Jesse Burleson Show - https://youtu.be/vRw4PXKGPuc
Player Profile Corbyn Cornell -- https://youtu.be/mYqTDTVSoT0
 
The Opening Kickoff
HSU (9-0 and 5-0 in ASC) closes out the regular season on Saturday at East Texas Baptist (5-3, 2-3 ASC). HSU has played in Marshall four of the last five seasons.
 
The Cowboys close out the season at East Texas Baptist for the second-straight season. HSU won the first meeting between the two teams on Oct. 26 in Abilene by a score of 38-22. The Cowboys have won eight straight games in the series.
 
Hardin-Simmons claimed its second-straight and 10th overall American Southwest Conference Championship last week against UMHB. HSU has won ASC titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2015, 2023 and 2024. The Cowboys earned the automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs.
 
 HSU moved up a spot to fourth in the D3football.com poll and is still fifth in the American Football Coaches Association poll. HSU has been ranked for 100 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 63 of those weeks.
 
The NCAA announced this week that all playoff games will be streamed on ESPN+. This will require you to have a subscription to ESPN which is $11.95 per month. We want everyone to know in advance so you can plan accordingly.
 
Up Next
Hardin-Simmons is assured a spot in the NCAA playoffs and with a win will be a top-eight seed, which means they are protected with home games. The NCAA is using the NCAA Power Index this season and the Cowboys are currently ranked second in this week's version of the NPI. 
 
NCAA Selection Show
The NCAA selection show will be on Sunday at 4 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Cowboys will find out their bracket for the NCAA playoffs at that time. All games are slated for noon local time, up until the semifinals.
 
Last Time Versus ETBU
HSU jumped out to a 31-7 lead in the third quarter and cruised to a 38-22 victory. The Cowboy defense made life tough on the Tigers as they recorded five sacks, including two by Charlie Patterson. Tailon Garrett had nine catches for 112 yards and had a 67-yard touchdown. Noah Garcia had 87 yards rushing and Colton Marshall added 76 yards on the ground and they both scored a touchdown. 
 
A Cowboy Win Would
?Be the 518th in school history.
?Be the ninth-straight against ETBU.
?Be the eighth-straight road win in the regular season.
?Be the 19th straight ASC win.
 
Looking For Perfection
The Cowboys have a chance for their first undefeated regular season since 2004. HSU has only had three perfect regular seasons in its Division III history (1999, 2000 and 2004). There are 12 undefeated teams in the nation: Cortland State, DePauw, HSU, Hope, Lake Forest, Mount Union, North Central, Saint John's, Salisbury, Springfield, UMass-Dartmouth and Whitworth. HSU and Texas Wesleyan are the only undefeated college teams in the state of Texas.
 
 
Title Town
Hardin-Simmons claimed three American Southwest Conference titles last weekend and all three came on home turf. The Cowboys beat Mary Hardin-Baylor, 27-19. The women's soccer team beat UMHB, 1-0, on Sunday and men's soccer beat LeTourneau, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon.
 
Sack Attack Continues
HSU continues to make life difficult on opposing quarterbacks. HSU racked up six more sacks against Mary Hardin-Baylor and now lead the ASC with 27 sacks. The Cowboys rank 20th nationally at three sacks per game. Charlie Patterson had three sacks in the game against UMHB and LeBron Tah added 1.5.
 
Patterson Racks Up The Awards
Patterson finished the game with 13 tackles and three sacks and was named the ASC defensive player of the week, was named to the D3football.com team of the week and was named the College Football Network defensive player of the week. He leads the ASC with eight sacks and ranks 25th nationally in sacks.
 
Gomes Back On Top
All-American kick returner Dameon Gomes moved back to No. 1 in Division III in punt returns, averaging 21.1 yards per return. He had a season-long 42-yard return against UMHB. He led the nation in punt return average last season as well. He ranks 13th nationally in kickoff return yards at 29.4 per return. He leads the ASC in both categories. He has also moved up to third all-time at HSU in punt return yardage with 755. He trails only Collin McCormick (976) and Barry Donham (869).
 
Next Man Up
Starting running back Noah Garcia missed last week's game and Colton Marshall was limited to one carry. The Cowboys put the ball in the hands of freshman Braylon Henry and he toted the rock 28 times for 85 yards and a touchdown and Dameon Gomes saw his most extensive action at running back and had six carries for 48 yards.
 
 
Ball Hawks
Harrison Foster recorded his third interception of the season against UMHB. His interception came in the end zone ending a UMHB scoring threat. He is tied for the lead in the ASC in interceptions. Freshman defensive back Keyon House had a huge interception at the end of the first half. He returned the ball 46 yards and it set up a field goal for the Cowboys on the last play of the half to push the lead out to 20-3.  
 
Brumgard Has Big Game
Freshman Ethan Brumgard has handled the punting and kickoff duties for the Cowboys this season and been very good at both. On Saturday, he added placekicking duties when Grayson Bearden had an emergency appendectomy on Monday. Brumgard hit a pair of field goals and made all three extra points. He also hit three of his five kickoffs for touchbacks. He has pounded 35 of his 70 kickoffs this season for touchbacks.
 
Third-Down Efficiency
The Cowboys have been efficient on third down on both sides of the ball this season. On offense, the Cowboys are converting at a 51.4 percent clip this year which ranks 15th nationally. HSU is 5-0 this season and 52-0 all-time under Jesse Burleson when they convert over 50 percent in a game on third down. On fourth down, the Cowboys are even better converting a nation-leading 84.6 percent of the time (11-of-13). The defense ranks 26th nationally allowing just a 29.5 percent conversion rate. HSU is 5-0 on the year and 41-2 all-time under Burleson when allowing teams to convert at a rate of 25 percent or less.
 
Consistent Up Front
The Cowboys' offensive line has been very productive and it has been the same starting unit for all but one game. Khalil Spivey (left tackle), Garret Tittle (left guard), Hayden Philpot (center) and Bode Walters (right guard) have started all nine games. Jaxon Lunsford has started eight of the nine games at right tackle. The Cowboys are tied for the lead in rushing at almost 200 yards per game. HSU has allowed just 11 sacks in 232 pass attempts this season, a rate of just one sack every 21.1 pass attempts.
 
About The Tigers
The Tigers come into the game with a balanced offensive attack. They are tied with the Cowboys as the top rushing team in the league at 195.3 yards per game and 262.5 yards per game through the air. Defensively, they allow 342.3 yards per game. Freshman quarterback Kaden Brown is having a good season, completing 156-of-226 passes for 2,013 yards and 21 touchdowns with just two interceptions. They also have two of the top receivers in the conference in Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox and Zay Thomas. Llanas-Wilcox has 37 catches for 628 yards and 10 touchdowns. Thomas has 36 for 620 yards and three touchdowns. Running backs Paul Woodard (545 yards and 10 TDs) and Hymond Drinkard (362 yards and 4 TDs) offer an effective 1-2 punch. Brown also has run for 333 yards and four scores. Defensively, Keewan Grismore leads the way with 67 tackles. Jahkamian Carr has 8.5 tackles for loss and a team-best 3.5 sacks. Grismore leads the team with three interceptions.
 

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