The Teams: Tarleton Texans (1-2, 0-1 WAC) vs. New Mexico Highlands (1-2, 1-2 RMAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Kyle Youmans, Richard Bartel)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Kyle Crews, Keltin Wiens)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
Following an incredible crowd of over 12,000 fans in the home opener, the Tarleton Texans are looking to pack Memorial Stadium once again, this time for a showdown with New Mexico Highlands of the RMAC on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. CT.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Kyle Youmans and Richard Bartel on the call. The game can be heard on Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas, with Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Kyle Crews and Keltin Wiens leading the broadcast.
 
Tickets are available at the box office and online at TarletonSports.com/tickets.
 
GAME DAY FESTIVITIES
Tarleton is increasing fan capacity to 16,500 for future home football games, adding bleacher seating in the end zones following a great turnout in the home opener. Saturday will be the first game with the increase in capacity, as Tarleton faces off against New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Tarleton football program has teamed up with Curing Kids Cancer to show their support for pediatric cancer awareness. On Saturday, players will wear helmet stickers and wristbands while coaches wear wristbands, gold whistles and lanyards to show their support of First and Gold, a campaign to promote National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Tarleton is one of six colleges to help bring awareness to pediatric cancer this month, joining Duke, Houston, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Since 2005, Curing Kids Cancer has raised more than $20 million for pediatric cancer research. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States.
 
Saturday also marks Tarleton's school of kinesiology's 100-year celebration.
 
Texan Alley Tailgate will open at 9 a.m. in Lot A. For maps of the area and complete tailgating policies, visit TarletonSports.com/TexanAlley. Non-tailgating lots will open at 2 p.m., while the stadium gates will open at 4 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the fifth ever meeting between the Texans and Cowboys, with the series beginning in 1997. Tarleton won the last two contests by a combined score of 88-14, winning the last meeting 35-7 in Stephenville on Aug. 26, 2004. The teams have only played each other in Texas.
• This is the second game this season for TSU against a team from the RMAC. The Texans won the first one, against Fort Lewis, 54-7.
• The Texans and Cowboys have a shared opponent -- Fort Lewis. New Mexico Highlands won 44-7 against them to start the year.
• The Cowboys just lost 56-37 to Colorado Mesa, allowing 586 yards.

 
QUICK HITS

• To accommodate large crowds for future games, Tarleton is adding bleachers to the end zones, expanding capacity to 16,500 from 12,000, beginning Saturday. This comes off the heels of a packed house in their home opener, with over 12,000 fans (above capacity) in attendance. Even with last season's lower attendance cap because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tarleton has had over 10,000 fans at Memorial Stadium four times since 2019. The Texans are 4-0 in those games, outscoring their opponents 180-77 (average margin of victory of 25.8 points).
• Tarleton has partnered with Curing Kids Cancer for pediatric cancer awareness. On Saturday, players will wear helmet stickers and wristbands while coaches wear wristbands, gold whistles and lanyards to show support for First and Gold, a campaign to promote National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States.
• The Texans didn't have much trouble on offense in their last game, tallying 416 total yards on 67 plays (6.2 yards per play) and four touchdowns (their other touchdown was a Devin Hafford pick-six). Over the last two games, Tarleton has averaged 507.0 yards, 5.5 offensive touchdowns, and 44.5 points overall.

 
HOME COOKIN'
The Tarleton crowd was rocking in the Texans' home opener this season, with players saying it was the most fans they've ever played in front of. With the big crowd, the Texans cruised to a 54-7 win. Winning at home is something Tarleton is accustomed to, especially under head coach Todd Whitten. The Texans are 49-17 at home under Whitten, a winning percentage of .742. Following a loss away from Stephenville and returning home for their next game, Tarleton is 14-7 in such games under Whitten.
 
HAFFORD AMONG THE FEW
Devin Hafford has been one of the top defensive players not just for Tarleton in 2021, but across NCAA Division I football. To begin the year, the defensive back had two fumble recoveries at Stephen F. Austin. He became the only Tarleton player in at least the past 10 years to recover multiple fumbles on defense in a single game, and was one of two FCS players with multiple fumble recoveries in the first week. This past game, Hafford had two interceptions, returning one back 35 yards for a touchdown that put Tarleton ahead of Southern Utah 28-21.
 
