THE GAME
No. 3 Tarleton will travel to Silver City, New Mexico to close out the regular season with a matchup against Western New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. CST at Ben Altamirano Field. The Texans can clinch the outright Lone Star Conference title and go undefeated in the regular season for the second straight season with a win. It would mark the first time in program history to win back-to-back outright LSC titles with undefeated seasons. The Texans enter the game with the highest ranking in school history at No. 3 and 10-0 on the year. The Texans are also the No. 1-ranked team in the Super Region 4 rankings for the third straight week. Western New Mexico enters the game 1-9 on the season and 1-6 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
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, Jarrett Bopp, and Keltin Wiens 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 live Stats can be found on the football schedule of TarletonSports.com. A video broadcast of the game can be seen on the LSC Digital Network at lonestarconferencenetwork.com.
 
SELECTION SHOW SUNDAY
Tarleton Athletics is hosting an NCAA Division II Playoff Selection Show watch party at Memorial Stadium with the Texan Football team. The selection show is Sunday, Nov. 14 at the gates to Memorial Stadium will open on the west side at 3:15 p.m. with the show starting at 4 p.m. There will be autographed posters to the first 100 fans.
 
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton enters week 11 as the No. 3-ranked team in the nation after a 10-0 start. They're also the No. 1-ranked team Super Region 4 regional rankings for the third straight week, which puts the Texans in line for a first-round bye and hosting rights throughout the regional tournament. The Texans have been ranked in the top five for 11 straight weeks and the top 10 for 17 straight weeks. The Texans received two first-place votes in the AFCA poll for the eighth consecutive week. The Texans rank in the top 20 in the nation in seven major categories: Offensive Yards Per Play: 1^st, 7.81 yards; Defensive Yards Per Play: 1^st, 3.77 yards; Total Offense: 2nd, 552.5 yards; Total Defense: 13th, 273.9 yards; Rushing Offense: 6th, 284.6 yards; Scoring Offense: 2nd, 48.3 points per game; and Defensive Touchdowns: 1st, 7 TDs. The Texan offense has accounted for at least 420 yards in all ten games, including seven 500-yards games and four 600-yard games in wins over SFA (673 yards), UT Permian Basin (632), Doane (609 yards), and William Jewell (school-record 682 yards). Defensively, the Texans have yet to allow a first quarter touchdown since week one against SFA and have outscored opponents 157-20 in the opening quarter this season. The Texans enter week 11 with a 20-game regular season winning streak and lead the nation with 13 straight home wins dating back to 2018. The Texans have also won 15 straight Lone Star Conference games since 2018. The Texans have also had road success, winning nine straight regular season road games since 2018. The Texans are averaging 48.3 points and holding teams to 15.1 points while out-gaining teams in total yards 552-273 per game. Ben Holmes comes in ranked second in the LSC with 2,613 passing yards and an LSC-leading 29 TD's, despite playing only the first half in five lopsided wins. Holmes' top targets have been Zimari Manning, who is third in the nation with 1,179 yards and leads all of college football at any level with 19 TD's, and J.F. Thomas (699 yards, 6 TD). Daniel McCants, Khalil Banks, Ryheem Skinner and Thomas McDonald lead a four-headed rushing attack with all four backs over 150 yards. McCants leads the way with 1,445 yards and 15 TD's on a national-leading 9.3 yards per carry. McCants now has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, making him the second player in school history to accomplish that milestone (Derrick Ross). Banks has 598 yards and 9 TD's. Skinner (311 yards, TD) and McDonald (183 yards, TD) have also been weapons out of the backfield. Defensively, B.J. Jefferson leads the team with 79 tackles and leads the nation with 21.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Jai Edwards and Ronnell Wilson are right behind with 60 and 58 tackles, respectively. Prince Robinson and Benjie Franklin lead the team with four interceptions while Robinson has three interception returns to lead the nation and Franklin is right behind with two INT returns. Tre Johnson and Jordan Wells each have a defensive TD this season with fumble returns.
 
ABOUT WESTERN NEW MEXICO
Western New Mexico enters the game 1-9 on the year and 1-6 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs defeated UT Permian Basin on Oct. 5. WNMU has lost five straight going into the final weekend of the season. The Mustangs average 24.2 points on 402 yards per game while giving up 41.5 points on 503 yards per game. Quarterback CJ Fowler leads the LSC in passing yards with 2,718 to go with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Fowler's top target has been Reggie Colson III, who has 939 yards on 60 receptions and 10 touchdowns. The leading rusher is DeAndre Williams with 624 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, Roosevelt Calhoun Jr. leads the team with 91 tackles while James Lee has 10.5 tackles for loss.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tarleton and Western New Mexico are meeting for the seventh time in program history since they first played in 1991. The Texans lead the series 4-2 over the Mustangs and won last season's matchup 58-0.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton is geared up for another NCAA Playoff run for the second straight season. The NCAA Selection Show is on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. on NCAA.com and will announce the Super Region postseason teams and matchups. If Tarleton remains the No. 1 seed like they've been the last three weeks, the Texans will receive a first-round bye and its first playoff game would be at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 30.