The Teams: Tarleton Texans (3-1, 0-0 WAC) at Southern Utah Thunderbirds (3-2, 1-0 WAC)
Where: Cedar City, Utah
Stadium: Eccles Coliseum (10,000)
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Chris Holmes, Spencer McLaughlin)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
The Texans will make their first ever trip to Cedar City, Utah, to take on new conference foe, Southern Utah. Tarleton will be aiming to establish a three-game winning streak and dish the Thunderbirds their first conference loss.
 
The game, set for 7 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Chris Holmes and Spencer McLaughlin 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 and Keltin Wiens leading the broadcast.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the second matchup between Tarleton and Southern Utah – they squared off last year at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, former home of the Texas Rangers, with SUU winning 40-35.
• This is Southern Utah's first year in the WAC. SUU was in the Big Sky Conference from 2012-21.
• SUU's two losses were at current No. 11 Utah and at current No. 25 Eastern Kentucky (rankings via AP and Stats Perform).
• Southern Utah has the best turnover margin in all of the FCS at +11. Defensively they have eight interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans have won back-to-back games to improve to 3-1 on the year. This is Tarleton's first 3-1 start at the NCAA Division I level. At the end of their D2 days, Tarleton started 3-1 or better each of those last three years.
• If Tarleton beats Southern Utah on Saturday, the Texans' three-game winning streak would be their second-longest string of success since becoming a D1 program (four straight from March 6-27, 2021).
• Tarleton is coming off of its bye week. Last year, Tarleton was also in Utah for its first game after a bye, beating then-Dixie State 41-20. The Texans scored on five of their first six drives of the game, including four TD's.
• The Texans are in the middle of playing three straight road games, their longest span of games away from Stephenville since 2013 (TAR went 3-0). The Texans haven't played three straight true road games since 2011.
• This is Tarleton's first WAC game of the year, Southern Utah's second. SUU beat rival Utah Tech two weeks ago 31-17. Justin Miller threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, and Rodrick Ward had two interceptions.
• Beau Allen and Adrian Guzman were WAC Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week after Tarleton's last game.
• Across all of the FCS, Tarleton has received the tied-fewest amount of penalties this season (14, Bucknell). Only Richmond averages fewer penalties per game. Last time Tarleton played SUU, the Texans were flagged 15 times.

 
ON A MISSION
Head coach Todd Whitten told his team after beating North Alabama that he had never been prouder of them than on that day. Tarleton went into North Alabama on their homecoming game, a game they hadn't lost since 2004, and won in come-from-behind fashion. It was a game of big plays, including four 50+ yard touchdowns, three that went 75+ yards, and Tarleton was the victim on two of those. Plus, the Texans fell behind 14-6 and shortly thereafter, turned it over in the end zone, spoiling their scoring opportunity. Tarleton started the second half with three straight touchdown drives and allowed just seven points over the final 30 minutes, scoring two themselves on a strip sack safety. The team never quit, and actually shined when adversity struck.
 
Now Tarleton hits the second leg of a three-game road trip, just as motivated to keep this strong start to the season going. The Texans are only getting healthier, including at tight end, as Shawn McFarland is scheduled to suit up for the first time this year. On the defensive line at North Alabama, Tarleton was able to start one of their strongest groups of Javier Duran, Blaine Hoover and Segun Ijiyera. Plus, Tarleton's trios at running back and wide receiver as flourishing even more, all recording big numbers across the board with Derrel Kelley III, Deangelo Rosemond and Mookie Douglas at RB, Jaden Smith, Darius Cooper and Gabe Douglas at WR
 
JADEN SMITH THERE SOMEWHERE
On a game-by-game basis, wide receiver Jaden Smith has proven to be one of the top players in the country. Through just four games into his Tarleton tenure, Smith has 27 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns. At North Alabama specifically, Smith scored from 86 yards and 30 yards, finishing with five catches for 173 yards and those two touchdowns.
 
Through a national perspective, only two FCS players are averaging more receiving yards per game than Smith, who is at 122.3 YPG (Fordham's Fotis Kokosioulis is at 146.0 YPG, Utah Tech's Joey Hobert is at 127.2 YPG). Including FBS, only four players across all of NCAA Division I are averaging more (Old Dominion's Ali Jennings is at 137.6 YPG, SMU's Rashee Rice is at 137.4 YPG). Looking at TD's, only three FCS and eight total D1 players have more receiving touchdowns than Smith.
 
Through a conference perspective, Smith has the most touchdown receptions, the second most receiving yards, and the second most receptions.
 
Through a team perspective, Smith has already surpassed all but one from last year's crew, through an entire season, and is just a TD short of matching Tarleton's high in 2021. At his current pace of 122.3 receiving yards per game, that would be the highest average in a season in program history (Zimari Manning had 121.8 receiving yards per in 2019). He's two TD away from the top-10 of Tarleton TD receptions in a season, with seven games left.
 
