ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Football has a golden opportunity against a golden team on Saturday afternoon as it travels to Texas Lutheran University for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Seguin, Texas.
McMurry (2-3, 2-3 American Southwest Conference) separated itself from a mix of teams at the bottom of the standings with a 48-13 win over Austin College on Homecoming. McMurry is tied with East Texas Baptist for fifth place in the standings and can pull to .500 with its first road win on Saturday.
"It was a huge win for us with Austin College," said McMurry third year head coach Jordan Neal. "We're excited about the opportunity to travel. This will be our first overnight trip (of the season) to Seguin to take on Texas Lutheran and we'll be ready."
Texas Lutheran (1-5, 1-4 ASC) has lost four straight games and will look to get off the schneid on Saturday against a McMurry team it has beaten in the last four seasons. TLU is an opponent very familiar to members of the current McMurry staff – including Neal.
"I'm very proud to say that I was an assistant at Texas Lutheran in 2012 coaching the offensive line there," Neal said. "At that time, that program was in a similar place to where we are right now – in a building phase but you could tell things are getting better. I learned a tremendous amount. One of the things I saw firsthand there – going 5-5 that season – is that we got better over the course of the season.
"I feel like, typically, you don't want to face Texas Lutheran later in the season because they always get better. That's what I've been warning our guys about – yeah, they've come out on the short end a couple of times earlier in the season – but are a proud program. They will play hard and continue to get better. I expect them to play a really good ball game against us."
This preview is presented by First Financial Bank.
FOLLOW THE GAME:
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.
Long time play-by-play announcer David Bacon will have the call and will be joined by color analyst John Blackwell. Bacon will have a pregame interview with Coach Jordan Neal has lined up newly hired McMurry Women's Basketball Coach Drew Long as his halftime guest.
Broadcasts will begin 20 minutes before each game.
Additionally, Texas Lutheran University Athletics will provide a live video stream and live stats via TLUBulldogs.com.
All streaming, listening and live stat pages will be available each week at this link along with spectator information, rosters, season statistics and much more.
GAME DAY PROTOCOL:
Texas Lutheran University is currently observing a 50 percent capacity limit for both outdoor and indoor sporting events and welcomes home and visiting students, family members, friends and other fans.
Masks are not required for spectators who are vaccinated. All spectators are encouraged to sit with their own group and social distance from others. There will be no contact allowed between players and spectators. All spectators will be expected to exit the facility upon conclusion of the event.
Gates will open two hours prior to kickoff (11 a.m.) and visiting team fans can pick up tickets at the box office located on the Northeast side of the stadium off Fritz Street. Visiting team pass list tickets are also available for pickup at the same location.
- Adult General Admission - $10
- Seniors (Ages 65 and over) - $5
- Students (Ages 7-18) - $5
- Children (Ages 6 and under) – FREE
THE STANDINGS:
Mary Hardin-Baylor (6-0, 5-0 ASC) and Howard Payne (6-0, 5-0 ASC) both remain undefeated this season and sit atop the ASC standings, followed by Hardin-Simmons (5-1, 4-1 ASC) with just one lost coming to UMHB.
In the national rankings, UMHB remains at No. 2 in both the D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls, while No. 8 HSU remains in the Top 10. Though unranked, Howard Payne received 41 votes in the AFCA poll and 28 in the D3football.com poll.
Belhaven (4-2, 3-2 ASC) occupies the fourth spot, followed by McMurry and ETBU in fifth. The bottom four teams in the conference are Austin College, Sul Ross State, Southwestern and Texas Lutheran – all of whom are 1-4 in conference games.
This week's conference schedule:
- McMurry at Texas Lutheran
- UMHB at Sul Ross State
- Southwestern at Hardin-Simmons
- ETBU at Austin College
- Belhaven at Howard Payne
THE MATCHUP:
The War Hawks and Bulldogs will meet for the 33rd time on Saturday. TLU owns a 19-13 advantage in the all-time series.