At four takeaways, Hafford has the tied-most across all of Division I. Only two other players in the FCS have four takeaways (Villanova's Christian Benford has four interceptions; Furman's Travis Blackshear has three interceptions and one fumble recovery). Only one player in the FBS has four takeaways (Boise State's Ezekiel Noa has four fumble recoveries). Hafford is one of just two players across both FCS and FBS with multiple takeaways in multiple games this year, along with Benford.
 
Some other notes from Hafford's two-interception night:
- He is the first Tarleton player with two interceptions in a game since Donovan Banks had two against New Mexico State on Feb. 21 last season.
- He is the first Tarleton player with an interception return for a touchdown since Benjie Franklin returned one 83 yards for a score at William Jewell on Nov. 9, 2019.
- These were the first interceptions by Hafford since Nov. 3, 2018, against Lincoln (MO).
 
BITSON'S BIG NIGHT
Tariq Bitson had a strong season opener at Stephen F. Austin, but that was nothing compared to what he did against Southern Utah on Saturday. On Tarleton's first three drives of the game, Bitson caught a touchdown from quarterback Steven Duncan on every single one, as he finished with six catches, 82 yards and three TDs. Bitson fell just one touchdown short of tying the team record. He is the first Tarleton player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Zimari Manning at Western New Mexico on Nov. 16, 2019. He's one of seven players at the FCS level this year to have 3+ touchdown catches in a game, and one of 12 players across NCAA Division I.
 
DUNCAN DELIVERS
When mentioning a great game by a wide receiver, you also need to mention the quarterback, who put the ball where it needed to be. That was Steven Duncan on Saturday, who finished with four touchdown passes against Southern Utah, throwing for 248 yards on a 19-of-27 clip, also adding 37 yards rushing. In just one game, Duncan doubled the number of touchdown passes he had in his first two games combined, as it matched the most he's a thrown in a game since coming to TSU (March 13, 2021, at Dixie State).
 
A SPECIAL START
Linebacker D.J. Harris has recorded 10+ tackles in each of the first three games to start this season, and has four straight games with 10+ tackles overall, dating back to last season. The last Tarleton player to start the year with three straight games with double-digit tackles was Basil Jackson in 2017. Before Harris, no Texan had recorded four straight double-digit tackle games since Cody Burtscher in 2016.
 
BEST OF THE WAC
Tarleton is prominently featured across the top of the Western Athletic Conference stat leaderboards this season...
Steven Duncan:
- 1st in completion percentage (.704)
- 2nd in total passing yards (633)
- T-2nd in total touchdown passes (six)
- 3rd in passing yards per game (211.0)
Jayy McDonald:
- 2nd in rushing yards per game (67.3)
- 2nd in total rushing yards (202)
- T-2nd in total rushing touchdowns (two)
- 3rd in average yards per carry (7.2)
Daniel Wright Jr.:
- 3rd in rushing yards per game (62.3)
- 3rd in total rushing yards (187)
- 4th in average yards per carry (5.3)
Khalil Banks:
- T-2nd in total rushing touchdowns (two)
Tariq Bitson:
- 2nd in average yards per reception (16.2)
- T-2nd in total receiving touchdowns (three)
- 3rd in total receiving yards (227)
- 4th in receiving yards per game (75.7)
- 4th in total receptions (14)
D.J. Harris:
- 2nd in tackles per game (11.3)
- 2nd in total tackles (34)
- 2nd in tackles for a loss (4.5)
Devin Hafford:
- 1st in fumble recoveries (two)
- 2nd in interceptions (two)
Ronnell Wilson:
- 4th in total tackles (20)
Adrian Guzman:
- T-1st in extra-point makes (13)
Jake Walrath:
- T-1st in punts inside the 20 (four)
 
HALL OF FAME WORTHY
Following a 17-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced this week that Induction Day for the seven newest members of the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame will be on Oct. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Tarleton assistant coach (RB/TE) Jonathan Beasley will be among the seven enshrined as part of the 12th Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame Class for his play at quarterback at Kansas State. The other inductees are Notre Dame split end Tom Gatewood, Arkansas guard Jerry Jones, Ole Miss running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster, Texas defensive end Cory Redding, Boston College linebacker Bill Romanowski and Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder.
 
