Jesse Burleson Show - https://youtu.be/sPQOg-Vdi8Q
Kaiden Roden Profile - https://youtu.be/gUCjbfWs_z4
 
 
? Hardin-Simmons will head to Belton for the first of two regular-season meetings with their top rival. The Cowboys beat the Cru 24-14 in Abilene a year ago. Before this season, whoever won the regular-season meeting between HSU and UMHB has won at least a share of every ASC title since the Cru joined the league in 1998.
 
? HSU is ranked sixth in both national polls. HSU has been fifth on several occasions and in weeks 8-11 of 2004 HSU was ranked third, which is the highest in Division III school history. Mary Hardin-Baylor is ranked No. 13 by D3football.com and No. 17 in the AFCA poll. HSU has been ranked for 95 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 58 of those weeks.
 
? The Cowboys have now won 10 straight games at home. It is the longest home winning streak since winning 17 in a row from 1998 to 2000.
 
? Saturday's win over Endicott was the first win over a top-10 team since a 29-26 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2015. It was the first win over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2011 when the Cowboys beat Coe in the first game of the Jesse Burleson era, 41-14.
 
The Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons is in the middle of a four-game run against teams with a winning record. HSU beat 4-0 Endicott last week, plays 2-1 Mary Hardin-Baylor this week, then goes across town to play 3-1 McMurry and the homecoming game against 3-1 East Texas Baptist. HSU and UMHB will square off on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Belton. The game is homecoming for the Crusaders. 
 
Up Next
The Cowboys will go across town for the Wilford Moore trophy game against McMurry. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
 
A Cowboy Win Would
?Be the 514th in school history.
?Be the first win in Belton since a 49-22 win in 2004. It would be the first HSU win at Crusader Stadium.
?Give the Cowboys back-to-back wins over ranked teams.
 
Double Dip
The Cowboys had the double dip with a touchdown right before halftime and then received the ball to start the second half and drove down and scored. Endicott had taken a 14-7 lead with 1:48 to play in the first half but Kyle Brown executed a perfect 11-play, 65-yard drive and Noah Garcia went over the top for a 1-yard touchdown with eight seconds left in the half to tie the game at 14. HSU then opened the second half with an 11-play, 72-yard drive that took 6:23 off the clock to push the lead to 21-14. 
 
Block That Kick
Braden Hargrove did it again on Saturday, recording his second block of the season and eighth of his career. He was an All-American special teams player last year.
 
Getting Off The Field
The Cowboys were able to stop Endicott three times on fourth down. On the first drive, a bad snap ended the drive. Endicott came up short on passes on fourth-and-four and fourth-and-three in the fourth quarter. HSU ranks 11th nationally in first downs allowed on the season, allowing just 54 over four games.
 
You Probably Need A Third 
Wide receiver Tailon Garrett had his best game of the year as he caught six balls for 122 yards and a touchdown. The highlight came in the third quarter when Endicott had two defenders on him as he was the only receiver on the left side of the field and he beat them both and went in for a touchdown.
 
Elite Company
The Cowboys rank No. 20 in the nation in both total offense and total defense. HSU is one of just seven schools to be in both top 20s - joining Case Western Reserve, Cortland State, Grove City, Hope, Marietta, UMass-Dartmouth and Washington and Jefferson. HSU also ranks second nationally in scoring offense at 59 points per game.
 
The Dagger
HSU led 27-21 late in the fourth quarter. Facing a third-and-13 from the Endicott 34, Kyle Brown and Dozie Ifeadi connected on a huge touchdown pass. Endicott sent an all-out blitz and Brown retreated threw off his back foot as he was taking a shot from a defender and placed a perfectly placed ball over Ifeadi's shoulder for a touchdown. The play ranks right up there with Ryan Breton's throw to Jessie Ramos' to beat UMHB in 2015 and Reese Childress' game-winner in the final seconds from Weston Garner at Texas Lutheran that same season on the HSU last-minute clutch list. 
 
Third-Down Conversions
The Cowboys have been tremendous on third-down conversions this season. For the year, HSU ranks fifth nationally at 60.4 percent and HSU is over 50 percent in all four games. Under Jesse Burleson, the Cowboys are 51-0 all-time when they convert 50 percent or better on third down. The defense is allowing just a 26.5 percent conversion rate and is ranked 22nd.
 
Foster Gets A Dozen
Harrison Foster recorded a dozen tackles against Endicott. He ranks second in the ASC at 8.8 tackles per game and has 35 total tackles which leads the league.
 
Move The Pile
Colton Marshall, who has missed most of the season with injury, was huge on Saturday. He scored a pair of short touchdowns, which has been his calling card as a Cowboy. He also may have had one of the biggest plays of the game to extend the drive that Brown eventually hit Ifeadi for the clincher. Facing a fourth-and-one Marshall lined up at quarterback took the direct snap trying to get the first down and ended up carrying several defenders down the field for a 13-yard gain. The two rushing touchdowns give him 33 for his career and he has 35 total touchdowns. He needs five more rushing touchdowns to move to second all-time and he is 11 TDs away from Jaquan Hemphill's school record.  He is also 120 yards away from the top 10 in career rushing.
 
Heavy Dose of Noah
Noah Garcia has never been a volume carry back for the Cowboys as his most carries before Saturday in a game was 19. He got the rock 26 times and responded with 116 tough yards against one of the top defenses in the country. He scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game and the 100-yard effort was the seventh of his career. He has played in 20 games at HSU and has 27 career touchdowns. He has 1,831 all-purpose yards for his career. He ranks third nationally with nine rushing touchdowns on the year.
 
Running The Show
Kyle Brown is off to a great start to the season as he has efficiently run the show under center. With the Cowboys playing to big leads in the first three games, he had not really had a chance to open up the passing game. When the Cowboys fell behind for the first time this season, he was able to run the two-minute drill perfectly for a touchdown at the end of the half. When the Cowboys needed the quarterback to deliver a play he did it again in the fourth quarter. For the year, he has completed 76-of-100 passes for 912 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions. He was the ASC offensive player of the week last week. HSU ranks fifth nationally completing 74.3 percent of its passes. Brown ranks fifth nationally at 76 percent and they are not all short passes either as he ranks 34th in yards per attempt. He also ranks 11th nationally with a 185.6 quarterback efficiency rating.
 
First Starts
Mason Butchee got his first start and played the entire game on Saturday at right tackle. With Jaxon Lunsford out with an injury, Butchee held up well in his first start.
 
About The Cru
UMHB is 2-1 on the year with wins over East Texas Baptist and UW-Whitewater and a loss to Bethel (Tenn.). UMHB had a game against Westgate Christian that did not count because they are not an accredited school and another canceled by John Melvin, who is also not accredited. The Cru is averaging 29 points per game and allowing 21.7. They average 365 yards per game on offense and allowing 327.7 on defense. UMHB has used the turnover as a weapon, forcing 14 turnovers on the year. UW-Whitewater turned it over eight times. They have six interceptions and have forced eight fumbles. UMHB has turned the ball over 10 times on the year on offense. Issac Phe is 52-of-87 for 597 yards and five TDs with seven interceptions at quarterback. Kamerin Ferguson (289 yards) and Asa Osburn (122 yards) have been a solid tandem at running back. Six different players have between six and eight catches. All-American linebacker Durand Hill leads the defense with 30 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. Justin Hines-Moore leads with three sacks.   
 

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