The Teams: Tarleton Texans (5-4, 1-2 WAC) at Utah Tech Trailblazers (3-6, 1-2 WAC)
Where: St. George, Utah
Stadium: Greater Zion Stadium (10,000)
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Rob Zundel, Jay Schroeder, Devin Dixon)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
The Texans are heading back to Utah for the second time this year, this time traveling to St. George for a matchup against the Utah Tech Trailblazers. Tarleton is 2-0 playing at Utah Tech, formerly Dixie State, and 3-0 in Utah overall over the past two seasons.
 
The game, set for 2 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Rob Zundel, Jay Schroeder and Devin Dixon 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 fourth all-time meeting. All previous three took place in 2021. They played twice in the COVID-19 season, once last season.
• The road team has won every matchup thus far, with Tarleton 2-0 in St. George. The Texans won by 22 the first time and 21 the second try.
• Despite a 3-6 record, Utah Tech has been competitive all year, beating Southern Utah at home last week following a 47-44 win at Stephen F. Austin. Before that, they lost by just five to Sam Houston.
• Utah Tech just swept the WAC weekly awards; Rickie Johnson was Offensive POW, Syrus Webster was Defensive POW, Connor Brooksby was Special Teams POW.

QUICK HITS

• This is Tarleton's final road game of the season. Sitting at 2-2 on the road before the game, the Texans have the opportunity to end 2022 with a winning road record. Tarleton has finished .500 or better on the road four of the past five seasons.
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton would lock up its third straight winning season to start its NCAA Division I era.
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton would snap a two-game skid. The Texans haven't lost three straight since 2017.
• Tarleton's ground game has been on another level, and should continue this Saturday. Utah Tech allows the most rush yards per game in the WAC at 192.6, the 25th most at the FCS level out of 130 programs. Over the past three games, Tarleton has averaged 199.3 rushing yards per, with Derrel Kelley III eclipsing the century mark each time. He's the first Texan with three straight 100+ rushing yard games since Daniel McCants did it in 2019.
• In the last game, Tarleton had 48 rushing attempts to 27 passing attempts, nearly a 2:1 rushing ratio.
• Last year against Utah Tech, Tarleton led 31-13 at halftime en route to their 41-20 win. The Texans scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives, all drives covering 67+ yards in length.
• In the latest ASUN-WAC Power Rankings, Tarleton is No. 6 and Utah Tech is No. 9.

 
JUST A WIN AWAY
With two games to play, Tarleton is in line to achieve their third straight winning season to start their NCAA Division I era. Sitting at 5-4, one more win would put them at six, and guarantee either a 7-4 or 6-5 finish. The Texans went 5-3 in their first season as a D1 program, and concluded a 6-5 campaign last year.
 
There are two other programs who have also been reclassifying each of the past three years, as well -- Utah Tech and Merrimack. Neither team has yet to post a winning season. Utah Tech went 2-3 in 2020-21, 1-10 in 2021-22, and is 3-6 this year. Merrimack went 0-3 in 2020-21, 5-6 in 2021-22 and is 7-2 this season.
 
DK ON A ROLL
Derrel Kelley III has been on another level since late September, going for 100+ yards in four games, each of Tarleton's last three games. Since Sept. 24, six games worth, Kelley has rushed for 654 yards, 109.0 yards per game. Kelley's three-game streak of rushing for 100+ yards is the longest such stretch by a Texan since Daniel McCants had three straight towards the end of the 2019 season. McCants actually had 200+ yards in each of those games.
 
Now Kelley sits at 716 rushing yards on the season, already the most rushing yards in a season by a Texan since 2019 (McCants had 1,457 rush yards that year). Kelley's 716 rush yards are the third most in the WAC this year, closely behind Utah Tech's Quali Conley at 819 yards and Abilene Christian's Jermiah Dobbins at 723 yards. Kelley ranks 40th at the FCS level in total rushing yards.
 
