ABILENE, Texas – It's Homecoming week at McMurry University, and the centerpiece of it all takes place at Wilford Moore Stadium at 1 p.m. as the War Hawks host Austin College for its 90th Homecoming game.

This preview is presented by First Financial Bank.

McMurry (1-3, 1-3 ASC) is coming off its conference-wide bye week following a close 24-21 loss at No. 7 Hardin-Simmons on Oct. 2. McMurry Head Coach Jordan Neal equates this past bye week to a "halftime" of sorts and said he looks forward to the second half of the schedule.

"We're excited to be back in the swing of things with a regular practice," said Neal. "We were very excited to have this bye week when we did. I think it came at a good time for our team, and I know every team had a bye week in our league so everybody was able to take advantage of that. We were able to get some guys healthy and get a couple of extra practices in. In some ways, it's sort of like the beginning of a new season."

Neal also acknowledged McMurry's Homecoming in his opening remarks.

"We're excited about Homecoming and everything that comes with that," he said. "We'll get to see a lot of old faces with people coming back to campus. And I fell really confident with the way our guys have prepared themselves, practiced hard and stayed on board with us to continue getting better. I look forward to us putting our best foot forward and playing our game. Austin College is a good team that's well coached – that coaching staff has been together a long time – so we're expecting to get everything they can give us. We're excited to be back."

FOLLOW THE GAME:

McMurry will stream all home football games on the McMurry Sports Network via BlueFrame Technology on mcmurrysports.com. Play-by-play announcer David Bacon and color analyst David Robinett will be on the call Saturday. Live stats will also be available.

All McMurry Football radio broadcasts will exclusively air on Lonestar 1280 AM (KSLI). Fans can listen on the radio, on the web or on the Lonestar 1280 app – available free on your mobile app store and accessible anywhere, anytime with cell phone service.

Broadcasts will begin 20 minutes before each game.

All streaming, listening and live stat pages will be available each week at this link.

GAME DAY PROTOCOL:

Wilford Moore Stadium is open at full capacity for Saturday. Masks are expected and physical distancing is encouraged where possible. Guidelines are subject to change based on the current standing of COVID-19 and the safety of the community.

Season tickets in our reserved seating area are available for $45 and are good for all five games this season. To purchase season tickets, click here.

General admission tickets are $5 and will be sold at both gates. Children 12 and under receive free admission, as well as students, faculty and staff. The gate for visiting fans is on the east side, while the main gate for home fans is on the west side.

For more information on Saturday's protocols, click here.

THE STANDINGS:

Coach Neal referred to this weekend as "Separation Saturday" for many teams, as five teams are currently tied with a 1-3 conference record.

No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor and Howard Payne (receiving votes) are the top teams in the standings at 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference, followed by No. 8 Hardin-Simmons with a 4-1 overall record and 3-1 conference record.

The 4-10 spots are separated by just one game with Belhaven and East Texas Baptist rounding out the top half at 2-2 conference records. The final five teams are all 1-3 in conference play, including McMurry, Austin College, Sul Ross State, Southwestern and Texas Lutheran. All five teams own one win over an aforementioned team.

This week's conference schedule:

1. Austin College at McMurry
2. Sul Ross State at Belhaven
3. Howard Payne at Southwestern
4. Hardin-Simmons at East Texas Baptist
5. Texas Lutheran at Mary Hardin-Baylor

THE MATCHUP:

• 70th all-time meeting with Austin College
• Last meeting was over a decade ago in 2009
• Austin College leads the all-time series with a 37-30-2 record
• First Meeting: 1934 – McMurry 6, Austin College 6
• Last Meeting: 2009 – Austin College 30, McMurry 27
• First McM Win: 1936 – McMurry 12, Austin College 9
• Last McM Win: 2007 – McMurry 41, Austin College 35
• Longest McM win streak: 8 – 1947-1972 (spread over 24 years)
• Longest AC win streak: 8 – 1988-1992 (condensed into 5 seasons)
• Current Streak – AC has won the last two metings
• Homecoming – McMurry has won its last two HC games vs. AC (1996, 1999)

HOMECOMING QUICK FACTS:

• Saturday marks McMurry's 90th Homecoming game
• McMurry has a 45-42-2 record on HC all-time
• Last Homecoming Result: 2019 – Southwestern 29, McMurry 25
• Last Homecoming Win: 2017 – McMurry 42, Belhaven 30
• Longest Homecoming Win Streak: 12 games – 1953-1964
• Homecoming Record vs. Austin College: 5-5
• Last Homecoming Result vs. AC: McMurry 62, Austin College 41 in 1999
• Years without HC since 1927: 5 – 1928, 1943-1945 (World War II), 2020 (COVID-19)
• All-time score in HC games: 1,821 to 1,731

THE SCHEDULE:

With the cancellation of its non-conference season opener at Trinity, McMurry is currently playing a nine game schedule – all against American Southwest Conference opponents.