THINGS ARE DIFFERENT
Tarleton and Southern Utah squared off just over a year ago, but things are a lot different across the board.
 
For Tarleton, it's mostly a matter of difference in play, although they do have a different man at QB (Beau Allen), a new leading receiver (Jaden Smith), a new starting running back (Deangelo Rosemond), plus a new defensive coordinator, Tyrone Nix, with a new scheme and players under him. What cost Tarleton in the loss last year were the penalties -- 15 for 158 yards. Tarleton, who has suffered the tied-fewest amount of penalties at the FCS level this year, had more penalties and penalty yards in that one single game against Southern Utah than they've had across all four games to start this season (14 for 130 yards) -- thanks to the voice of Tarleton Football Byron Anderson for the fun nugget of info. Also, Justin Miller threw for 304 yards against the Texans, a current defensive unit that is allowing just 201.5 passing yards per game now.
 
For Southern Utah, the biggest change starts at the top, with new head coach DeLane Fitzgerald. He's already led the Thunderbirds to their tied-most wins in a season since 2017. The Thunderbirds are still a pass-heavy team, but are much more efficient, averaging 25.4 points per game compared to 19.0 PPG last year. On defense, they're allowing 9.7 fewer points per game (39.3 in 2021, 29.6 in 2022). Through five games, they already have 15 takeaways, their same total through 11 games last year.
 
#BEAUKNOWS
Beau Allen has matched the incredible hype he faced going into the season. Through four games, Allen is looking like, and playing like, a star QB, leading the WAC in pass efficiency (150.1), yards per completion (15.6), and yards per attempt (8.8). He also has the most 300+ yard games (three), the tied-most passing touchdowns (10), and is second in passing yards per game (284.8).
 
Last week in Tarleton's 43-28 win at North Alabama, Allen earned WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for a career-high 316 yards and a careerhigh four touchdowns, while adding 32 yards on seven carries. His four touchdown passes are tied for the most TD passes by a WAC QB this season, and his 86-yard pass to Jaden Smith during the game is the longest pass in the conference this year.
 
In three of four games in his Tarleton career, Allen has thrown for 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns. He already has the tied-12th most 300+ yard games in program history, and he is the first to have three 300+ yard performances in his first four Tarleton games.
 
In Allen's season debut, his 300 yards passing were the most in a Tarleton season-opener since Ben Holmes had 375 at SFA on Sept. 7, 2019, while his three touchdown passes were the most in a Tarleton season-opener since 2007, when Scott Grantham fired three scores against East Central. As for Texans making their first career start at QB, Allen is the first to throw for 300 yards since Zed Woerner (302) against Angelo State on Nov. 1, 2014.
 
Affectionally given the social media hashtag of #BeauKnows by his Kentucky Wildcat family, Beau Allen originally joined his hometown college as a four-star prospect by both ESPN and Rivals. At Lexington Catholic High School, he ranked as high as the No. 3 QB in Kentucky, and a top-15 QB across the nation overall. He won the Paul Hornung Award his senior year, given to the top high school player in Kentucky, starting all four years at the prep level, compiling 11,439 passing yards and 127 touchdowns, top-five marks in the state all-time. At Kentucky, he primarily spent his time in the No. 2 QB role, playing in five total games, completing 11-of-19 (.579) passes for 132 yards, plus a rushing touchdown. Allen chose Kentucky over offers from Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Maryland, Washington State, West Virginia, Marshall and Duke, among others. He said he picked Tarleton as his transfer school mostly because of the coaching staff, with ties to head coach Todd Whitten and pass game coordinator/QB coach Adam Austin, who was part of Eastern Kentucky's staff tasked to recruit Allen to Richmond.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
The overwhelming majority of Tarleton's passing attack has centered around three receivers -- Jaden Smith, Darius Cooper and Gabe Douglas. Of the 1,139 yards through the air, those three have accounted for 1,037 of those yards, 91.0 percent. Besides Smith, whose numbers were featured earlier, Cooper is second on the team with 17 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns, while Douglas is third with 12 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Both players have already set career-highs across the board with their season numbers. The trio of Smith, Cooper and Douglas are all in the top-six of the WAC receiving leaderboard.
 
NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED
After Tarleton's last game, the Texans took home their second and third WAC weekly awards, with Beau Allen winning Offensive Player of the Week, and Adrian Guzman taking Special Teams Player of the Week. This marked Allen's first career weekly award, and for Guzman his third, the second of the season. Allen completed 18-of-29 (.621) passes for a career-high 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while adding 32 yards on seven carries. He was the lone QB in the WAC that week to finish with 300+ yards and 3+ TD. His four touchdown passes are tied for the most TD passes by a WAC QB this season, and his 86-yard pass to Jaden Smith during the game is the longest pass in the conference this year. Guzman, meanwhile, was perfect on the day, going 2-for2 on field goals from 35 and 20 yards out, plus 5-of-5 on extra points. He is still perfect on the year in field goals, going 6-for-6 thus far.
 
