In a game that could decide the fate of the United Athletic Conference, the Wildcats will host the Tarleton State University Texans for the homecoming game on Saturday.
The Texans enter the game undefeated through the 2025 season, including a double overtime win over the Army Black Knights. In addition to the 9-0 record, the Texans are scoring over 45 points per game while giving up just 16 to their opponents.
The Wildcats enter coming off their bye week, which came after losing 31-24 at Southern Utah University on Oct. 18, dropping their season record to 4-4 and 3-1 in UAC play.
Yet to lose at Wildcat Stadium this season, Head Coach Keith Patterson said the team is capitalizing on the bye week by trying to stay fresh and look ahead at the home stretch.
“We’re getting over some bumps and bruises,” Patterson said. “We’re taking a deep breath and focusing on trying to win four games.”
The four final games for the Wildcats will be split two at home and two on the road. Following the game versus TSU, the Wildcats will play Utah Tech University at home before hitting the road for contests against Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Central Arkansas to close out the regular season.
Kaghen Roach, senior defensive lineman from Celina, said the timing of the bye week was helpful, allowing the team to work while getting healthy and ready for the final four games.
“It gives us a lot of time to learn and fix some things,” Roach said. “Going into this next stretch of the season is huge. We’re really just getting our minds and bodies right.”
One thing the Wildcats will look to fix following the loss to SUU is their rushing defense after giving up 179 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Joshua Dye.
However, the Texans bring with them No. 6 rusher in the FCS, Trey Page III, who enters the game with 765 yards and seven touchdowns on just 99 rushing attempts.
Page III has burst onto the scene for TSU after redshirting his freshman year with the Texans. He leads the team in rushing yards while being named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list for FCS Freshman of the Year.
Last time out for the Wildcats, Jordan Vaughn, senior running back from Manvel, ran for 124 yards on just nine carries, good for a 13.8 yards per carry. However, quarterback Stone Earle, senior from Fort Worth, threw three interceptions and took five sacks.
“There were some good things we did but there are a lot of things we need to work on as a whole,” Roach said. “We’re ready to attack this next game.”
In 2024, the Texans and Wildcats faced off in Stephenville on Nov. 16 in a game that decided the conference winner and allowed the Wildcats to clinch their first FCS playoff berth, winning the game 35-31.
22,348 fans attended the game in Stephenville last year, which is 10,348 more fans than the maximum capacity at Wildcat Stadium. Despite winning on the road last year, the Wildcats now have the home field advantage with a homecoming crowd in attendance.
As always, the Wildcats will look to get off the field on third down defensively, convert on third down offensively and take care of the football while forcing three or more turnovers.
The I-20 rivalry is set to kickoff at 3 p.m. Saturday with a high of 69 degrees, clear skies and winds ranging from four miles per hour to gusts up to 21 miles per hour.