Below are the five home dates on the schedule:

• 9/11 at 1 PM vs. Howard Payne – L, 42-36
• 9/25 at 4 PM vs. Southwestern – W, 41-31
• 10/16 at 1 PM vs. Austin College – Homecoming Weekend
• 10/30 at 1 PM vs. Sul Ross State – Battle of I-20 Rivalry
• 11/13 at 1 PM vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor – Senior Day

SCOUTING THE WAR HAWKS:

McMurry ranks fifth in offense and sixth in defense among conference teams, scoring 28.3 points per game and allowing 30.3 points per game. Despite playing three of the top four teams in the conference standings, McMurry has been competitive in each game and has yet to lose by a double-digit margin.

Behind Howard Payne, McMurry has the most productive pass offense with 294.5 passing yards per game. The War Hawks have also been efficient with time of possession, ranking third in the conference with an average T.O.P. of 31:05 per game.

Junior Jared Mendoza is tied for the conference lead in field goals made with six so far, including four in a win over Southwestern to earn D3football.com National Team of the Week honors as a kicker. This total also set a new school record.

Senior running back Kameron Session as ascended as the team's leading back, ranking sixth in the conference with 73.0 rushing yards per game. He is also fifth in all-purpose yards with 101.3 per game. His running mate, junior Dee Robinson, is seventh in all-purpose yards and made a splash last outing at HSU with a 90 yard kick return on the opening kickoff to earn ASC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Sophomore Dexter Wyble is coming into his own as the starting quarterback with a 139.16 QB rating. He is 47-for-70 passing with 593 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in two starts – one of which was against the ASC's top defense and one of the top defenses in the nation in Hardin-Simmons.

Jermond Lovely, a junior wide receiver, ranks fourth in the conference with 73.0 receiving yards per game. He has yet to find the end zone, officially, but has moved the sticks for the offense multiple times with 18.3 yards per catch. Kristopher Martin is not far behind at 58.0 yards per game on 12 total receptions with one touchdown.

Senior Josh Smith is the conference's and the team's leading tackler with 7.8 per game, including 31 for the season. Smith is third on the all-time career tackles list at McMurry with 328 and needs 17 to move into second all-time past Colby Witt (2002-05). Smith is 51 tackles away from tying Chris Joseph (1982-86) for the all-time lead at 379.

Also among the conference leaders in tackles this season is junior safety Ke'Shaun Jnofinn with 7.3 per game and 22 total in four games. Transfer Rance Russell is the team's leader in tackles for loss with 4.0 total, while Xavier Gayle had two sacks, two fumble recoveries and four pass breakups for team highs.

Junior safety Brenden Torrence, a transfer from San Diego, has two interceptions and leads the conference with 60 return yards off picks. Coryell Fillmore and Timothy Leatherman also have an interception this season.

 

SCOUTING THE 'ROOS:

Austin College has a 1-3 record with a win over Sul Ross State (16-7) and losses to Texas Lutheran (41-7), Belhaven (41-14) and then-No. 1 UMHB (56-0) before the bye week. Much like McMurry, Austin College had its season opener robbed by COVID-19.

Although Austin College averages just 9.3 points per game, their bread-and-butter is killing time with the run game. They rank sixth in the conference with 133.5 rushing yards per game while totaling just 83 passing yards per game. The 'Roos own the most time of possession in the conference, averaging 32:15 per game.

The 'Roos are also one of the least penalized teams in the conference with the second-fewest yards behind UMHB at 49.3 per game. Interestingly enough, McMurry and AC are the two schools that have forced their opponents into the most penalty yards – McM opponents at 103.3 per game and AC opponents at 78.5.

Austin College is the only remaining team in the conference yet to miss a field goal, going 3-3 so far this season.

Defensively, Jarrett Pleasant is the fourth-ranked tackler in the conference behind Smith, Jnofinn and UMHB's Jacob Mueller, totaling 7.3 per game with 29 total.

Quarterback Tyler James is 42-for-90 passing this season for 335 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Devon Rideaux leads the rushing attack with 65.5 yards per game and 262 total with one score. Xavier Maxwell is the leading receiver with 10 catches for 93 yards.

 

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTABLES:

Click here to view this week's McMurry Football press conference presented by First Financial Bank.

Today's press conference featured Coach Jordan Neal, junior safety Brenden Torrence and sophomore offensive lineman Vern Angton III.