In Week 2, Guzman brought home Tarleton's first WAC weekly honor of the season, named WAC Special Teams Player of the Week following his efforts at TCU. Guzman made his lone field goal attempt, a career-long 47-yarder, and both of his extra points in Fort Worth. This was Guzman's second career WAC weekly award, his other coming last year in October after his performance against Dixie State. His 47-yard successful try made back-to-back weeks for Guzman setting new career-longs in field goals.
 
Last year, Tarleton individuals continuously flooded the WAC weekly awards list, recognized for their great performances. Seven total players earned weekly honors; D.J. Harris, Greg Eggleston Jr., J.F. Thomas, Adrian Guzman, Devin Hafford, Devin Sterling and Sean Walton. Looking at the last four years overall, Tarleton has had two conference defensive players of the year, a conference offensive player of the year, two conference running backs of the year, two conference defensive backs of the year, a conference wide receiver of the year, a conference offensive lineman of the year, and a conference defensive lineman of the year. They've had 16 All-Americans in that span, and 40 All-Conference players in just three seasons (no conference in 2020) – 21 on offense, 19 on defense
 
OTHER NOTES FROM FLORENCE
Running back Derrel Kelley III burst onto the scene with a career-high 161 yards on 21 carries (7.7 yards per rush). That's the most rushing yards in a game by a WAC player this year, and the most by a Tarleton player since Ryheem Skinner had 197 rushing yards against Dixie State on Feb. 27, 2021.
 
Five different Texans had a sack at North Alabama; Patrick Jones, Darian Williams, Michael Irons, Jalen Carr, Javier Duran. Tarleton's defense also forced a safety, had an interception and forced a fumble in the same game.
 
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 a .771 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state. The Texans have 37 wins since the start of 2018, tied for the most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program (Texas A&M). Tarleton is one of three Texas D1 or D2 schools with all four winning seasons since 2018, along with Texas A&M and Sam Houston. The Texans have the fewest amount of losses among Texas D1/D2 schools since 2018 at 11. The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Tarleton	WAC	.771
2.	Sam Houston	WAC	.735
3.	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	.714
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	.698
5.	Angelo State	LSC	.696
6.	Baylor	Big 12	.636
7.	SMU	AAC	.615
	Midwestern State	LSC	.615
9.	West Texas A&M	LSC	.614
10.	Texas	Big 12	.611

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Tarleton	WAC	37
	Texas A&M	SEC	37
3.	Sam Houston	WAC	36
4.	Baylor	Big 12	35
5.	Texas	Big 12	33
6.	SMU	AAC	32
	Angelo State	LSC	32
8.	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	30
9.	UTSA	C-USA	29
10.	Incarnate Word	SLC	28

 
LEADING THE WAC
Several Texans are atop WAC leaderboards this season...
Beau Allen:
  - 1st in passing efficiency (150.1)
  - 1st in pass yards per completion (15.6)
  - 1st in pass yards per attempt (8.8)
  - T-1st in passing touchdowns (10)
  - 2nd in passing yards per game (284.8)
  - 3rd in total passing yards (1,139)
  - 3rd in completion percentage (56.6)
  - 3rd in total completions (73)
Jalen Carr:
  - T-4th in pass breakups (4)
Darius Cooper:
  - 3rd in receiving yards per game (78.5)
  - 4th in receptions per game (4.3)
  - 4th in total receiving yards (314)
  - 4th in yards per catch (18.5)
Gabe Douglas:
  - 2nd in yards per catch (19.5)
  - 6th in receiving yards per game (58.5)
Adrian Guzman:
  - 1st in field goal percentage (100.0)
  - 2nd in field goal makes (6)
D.J. Harris:
  - 1st in tackles per game (9.3)
Michael Irons:
  - T-4th in pass breakups (4)
Patrick Jones:
  - T-5th in sacks (2)
  - T-7th in tackles per game (6.3)
Deangelo Rosemond:
  - 1st in total kick return yards (170)
  - 2nd in kick return average per game (24.3)
  - T-2nd in total rushing touchdowns (3)
  - 3rd in yards per rush (4.8)
  - 4th in total rushing yards (210)
  - 5th in rushing yards per game (52.5)
Jaden Smith:
  - 1st in receiving touchdowns (6)
  - 2nd in receiving yards per game (122.3)
  - 2nd in receptions per game (6.8)
  - 2nd in total receiving yards (489)
  - 2nd in total receptions (27)
  - 5th in yards per catch (18.1)
 
