The Teams
Hardin-Simmons comes into the game with a 4-1 record after a 19-16 overtime win over McMurry last week.  The Bulldogs are coming into the game with a record of 1-4 overall after a 55-21 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor last week in Seguin.
 
The Coaches
Jesse Burleson is in his 13th season as the head coach for the Cowboys and has posted a 92-32 record at HSU. He has led the Cowboys to the NCAA playoffs on five different occasions. Neal LaHue is in his second season with the Bulldogs but 36th season in coaching. He had previously served at Texas A&M-Kingsville and prior to that was the offensive coordinator for Carl Gustafson at TLU. He also spent several years in the high school ranks at Buda and Kerrville Tivy. He was also the offensive coordinator at Austin Westlake from 1993-96 and coached NFL player Drew Brees.
 
In The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked No. 20 in both the D3football.com poll and No. 21 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. TLU is not receiving votes in either poll. The Cowboys have been ranked for 86 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 56 of those weeks.
 
Homecoming
This is homecoming weekend at Hardin-Simmons. The Cowboys are 47-14-5 all-time on homecoming and have won 14 straight homecoming games. HSU beat East Texas Baptist, 27-7, in 2022.
 
Hall of Fame Inductee - Adam Hernandez
Cowboy great Adam Hernandez will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday evening. Hernandez, one of the strongest athletes ever at Hardin-Simmons, was a dominating offensive lineman for some of the best HSU teams in the Division III era. He was a two-time first-team All-American as an offensive guard and ASC Offensive Lineman of the Year as a junior and senior at HSU.  A two-time first-team All-ASC selection and a second teamer as a sophomore, he was named to the 2nd Team AP Little All-American Team consisting of players from Division II, Division III, and NAIA schools. Former greats Mitch Aston (tennis), Regan Dixon (baseball) and Andrea (Gilbreth) McMinn will also be inducted. 
 
Broadcasts
HSU will be broadcasting home games only this season on www.hsuathletics.com. Al Pickett is back for his 19th season as HSU's play-by-play man and he will be joined in the booth by former Cowboy player Ty Crain.
 
Tickets
All tickets for HSU home games can be purchased on www.hsuathletics.com.
 
Last Time Out
Colton Marshall scored a touchdown in overtime to give Hardin-Simmons a 19-16 win over McMurry in the Wilford Moore Trophy game.
 
Next Up
HSU will hit the road to Alpine next week for the final time for a noon kickoff with Sul Ross State. The Lobos are leaving the American Southwest Conference after this season for the Lone Star Conference and a move to Division II.
 
A Cowboy Win Would
? Be the 505th win in school history.
? Give Jesse Burleson win No. 93 as the Cowboys' head coach.
? Be the fourth straight over Texas Lutheran.
? Improve the Cowboys to 48-14-5 all-time on homecoming.
 
Rare Overtime Game
The Cowboys played a rare overtime game last week. It was the first time HSU had played an overtime game since winning against Texas Lutheran in a wild double-overtime affair, 65-58, in Seguin in 2012.
 
Next Man Up Mentality
It has been a year like no other on the injury front. Going into the season the Cowboys had four returning players on defense that had earned all-ASC and all-region honors. Jordan Hammonds, Brock Bujnoch, Davonte Nephew and Matt Mitchell. Hammonds was injured in the preseason and will miss the season, Nephew was injured in the UW-La Crosse game and is out for the season, Mitchell had an appendectomy prior to the Endicott game and has been out since and Bujnoch was ejected on a targeting call in the first half on Saturday. Add in Cade Michna who was among the leading tacklers in the nation through two games and he went out with an ankle injury against Endicott on the first series of the game. The Cowboys have had to retool the defense on the fly. Starting quarterback Gaylon Glynn has also been out since the Endicott game and starting center Michael Callahan is also out with injury.    Through it all the Cowboys have found a way to go 4-1 on the season and all of the preseason goals for the team are still reachable in front of them. 
 
Grinding Out Games
Cowboy fans have been spoiled for the most part with blowout games for the past several years. In fact, since 2015 the Cowboys have won at least eight games every year (with the 4-1 COVID season being the only exception). HSU is 71-14 over that time frame and there have only been 14 games decided by one score. In the 71 wins, HSU has an average margin of victory in those 71 games of 34.3 points per game. HSU has won three one-score games for the first time since the 2008 season. That year the Cowboys won three straight one-score games and finished the year in the NCAA playoffs. The last time HSU played four or more one-score games in a season was 1999 and that team went to the NCAA quarterfinals. They were 4-1 in those one-score games. The whole point is to go 1-0 every week and two of the better teams in school history have played close games.  
 
Moving The Chains
A.J. Hawkins was solid in his second career start as he went 22-of-29 for 185 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team with 84 yards rushing. The Cowboys produced 24 first downs and had 413 yards of offense. He led the team down the field at the end of the first half and second half with well-executed drives to set the team up in field goal positions but both times the field goals were blocked. HSU had four drives in the game of 13 or more plays.   
 
Featherston Tops 1,500 Yards
Myles Featherston eclipsed the 1,500-yard rushing mark on Saturday against McMurry. He now has 1,508 rushing yards in his career. 
 
A Man of the "Peoples"
K.J. Peoples gave the Cowboys a 13-7 lead with a 34-yard touchdown reception. It was the second straight week he has made a big play for a touchdown as he sparked the win over Howard Payne with a kickoff return for a score.
 
Don't Throw At Him 
DeMarcus Coleman had another interception for the Cowboys. It was his third interception of the year. He has been playing more with the Cowboys using three down lineman and five defensive backs and he can play all of the positions in the defensive backfield. He also led the team with six tackles on Saturday.
 
Ball Hawk
Tre Allen has always been around the football when he is on the field. He recorded his fifth career interception on Saturday.
 
First Starts
Evan Tapp and Mekhai Coleman made their first career starts on Saturday against McMurry. Tapp filled in for Cason Hanna who missed the first half after being ejected for targeting in the second half of the Howard Payne game. Coleman started at corner as all-region corner Brock Bujnoch has moved to the safety spot.
 
Moving Up The Charts
Cody Harral has moved up the charts he now ranks sixth with 84 career punts and fifth with 3413 punting yards. He is 18th nationally in punting on the year at 40.8 per punt and the Cowboys rank 14th nationally in net punting at 37.5 yards per punt. Harral has 26 punts inside the 20 for his career.
 
Block That Kick
Braden Hargrove had his second blocked kick of the year and the third of his career in the win over McMurry. The blocked PAT kept the game tied at 13 in the third quarter.
 
Garrett Continues To Produce
Tailon Garrett had nine catches for 99 yards against McMurry. For the year, he leads the ASC with 30 catches.
 
About Texas Lutheran
The Bulldogs have several veteran players, especially in skill positions. Jacob Forton leads the way with 320 rushing yards and six touchdowns and DaKory Willis has 209 yards rushing. Seth Cosme is a veteran at quarterback and he has 783 yards and two touchdowns. He was replaced by Caden Bosanko and Bosanko is listed as the starter this week. Jacob Wallace leads the receiving corps with 21 catches for 294 yards. The Bulldogs are averaging 338 yards of offense and allowing 435 per game. Tristan Smith leads the team with 26 tackles and Markel Turner has 24. The Bulldogs only have one sack on the season. Jermario Thomas leads the team with four interceptions. Third down has been an issue for the Bulldogs as they are allowing teams to convert at 48.2 percent and TLU has converted just 38 percent.