Described in the summary: "Nothing seemed to faze Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley. Not even a playing field covered in snow after a winter storm blew through North Texas just hours before the start of the 2001 Cotton Bowl Classic. Beasley set records for first-half efficiency by rolling up 238 yards in total offense and logged the second-highest number of yards passing with 193 against Tennessee. On the ground or through the air, he was relentless. He ran 14 yards for the game's first score, and then passed for touchdowns of 56 and 10 yards. By the time the third quarter rolled around, most of the snow had evaporated along with Tennessee's chances of winning. Beasley and the Wildcats pounded out 507 yards in total offense and cruised to a rousing 35-21 defeat of the Volunteers."
 
WAC WEEKLY AWARD
In Week 2, linebacker D.J. Harris was named the Ticketsmarter WAC Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant performance against Fort Lewis. Harris had 13 tackles (six solo), a forced safety, 1.5 sacks, 3.0 tackles for a loss and three quarterback hurries.
 
GROUNDING THE SKYHAWS
In Week 2, the Texans put a whooping on the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, winning 54-7. Four different Texans had 50 or more yards on the ground, and three different running backs ran one in for a score. Daniel Wright Jr. led everyone with 115 yards on 14 carries. Jayy McDonald had 92 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Khalil Banks also had a pair of touchdowns to go with 53 rushing yards on seven carries, while Ryheem Skinner rounded things out with 50 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
 
Against Fort Lewis, Tarleton allowed just 188 yards of total offense, 3.1 yards per play (103 yards passing, 85 yards rushing). They also forced a safety and two fumbles. Under defensive coordinator Marcus Patton, this was the ninth time the Texans' opponent had fewer than 200 yards of total offense -- Tarleton is a perfect 9-0 in those games.
 
A blowout win meant a chance to give several Texans some real game experience. A total of 56 players got into the game for Tarleton, with 22 different players recording a tackle, 10 different players recording a reception, seven different players recording a rushing attempt, and two quarterbacks playing about a half of football each. Steven Duncan played the entire first half and a bit of the second, finishing with 158 yards on 18-of-22 passing and a touchdown, to go with 14 rushing yards. Mike Irwin played the remainder of the game, throwing his first Tarleton touchdown, tallying 93 yards on 6-of-11 passing, while rushing for 23 yards on three attempts.
 
The special teams unit had a great game in almost every facet. Punter Jake Walrath had three punts, averaging 46.7 yards per boot, as he pinned the Thunderbirds inside their own 20-yard line twice. One of those he placed perfectly at the 1-yard line, which led to a Tarleton safety to put the Texans ahead 16-7. Kicker Adrian Guzman saw plenty of action in the home opener, kicking the ball 17 total times (one field goal, seven extra points, nine kickoffs). Fort Lewis only attempted one kick return on him, while the freshman nailed all eight of his kicks through the uprights, including a 24-yard field goal.
 
THE BEST IN TEXAS
Since the start of the 2018 season, there has not been a better scholarship football program in the entire state of Texas than Tarleton State University. The Texans enter Saturday's game with 29 wins since the start of 2018, tied for the most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program. The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	League	Wins
1.	Tarleton	WAC	29
	Texas A&M	SEC	29
3.	Texas	Big XII	27
4	Sam Houston	WAC	25
	SMU	AAC	25
6.	Baylor	Big XII	23
7.	A&M-Commerce	LSC	22
8.	TCU	Big XII	20
9.	West Texas A&M	LSC	19
10.	Angelo State	LSC	18
	North Texas	C-USA	18

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will next head to Richmond, Kentucky, to take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels for the first time in team history. Eastern Kentucky plays in the FCS's Ohio Valley Conference, sporting a 1-2 record so far this season. Tarleton will play them on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m. CT.
   
Tickets remain available for purchase at TarletonSports.com/tickets. Student tickets remain free of charge, but Tarleton students with a valid ID will need to order a ticket through the ticket software.