NEARING TARLETON LORE
Over nine games played this year, several Texans have had monumental seasons thus far. With two games to play, the following is in reach for a lot of players this season:
Top-10 Single-Season Passing Yards:
Beau Allen (2,232) is 427 passing yards short of reaching the leaderboard. Ben Holmes is in 10th with his 2,659 passing yards in 2018.
Top-5 Single-Season Passing Yards Per Game:
Beau Allen (248.0) is 14.4 passing yards per game short of the leaderboard. Steve Kelley is in fifth at 262.4, set in 2001. Allen needs 654 yards over the next two games to match Kelley's average.
Top-10 Single-Season Passing Touchdowns:
Beau Allen (19) is one passing touchdown short of the leaderboard. Zed Woerner (2015), Jake Fenske (2013), Nick Stephens (2011) and Eric Lugo (1990) are all tied for ninth at 20 touchdowns.
Top-10 Single-Season Rushing Yards:
Derrel Kelley III (716) is 253 rushing yards short of reaching the leaderboard. Alfred Knox is in 10th with his 969 rushing yards in 1972.
Top-10 Single-Season Receiving Yards:
Jaden Smith (778) is 172 receiving yards short of the leaderboard. Harlan Wunsch is 10th at 950 yards, set way back in 1968.
Top-10 Single-Season Receiving Yards Per Game:
Jaden Smith (86.4) is currently ninth on the leaderboard. If In 10th is Bubba Tandy at 83.0 (2014), so if Smith finishes with at least 135 yards over the final two games, he'll finish in the top-10.
Top-10 Single-Season Receiving Touchdowns:
Jaden Smith (9) is currently 10th on the leaderboard. He's one short of tying four other players for the sixth most touchdowns in a single-season in team history; Del'Michael High (2016), Jeremy Madkins (2006), Will Moody (2003) and Damien Jackson (2001).
 
BANKS CASHED IN
Donovan Banks picked off Abilene Christian Maverick McIvor twice this past Saturday for his second and third interceptions of the season. He now leads the team in interceptions on the year, tied for the most in the WAC this season with Southern Utah's Rodrick Ward. At the FCS level, Banks has the tied-23rd most interceptions on the year.
 
This wasn't the first multi-interception game for Banks. He also picked off the New Mexico State Aggies twice in El Paso at a neutral site game on Feb. 21, 2021.
 
RECORD CROWD IN COMPLETE STADIUM
Tarleton unveiled their recently completed stadium at their homecoming game against Sam Houston, and set a new program attendance record by seeing 20,237 fans through the turnstiles. They bested last year's program record of 16,216 who attended Tarleton's homecoming game against Midwestern State.
 
Tarleton's Memorial Stadium expansion project raised capacity from a temporary 16,600 to a permanent 24,000. Memorial Stadium underwent a $26 million renovation in 2019, and now with the 2022 expansion, towering bleachers with a new scoreboard cover the north end zone. Field suites have relocated to the south endzone underneath the video board to create an exciting, enclosed game day atmosphere.
 
OFFENSIVE PROWESS
Tarleton has shown to be explosive on the offensive side of the football, and throughout the year, has been one of the top units in the Western Athletic Conference. Overall, Tarleton averages the second most points per game (29.3). The Texans are also second in yardage per game at 425.0, yet lead the conference in yards per play at 6.09 yards. After three consecutive big games on the ground, Tarleton now leads the WAC in rushing yards per game at 171.8.
 
#BEAUKNOWS
Beau Allen has matched the incredible hype he faced going into the season. Through nine games, Allen is looking like, and playing like, a star QB, leading the WAC in pass touchdowns (19) and pass yards per attempt (8.4). He's second in pass yards per game (248.2), second in pass yards per completion (14.7) and third in pass efficiency (141.6). He also has the tied-most 400+ yard games (one) and the most 300+ yard games (four).
 
On Oct. 8 in Tarleton's 42-40 win at Southern Utah, Allen threw for a career-high 406 passing yards, adding three touchdowns, while leading the team in rushing with 55 yards on 11 attempts. His 406 yards passing are the 11th most in Tarleton Football history and the 12th 400+ yard game in program history. His 406 are also the second most thrown by a WAC QB this year and the 23rd most in a game at the FCS level this season.
 
In the game prior, Tarleton's 43-28 win at North Alabama, Allen earned WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for a then-career-high 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while adding 32 yards on seven carries. His four touchdown passes are tied for the third-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 four of his first five games to start his Tarleton career, Allen threw for 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns. He already has the 10th most 300+ yard games in program history, and he is the first to have four 300+ yard performances in his first five 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 2,279 yards through the air, those three have accounted for 1,802 of those yards, 79.1 percent. Of Tarleton's 20 passing touchdowns this season, 19 of those have went to those three receivers.
 
Through nine games into Smith's Tarleton tenure, he has 44 receptions for 778 yards and nine touchdowns. Through a national perspective, only 20 FCS players are averaging more receiving yards per game than Smith, who is at 86.4 YPG. Looking at TD's, only 10 FCS players have more receiving touchdowns than Smith. Through a conference perspective, Smith has the second-most touchdown receptions, the third-most receiving yards and the fourth most receptions. Through a team perspective, he's now reached the top-10 for Tarleton TD receptions in a season. He needs one more to have the tied-sixth most in program history in a single-season with four others. The most recent who had exactly 10 was Del'Michael High in 2016.
 
