THE GAME
For the first time in over four years, Tarleton will take the field as a nationally-ranked football team when the No. 25 Texans head to San Angelo Saturday night for a 6 p.m. kickoff against Angelo State at LeGrand Field.
 
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. A link to video and live stats, courtesy of the home team, can be found on the football schedule of TarletonSports.com. The video stream at Angelo State is a pay-per-view event.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available at the Angelo State Ticket Office on the day of the game or online at AngeloStateTickets.UniversityTickets.com. Reserved tickets are $12, general admission tickets are $10, and youth/active military tickets are $5.
 
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
For the first time in over four years, the Tarleton Texans are a national top-25 football team according to the American Football Coaches Association. Tarleton took over the No. 25 spot in the latest national poll Monday morning. Tarleton started receiving national votes in the poll since defeating Delta State 44-13 in the season opener and finally received enough to crack the rankings following Saturday's 35-13 thumping of UT Permian Basin in Stephenville. This marks the fifth different season that Tarleton has been ranked under head coach Todd Whitten. The ninth-year leader of the Texans led Tarleton to its first national ranking in 2001 and took them as high as No. 6 in the nation during the 2002 season. This is the 87th week in Tarleton's NCAA history the Texans have been ranked. Tarleton is also ranked No. 24 in the nation by D2Football.com.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: TODD WHITTEN
With his next win at Tarleton, Todd Whitten will become the second head coach in university history to win 60 football games. Legendary coach W.J. Wisdom is the only other coach in program history to win 60 games for the Texans and he is the all-time winningest head coach in program history with 71.
 
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton is back among the national powers as the Texans are ranked No. 25 in the American Football Coaches Association and No. 24 in the D2Football.com polls for the first time since 2014. Tarleton is coming off a 35-13 win against UT Permian Basin in Stephenville last weekend, which moved the Texans to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play. Tarleton boasts one of the elite rushing offenses and defenses in the entire country, checking in as the No. 4-ranked unit on each side of the ball. The four-headed rushing attack of Daniel McCants, D'Anthony Hopkins, Xavier Turner, and Adam Berryman have led Tarleton to an average of 287.0 yards per game on the ground. On the defensive side, the Texan defense has been one of the best in the country – ranked No. 4 in rushing defense, No. 5 in scoring defense, and No. 7 in total defense. Safeties Jai Edwards (20) and Ed Hayes (17) lead the team in tackles while Prince Robinson leads the nation in interceptions. The defensive-front combination of Chris Radford, Gary Moore, EJ Speed, Tyrell Thompson, and Jordan Phillips have combined for 19.0 tackles for a loss this season.
 
ABOUT THE RAMS
Angelo State has opened the season 2-2 with wins over Western Oregon and Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Rams are coming off a 57-36 loss in Wichita Falls to then-No. 7 Midwestern State. Angelo is averaging 28.5 points per game offensively, while allowing 32.3 points on defense. Charlie Rotherham leads the offense from the quarterback spot with 650 passing yards and five touchdowns while Tyrese Nathan's 481 rushing yards lead the ground game. Defensively, Grant Aschenbeck leads the team with 47 tackles while Markus Jones leads the conference with 10.5 tackles for a loss.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tarleton and Angelo State have met 34 times dating back to 1965 and the Texans hold an 18-16 edge in the all-time series. The series has seen some big runs over the years as Tarleton won three of the first four meetings before the Rams won 13 of 14 against the Texans from 1969 until 2000. In Todd Whitten's third season at the head of Tarleton, the Texans beat the Rams 41-7 to start a run of 14 wins over the next 16 meetings, including wins in each of the last two years of Whitten's return.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will return home for its annual 'Pink Out' game in support of breast cancer research. The Texans will host Eastern New Mexico next Saturday at 7 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.