THE GAME
Fresh off its biggest win of the season against the defending national champions, Tarleton is back in Stephenville for its annual homecoming game. The No. 9 Texans will host Texas A&M-Kingsville at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium looking to remain the league's only unbeaten team.
 
GAME COVERAGE
A complete broadcast of the game can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network presented by the North Texas Ford Dealers. The Tarleton Sports Network team of Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Savion Washington, and J.P. Stingley have the call on the flagship station of Tarleton Athletics – KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville – and worldwide at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. Links to live stats and a video stream of the game can be found on the Tarleton Football schedule, the Game Day preview story, and on the @TarletonSports social media channels. The live stats and video are hosted by Tarleton free of charge on the Tarleton Sports Network.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single game reserved tickets are $15 while general admission tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. All Stephenville-Campus Tarleton students with a valid ID receive free admission. There will be three ticket booths available to fans, one each on the North and South ends of the stadium and a third under the current press box on the east side. All gates will open at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The ticket booth under the press box on the east side is home to visitor will call tickets while the south end by the Tarleton Field House will host the home will call tickets. On game day, the new Rudder Way Ticket Office, located in the old police station, will be open from noon to 4 p.m.
 
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Tarleton Football is back among the top 10 football programs in the nation according to the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. The Texans moved up seven spots to No. 9 in the nation and now lead the way among Lone Star Conference schools with MSU Texas at No. 10 and Texas A&M-Commerce at No. 18. West Texas A&M continues to receive votes as well. The seven-spot jump by Tarleton was the largest among any team in the Division II poll this week. Tarleton is ranked No. 10 in the nation by D2Football.com.
 
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton is still sitting atop the Lone Star Conference standings as the top-ranked team in the league following a 47-21 win at No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce last weekend. With the win, Tarleton improved to 6-0 on the season, which is the third-longest win streak to begin a season in program history (1990, 2007). Tarleton continues to dominate both sides of the line of scrimmage as the Texans rank No. 6 in the nation in rushing offense (283.2 ypg) and No. 16 in the nation in rushing defense (101.0 ypg). Daniel McCants leads the ground attack with 647 yards while Xavier Turner (422), D'Anthony Hopkins (237), Ben Holmes (197), and Adam Berryman (180) also gone for over 180 yards each on the season. Holmes also leads the air attack with 1,371 yards passing and 14 touchdowns. Zimari Manning leads the receiving corps with 523 yards on 26 catches and eight touchdowns. Defensively, Jai Edwards leads the team with 45 tackles while EJ Speed (8.0), Chris Radford (7.5), Gary Moore (6.5), Jordan Phillips (4.5), Sean Walton (4.5), and Tyrell Thompson (4.0) lead the way for the Texan defense which leads the nation in tackles for a loss this season.
 
ABOUT THE JAVELINAS
After starting the season on a high-note by taking the defending national champion Texas A&M-Commerce to the brink in a double overtime loss on ESPN3, the Javelinas have fallen on hard times to the tune of a 2-5 record, including an 0-4 mark in LSC play. Nick Pelrean (369) and Jeff Carr (363) lead the ground attack with 732 combined rushing yards while Aaron Dilworth (282) and Devin Milburn (208) lead the receiving corps with over 200 yards each. The son of a former NFL quarterback, Koy Detmer Jr. has transferred to Kingsville from BYU and takes the reigns of the Javelina offense. Detmer has thrown for 1,303 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively, Payton Hendrix and Tre'Michael Tutt lead the way with 47 tackles while Brandon Jones has accounted for 9.0 tackles for a loss.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tarleton and Texas A&M-Kingsville have a rich history on the gridiron dating back to the inaugural meeting in 1970. Kingsville was in control of the series from 1970 through 2005 as the Javelinas won 16 of the first 18 meetings. A 23-0 win in Stephenville in 2006 was the first of eight wins over the next 14 meetings, leading up to Saturday's game. Tarleton and Kingsville have also met in the NCAA Division II playoffs twice, including 2003 during Whitten's second stint as head coach. Tarleton's last playoff win came in 2009 when the Texans pulled off a miraculous, double-overtime win in Kingsville in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. 
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will make its final regular season road trip of the year when the Texans visit No. 10 MSU Texas at 7 p.m. in Wichita Falls.