Cooper had a career-best performance against Sam Houston on Oct. 29, going for 191 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches. He has the tied-third most receiving touchdowns (seven), the fifth most receiving yards (735) and the fifth most receptions (38). He's third in yards per catch at 19.3.
 
Douglas had one of the best plays of the season on Oct. 8 at Southern Utah, out-maneuvering his defenders and overpowering the last one to get into the endzone. He had two catches for 55 yards and a score on the day. He's second in yards per catch at 20.6.
 
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 38 wins since the start of 2018, the tied-most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program (Sam Houston). They have a .736 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the second-highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state (Sam Houston).  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 list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Sam Houston	WAC	.750
2.	Tarleton	WAC	.736
3.	Angelo State	LSC	.725
4.	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	.702
5.	Texas A&M	SEC	.649
6.	Baylor	Big 12	.644
7.	Incarnate Word	SLC	.635
8.	SMU	AAC	.625
9.	Texas	Big 12	.621
10.	Midwestern State	LSC	.614

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Tarleton	WAC	39
	Sam Houston	WAC	39
3.	Baylor	Big 12	38
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	37
	Angelo State	LSC	37
6.	Texas	Big 12	36
7.	SMU	AAC	35
8.	UTSA	C-USA	33
	Incarnate Word	SLC	33
	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	33

 
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 95-49 (.660) record. In its senior college history, Tarleton is now above .500 all-time at 320-319-3. So, Whitten has boosted the Texans from a .455 winning percentage to .501, a hard feat to manage since the senior college sample size is 600+ games deep.
 
Across the college landscape, Whitten is one of the top coaching minds, and has been for a while. Among active NCAA Division I coaches (both FBS and FCS), Whitten has the tied-37th most total wins at 120, tied with Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher.
 
NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED
On Oct. 10, Tarleton took home their fourth WAC weekly award of the year, with Donovan Banks named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after his vital 41-yard interception return for a touchdown in Tarleton's win at Southern Utah. This was Banks' first career weekly award, as the senior scored his first career touchdown. Through nine weeks of the season, Tarleton has won four awards.
 
In Week 4 after Tarleton's 43-28 win at North Alabama, Beau Allen won Offensive Player of the Week and Adrian Guzman took 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. Guzman was perfect on the day, going 2-for-2 on field goals from 35 and 20 yards out, plus 5-of-5 on extra points.
 
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. His 47-yard successful try made back-to-back weeks for Guzman setting new career-longs in field goals.
 
LEADING THE WAC
Several Texans are atop WAC leaderboards this season...
Beau Allen:
  - 1st in pass touchdowns (19)
  - 1st in pass yards per attempt (8.3)
  - 2nd in total pass yards (2,234)
  - 2nd in pass yards per game (248.2)
  - 2nd in yards per completion (14.7)
  - 3rd in pass efficiency (141.6)
Donovan Banks:
  - T-1st in interceptions (3)
Darius Cooper:
  - 3rd in yards per catch (19.3)
  - T-3rd in receiving touchdowns (7)
  - 5th in total receptions (38)
  - 5th in receiving yards per game (81.7)
  - 5th in receptions per game (4.2)
Gabe Douglas:
  - 2nd in yards per catch (20.6)
Adrian Guzman:
  - T-3rd in field goal percentage (75.0)
D.J. Harris:
  - 4th in tackles per game (8.1)
Patrick Jones:
  - 9th in tackles per game (6.2)
Derrel Kelley III:
  - 1st in yards per rush (6.34)
  - 3rd in total rush yards (716)
  - 3rd in rushing yards per game (79.6)
  - T-4th in rush touchdowns (4)
Jaden Smith:
  - 2nd in receiving touchdowns (9)
  - 3rd in receiving yards (788)
  - 3rd in receiving yards per game (87.6)
  - 4th in total receptions (45)
  - 4th in receptions per game (5.0)
Qua'Shawn Washington:
  - 1st in tackles per game (8.6)
  - 2nd in tackles for loss per game (1.3)
 
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
 
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.	Princeton	Ivy	.921
2.	Ohio State	Big 10	.914
3.	North Dakota State	MVFC	.908
4.	Alabama	SEC	.892
5.	Clemson	ACC	.891
6.	Georgia	SEC	.871
7.	Cincinnati	AAC	.850
8.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.833
9.	Oklahoma	Big 12	.803
10.	James Madison	SBC	.797
11.	Kennesaw State	ASUN	.778
12.	Appalachian State	SBC	.774
13.	Dartmouth	Ivy	.763
14.	Tarleton	WAC	.736

 
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
Tarleton heads home for the season finale on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. CT against Houston Christian. It will be Senior Day in Stephenville, as Tarleton will send off their beloved veterans.