Jesse Burleson Show - https://youtu.be/NFwwSiyv9Ec
Kyle Brown Interview - https://youtu.be/I58kuXkJkI8
 
? Hardin-Simmons will host East Texas Baptist for the homecoming game on Saturday at 1 p.m. This is the first of three straight home games for the Cowboys. The Cowboys are 48-14-5 all-time on homecoming and have won 15 straight games. HSU beat Texas Lutheran 27-22 last season on homecoming in a dramatic game that came down to the end with TLU at the HSU 12-yard line but the defense came up with the big fourth-down stop to preserve the win.
 ? HSU is still fifth in both national polls. HSU has been fifth on several different occasions, which is the high-water mark for the Cowboys in the polls since being ranked third in 2004. ETBU is unranked and not receiving votes in either poll. HSU has been ranked for 97 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 60 of those weeks.
? The Cowboys beat McMurry for the 10th straight time and improved to 24-1 all-time since the team's started playing for the Wilford Moore Trophy. The game was a physical defensive battle with neither team gaining more than 250 yards in the contest.

The Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons is set to face its fourth straight opponent that came into the game with one or fewer losses. East Texas Baptist is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in ASC play. This will conclude the Cowboys' first trip through the round robin ASC schedule.

Up Next
HSU will be at home next weekend to face Howard Payne. HSU beat the Yellow Jackets, 38-6 in the season opener in Brownwood. The Cowboys will be celebrating Senior Day prior to this game. 

A Cowboy Win Would
?Be the 516th in school history.
?Be the eighth straight against East Texas Baptist.
?Be the 16th straight homecoming game win.
?Be the 11th straight home win.
?Be the 16th straight ASC win.
 
Fast Starts Continue
The Cowboys have done a remarkable job on the first drive of the game and the first drive of the second half this season. Offensively, the Cowboys have scored a touchdown on four of the six opening drives and also have a field goal. In the second half the Cowboys have a touchdown on the first drive in four games and added a field goal last week. On defense, the opponent has not scored in either situation. On the opening drive the Cowboys have forced two punts, a safety, an interception, a turnover on downs and a missed field goal. In the second half, HSU has forced a punt on the first drive of the second half in all six games. HSU has outscored opponents 75-6 in the first quarter and 72-0 in the third quarter this season.
 
Hargrove Gets Another
Braden Hargrove and Caden Sampson Stuckey were able to get on an extra point against McMurry. Hargrove has three blocked kicks on the season and now has nine for his career. He also added five tackles and a tackle for loss. He now has 19.5 tackles for loss for his career. He will also start his 30th career game on Saturday, which is the most starts at HSU for any current player for the Cowboys.

Roden Has Big Game
Kaiden Roden had a big game against McMurry with 16 tackles, including nine solos, he had a tackle for loss, a quarterback hurry and recovered a fumble. He earned ASC defensive player of the week honors. The 16 tackles were the most by a Cowboy since Cade Michna had 18 in the season opener last year against Albright. It was also the most tackles by an ASC player this season. He is third in the conference in tackles this season with 51.
 
Chasing 2K
Noah Garcia has moved to 1,970 career all-purpose yards and he also has 28 touchdowns. He has 1,656 yards rushing, 305 receiving and nine yards on a punt return. Garcia leads the team with 497 yards rushing and has scored 10 touchdowns on the season. His 46-yard rush on the opening drive of the second half setup a career-long 35-yard field goal by Grayson Bearden.
 
Sack Attack
The Cowboys had a season-high four sacks against McMurry. Charlie Patterson, Mark Champion, Lucas Ragsdale and Keyon House all got to Jess Hoel. It was the first career sack for Champion, Ragsdale and House.
 
Nearing the top 10
Colton Marshall has moved to 74 yards away from the top 10 on the career rushing charts for the Cowboys. He has 1,749 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns. His 19-yard reception on the opening drive set the Cowboys up for Brock Gibson's touchdown.   
 
Dozie Goes Deep Again
Wide receiver Dozie Ifeadi scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Brown to open up a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter against McMurry. It was very similar to his catch against Endicott in the fourth quarter that opened up some breathing room for the Cowboys. He has 17 catches on the year for 324 yards and five scores. For his career, he averages a touchdown every 4.17 catches.
 
Gibby Sets Career Highs
Senior tight end Brock Gibson has set career highs in receptions with seven, yards with 82 and touchdowns with two. He scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game, a 4-yarder from Kyle Brown.
 
First Downs Turn Into Touchdowns 
The Cowboys have done a great job this season on both third and fourth down conversions. HSU has converted 52.1 percent on third-down and rank 15th nationally in that category. On fourth down, the Cowboys are 7-of-8 and lead the nation at 87.5 percent. HSU ranks 32nd nationally in first downs with 136 on the year. On the flip side, the Cowboys are allowing just 31.6 percent conversions on third down on defense (25-of-79). On fourth down, opponents are just 4-of-16 and the 25 percent conversion ranks 20th nationally.
 
Red Zone
HSU has converted 26 of its 28 trips into the red zone with a score and have scored a touchdown on 23-of-28 red zone chances. That 92.9 scoring rate ranks 12th nationally.
 
About The Tigers
ETBU comes into the game 5-1 overall and 1-1 in ASC action. The Tigers lead the conference at 508.6 yards per game and they allow 325 yards per game. Paul Woodard leads a multiple-player rushing attack. He has 352 yards and nine touchdowns. Quarterback Kaden Brown has rushed for 309 yards and three touchdowns and Hymond Drinkard has 241 yards and three scores. Brown has completed 87-of-128 passes for 1,310 yards and 16 touchdowns with no interceptions. Zay Thomas has 471 yards on 23 catches and Tayjen Llanas-Wilcox has 389 yards on 21 catches with seven of those for touchdowns. Keewan Grismore has 43 tackles to lead the team and leads the way with six tackles for loss.
 
First NPI Rankings
HSU was ranked third nationally in the first official release of the NCAA Power Index standings this week. What does this mean?

For the entire time Hardin-Simmons has been a member of Division III, the selection of the NCAA Playoff field has been a system where regional advisory committees ranked teams and then all the region chairs were on the national committee that selected the playoff field. That committee has been kind and unkind to the Cowboys on Selection Sunday over the years.

The NCAA has basically taken the human element out of the selections and everyone will be judged on the same metrics, using the NCAA Power Index (NPI). NPI is a combination of the following: winning percentage; strength of schedule; home-away multiplier; quality win bonus; and overtime results (when relevant).

The playoffs have also expanded to 40 teams this year. There are 28 automatic qualifiers (which are conference champions).  24 teams will receive a first-round bye. The Stagg Bowl will be Jan. 5 in Houston. 
 
 
 
 

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