton defenders on pace for triple-digit stops. Marc Martinez leads the team with 28 tackles while Devin Figures (27) and Charles Moore (22) are close behind. Only Michael Jackson (100; 2001), Ken Jones (111; 2003) and Marquis Wadley, who did it twice in 2011 (119) and 2013 (126), have topped 100 tackles in a season since the turn of the century.
 
TANDY'S BIG DAY
Bubba Tandy had a career game at the Lone Star Conference Football Festival last week, hauling in seven passes for a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown. The 154 receiving yards for the sophomore is the 19th most receiving yards in a single game by a Texan and the most in a game since Saalim Hakim reeled in 166 on Oct. 2, 2010.
 
TARLETON IN HOME OPENERS
Under head coach Cary Fowler, Tarleton State is 2-2 in home openers – including last season's 31-27 comeback victory over West Texas A&M when Tarleton was trailing 27-3 halftime. The Texans are 11-9 in home openers since joining the NCAA in 1994 and 25-14 since 1975.
REBOUNDING FROM A LOSS
Since Oct. 8, 2011, Tarleton State has only lost back-to-back football games two times under head coach Cary Fowler. Since bouncing back from the Oct. 8 loss in 2011 with a 54-27 thumping of A&M-Commerce, Tarleton State boasts a record of 19-8. Including that win over the Lions, Tarleton is 6-2 in games following a loss. In games following a loss, Tarleton has scored at least 30 points in seven of the games and 40 or more points in four of them while holding opponents to less than 30 points in seven of them.
 
SHINING IN CLASS: CHARLES MOORE
Charles Moore is one of 167 semifinalists in the entire nation from FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA for the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation, and up to 16 of the candidates will be named recipients of a prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, also presented by Fidelity Investments. Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program awards $18,000 scholarships that can be used for the honorees' postgraduate educations. This year's recipients will be announced Oct. 30, and one will be declared the winner of the Campbell Trophy Dec. 9 at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will visit Texas A&M-Commerce next Saturday, October 4 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, TX.