STRENGTH IN THE TRENCHES
Touted as one of the strengths of the team entering the year, Tarleton's offensive line has lived up to the billing. Look no further than the pass protection, and it shows Tarleton has allowed just two sacks through the first four games of the season. Tarleton is one of just 10 teams across all of NCAA Division I (both FBS and FCS) with two or fewer sacks allowed. Last season, the O-Line allowed the tied-12th fewest total sacks in the FCS at 13, the tied-14th fewest sacks per game at 1.18, going for the 10th fewest amount of negative yardage at 77. In tackles for loss, the big men up front allowed the tied-14th fewest in the FCS at 49, the tied-18th fewest per game at 4.45. Four of the five starters from last year returned -- Blake Haynes, Kendall Dearth, Austin Whitehead and Layton Ernst. Dillon Brooks is the fifth starter this year, and has quickly shown he belongs. In Preseason All-WAC awards entering 2022, the offensive line was the lone position to feature multiple Texans in Haynes and Dearth.
 
TURNAROUND TODD
Tarleton head coach Todd Whitten is in his 13th season at the helm of the Texans. He's already the winningest head coach in program history, with opportunities this season to keep building on his historic career. Since joining the purple and white, Whitten has taken his Texan teams to a 93-46 (.669) record. In its senior college history, Tarleton is now above .500 all-time at 318-316-3. So, Whitten has boosted the Texans from a .455 winning percentage to .502, a hard feat to manage since the senior college sample size is 600+ games deep
 
CHANGE IN SCHEME
With new personnel comes fresh ideas and different habits. The Texans have a brand-new defensive coordinator, Tyrone Nix, who has incorporated a 3-4 defensive formation, different from Tarleton's 4-3 defense last year.
 
Nix has been a Division I coach for over 25 years, serving as the defensive coordinator for five previous D1 programs, including Ole Miss and South Carolina. He has spent 17 years as a defensive coordinator at the D1 level, holding that title at UTSA (2020), Middle Tennessee (2012-16), Ole Miss (2008-11), South Carolina (2005-07) and Southern Miss (2001-04). His other titles and stops include outside linebackers coach at Ole Miss (2019), safeties coach at Virginia Tech (2018), defensive analyst at Texas A&M (2017), and numerous defensive position titles among his full tenure at Southern Miss from 1995-2004. In all, Nix has coached at seven different Division I programs, spending 15 years in Conference USA, nine years in the Southeastern Conference, one year in the Atlantic Coast Conference and one year in the Sun Belt Conference. He's a former Broyles Award finalist, given to the nation's top assistant coach. In the SEC, Nix elevated as high as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at both Ole Miss, under head coach Houston Nutt, and at South Carolina, under head coach Steve Spurrier.
 
PRESEASON WATCH
Tarleton Football was voted to finish third in the conference by the other WAC head coaches, with five Texans named Preseason All-WAC. Offensive linemen Kendall Dearth and Blake Haynes are on the 2022 Preseason All-WAC Offense. Defensive lineman Javier Duran, linebacker D.J. Harris and defensive back Donovan Banks are on the 2022 Preseason All-WAC Defense
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 13 NCAA Division I teams (eight FBS, five FCS) have a better winning percentage than Tarleton since 2018 (Cincinnati, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Appalachian State, Kennesaw State, North Dakota State, James Madison, Princeton, Dartmouth). So among some of the other elite programs, Tarleton has a higher W% than the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa, USC, LSU, etc.
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Alabama	SEC	.918
	North Dakota State	MVFC	.918
3.	Princeton	Ivy	.910
4.	Ohio State	Big 10	.907
5.	Clemson	ACC	.898
6.	Georgia	SEC	.877
7.	Cincinnati	AAC	.857
8.	Dartmouth	Ivy	.844
9.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.836
	James Madison	SBC	.836
11.	Oklahoma	Big 12	.825
12.	Appalachian State	SBC	.793
13.	Kennesaw State	ASUN	.776
14.	Tarleton	WAC	.771

 
6: Only six D1 teams (five FBS, one FCS) averaged more points than Tarleton (38.0 PPG) from 2018-21 (Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, UCF, Eastern Washington).
 
10: 10 D1 teams (five FBS, five FCS) allowed fewer points than TAR (18.3) from 2018-21 (Georgia, Clemson, Cincinnati, Iowa, San Diego State, North Dakota State, Dartmouth, James Madison, Princeton, Kennesaw State).
 
5: Not considering reclassification rules on leaderboards, Tarleton was one of five D1 teams in both top-15s of scoring and defense from 2018-21 - (Clemson, James Madison, Princeton, Kennesaw State).
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will finish out their three-game road slate in Nacogdoches, Texas, with a Saturday, Oct. 15, bout at Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks are off to a 2-3 start, with one of those wins a 98-0 victory over NAIA Warner. Kickoff will be at 4 p.m. CT from Homer Bryce Stadium.