The Bulldogs have won the last four games since 2017, including a 51-21 win last season where McMurry slipped in the second half. In that game, Jermond Lovely caught three touchdown passes and had 106 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, McMurry's last win came in 2011 in dominant fashion, as it took down the Bulldogs 60-16 to extend a three-game win streak. The teams did not play each other from 2012-2016 with McMurry's move to NCAA Division III.
The two sides tend to score a lot against each other, as at least one of the teams has scored over 30 points in eight of the last 10 games. McMurry's largest victory came in 1998 – a 55-0 shutout win.
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 – W, 48-13 (HC)
- 10/30 at 1 PM vs. Sul Ross State – Battle of I-20 Rivalry / Military Appreciation
- 11/13 at 1 PM vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor – Senior Day
SCOUTING THE WAR HAWKS:
McMurry ranks fourth in offense and fifth in defense among conference teams, scoring 32.2 points per game and allowing 26.8 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 291.2 passing yards per game. Last week, sophomore quarterback Dexter Wyble threw five touchdown passes and was named the ASC Offensive Player of the Week.
The War Hawks have also been efficient with time of possession, ranking fourth in the conference with an average T.O.P. of 30.56 per game.
Junior Jared Mendoza leads the conference in field goals made with seven 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 71.3 rushing yards per game. He is also ninth in all-purpose yards with 92.5 per game, ranking just ahead of teammates Dee Robinson and Jermond Lovely in 11th and 12th, respectively.
Lovely, a junior wide receiver, ranks fourth in the conference with 71.8 receiving yards per game. Last week, Lovely had his first two touchdowns of the season and finished with three catches for 67 yards. Teammate Kristopher Martin also ranks Top 10 in receiving for the conference with 52.8 yards per game on 14 total catches and two scores.
Senior Josh Smith is the conference's second leading tackler with 7.4 per game, including 37 for the season. Smith is third on the all-time career tackles list at McMurry with 334 and needs 11 to move into second all-time past Colby Witt (2002-05). Smith is 45 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 6.5 per game and 26 total in five games. Junior Xavier Gayle leads the defense with 4.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two sacks. Gayle shined last week for McMurry with two interceptions – tied with Brenden Torrence for the team lead.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:
Texas Lutheran enters 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the conference with its lone win coming against Austin College.
TLU has been effective on the ground, despite its record, with 187.7 yards per game to rank third in the conference. The passing game has not been as successful with 127.3 YPG. Jacob Forton is the leading rusher for TLU at 65.3 yards per game.
Seth Cosme engineers the offense for TLU and has completed 51-of-91 passes for 728 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. His 90 total pass attempts are the fewest among current ASC starting quarterbacks, just ahead of McMurry's Wyble with 95 attempts this year.
Against a tough slate of offenses such as Howard Payne, Trinity, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Belhaven, TLU has allowed 448.3 yards per game on defense and will look to turn that total around in the second half of the season. Its two most successful defensive outings came in a 41-7 win over Austin College and a 12-10 loss to Sul Ross State.
Their leading tackler is defensive back Robert Ramierz III with 36.0 on the season and 6.0 tackles per game. Another player to watch on defense is Adbullah Sultan with 31.0 tackles and three pass breakups as a defensive back.
One odd stat to make note of on Saturday is TLU's ability to convert on fourth down. The Bulldogs are 7-for-11 when faced with its final down and own the ASC's highest conversion percentage at 63.6 percent. McMurry is 4-for-8 on fourth down and has the second-fewest conversion attempts behind UMHB.
TLU's discipline is also worth taking note of, as they average 50.3 penalty yards per game for the second fewest in the conference. On the flipside, McMurry's opponents have a league-high 103.8 yards per game, as the War Hawks have benefitted from the mistakes of its opponents at times.
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 defensive lineman Devin Nixon and senior offensive lineman Daniel Hernandez.
