The Eastern New Mexico football team will travel down to San Angelo, Texas for their final road game of the season on Saturday afternoon against Angelo State at 1 p.m.

Eastern will be seeking it’s third win in a row and have held three opponents in a row under 10 points for the first time since 1995. Saturday’s contest will be the first time all season the Hounds will compete in a day game and will be the final game before next Saturday’s home finale against Western Oregon.

MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW
• Last week’s 24-7 victory over UT-Permian Basin gave Eastern New Mexico football it’s third win in a row and moved the Hounds into fourth place in the Lone Star Conference standings.
• Eastern has outscored their opponents by a combined total of 107-to-16 over the past three games and has outgained their opposition by a total of 1,365-to-812 yards during that stretch as well.
• Eastern remains undefeated in the Kelley Lee era when leading after the first quarter and jumped all over UT-Permian Basin last week, building a 10-0 lead at the conclusion of the opening quarter.

THE BATTLE FOR THE TOP SPOT
• This week’s match-up with Angelo State will be for sole possession of fourth place in the LSC standings, and will give the winner of the game the inside track to being the top team in the LSC not in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Commerce and Midwestern State all rank in the top seven of the Super Region Four rankings, which would earn each team a spot in the national play-offs if the season were to end today.
• The top team in the LSC not in the national play-offs has traditionally secured a bid to a post-season bowl game, making this weekend’s game crucial for the postseason hopes of both teams.

ON THE ROAD UNDER THE SUNSHINE
• Eastern New Mexico has traditionally been a strong road team during the past few seasons, especially in day games.
• The Hounds are 8-1 since 2013 in day games on the road and have never been defeated in a day game under the direction of coach Lee.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE AND MORE DEFENSE
• To say the defensive turnaround for Eastern New Mexico is impressive would be a drastic understatement. The Hounds have surrendered totals of 400, 134 and 278 yards in their last three games, a tremendous improve after surrendering 512, 455 and 289 in their first three games of the season.
• The Hounds have kept opponents under 300 yards of total offense four times this season and now rank third in the LSC in scoring defense (21.7 ypg).
• Much of the defensive success can be attributed to the strong linebacker play that the Hounds have seen all season from sophomore Noah Sweitzer and senior Brad Hardin. Sweitzer ranks 11th in the LSC with 7.4 tackles per game while Hardin averages 7.0.
• Sophomore Dante Urrea has captained a defensive secondary that ranks fourth in the LSC in pass defense, surrendering just 207.9 yards per game. He along with Ricky Barfield, Charles Countee and Tony Andrews have formed a formidable defensive backs unit that has seemingly improves each and every game.

BACK TO BACK
• Junior Paul Terry has now rushed for 100 yards or more in two consecutive games after rumbling for 126 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in last week’s win over UT-Permian Basin.
• Terry ranks fourth in the LSC with an average of 92.3 yards per game and leads the team with 170 carries on the season.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
• Angelo State has been dominant over inferior competition all season, but have struggled against the league’s top dogs. The Rams lost to Midwestern State and Tarleton State by a combined 42 points and also lost to a West Texas A&M team that the Hounds shutout two weeks ago.
• Angelo consistently serves as one of the more disruptive defensive units in the conference, leading the LSC and ranking third in all of Division II with 16 passes intercepted. Those turnovers often times begin with heavy pressure from a talented defensive line, including the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the nation’s leader in tackles for loss in Markus Jones. Jones also leads the LSC with 14 sacks on the season, averaging an incredible 1.56 per game.
• Jones and senior Grant Aschenbeck have combined to lead a rushing defense for the Rams that ranks second in the LSC, giving up just 108.4 yards per game. Aschenbeck averages 10.1 tackles per game, second best in the LSC.
• Offensively the Rams sport a balanced attack across the board, ranking third in rushing offense (173.3 ypg) and second in passing offense (290.9 ypg).
• Tailback Tyrese Nathan leads the way for the Rams on the ground with an average of 87.7 yards per game while two quarterbacks have made an impact for Angelo State at different points throughout the year in Payne Sullins and Charlie Rotherham. The two quarterbacks have combined to toss 19 passing touchdowns on the season, six of which have been to the team’s leading receiver in Lawson Ayo, who averages 85.3 yards per game.

BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION
• Time and time again special teams proves to be such a vital component to success in the game of football. As the season winds downs and the bumps and bruises continue to settle in on every single team across the nation, the battle for field position will continue to prove more and more important.
• The Hounds have been solid all season long when forced to punt and are ranked 41st in the nation in net punting with an average of 36.27 yards per punt. Eastern New Mexico has also been outstanding when defending against the punt return, ranking 13th in the nation in total punt defense.

WELCOME MR. JACKSON
• Among the multiple factors influencing the success of the Eastern New Mexico defense during their recent three game winning streak, junior Xavier Jackson has proven to be an unsung hero over the past two weeks on the defensive line.
• Jackson has recorded sacks in back-to-back games against West Texas A&M and UT-Permian Basin, including two against the Buffs. The Jacksonville, Fla. native has totaled four tackles for a loss in the past two contests and has provided a nice spark as of late for the defensive line.

JOHNNY WANTS THEM ALL
• One of the more intriguing stats that has developed this season for the Hounds has been the receiving prowess of tailback Johnny Smith. Despite serving as a running back for Eastern, Smith has hauled in all six of the receiving touchdowns on the season for the Hounds.
• Smith has recorded just 12 receptions, six of which have gone for a touchdown. The El Paso, Texas native has totaled 337 yards receiving and ranks second in the LSC in all-purpose yards with an average of 137.6 yards per game.

THE FINAL ROAD TEST
• Eastern New Mexico has won their last two road finales of the year dating back to the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
• The Hounds will be looking to finish the season with a road record better than .500 for the fifth time in the last six years going all the way back to the 2013 season.

THE FIRST SINCE 1995
• The Hounds have now held three opponents in a row to less than 10 points for the first time since 1995.

RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST THE RAMS
• Eastern has won five out of their last eight meetings with the Rams since ending a five-year losing streak to Angelo State from 2006-2010.
• A win on Saturday in San Angelo would be the first time the Greyhounds have won three straight over Angelo State since the 2005 season.