Jesse Burleson Show - https://youtu.be/ZJMNNa7fzMs
Harrison Foster Player Spotlight - https://youtu.be/9OY-lkIdo2E

The Opening Kickoff
Hardin-Simmons will close out the regular season with a lot on the line. Most importantly, the Cowboys' season will continue with a win. HSU will clinch the automatic berth into the NCAA Championship from the American Southwest Conference with a win as HSU has the tiebreaker due to the point differential against UMHB in the two games. It would be the 11th all-time ASC title for HSU. The Cowboys also won the title in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2015, 2023 and 2024. It is also senior day for the Cowboys and the 19 seniors will be honored on the video board at halftime and they will also lineup with the captains for the coin toss. The Cowboys also are looking to complete a home undefeated regular season for the third straight year and the fourth time in the last five years. HSU is 5-0 at home this season and has won 18 straight home games in the regular season. The Cowboys have won 10 straight games against East Texas Baptist, including a 34-16 win in Marshall on Oct. 18.

Up Next
With a win on Saturday, the Cowboys will be in the NCAA playoffs. When and where will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT. The announcement will be streamed on NCAA.com.

In The Polls
Hardin-Simmons dropped to No. 13 in the D3football.com poll and No. 12 in the
American Football Coaches Association poll. The Cowboys are ranked 10th in the NPI rankings used to determine the NCAA field. HSU has been ranked for 112 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 73 of those weeks.

A Cowboy Win Would
? Be the 528th in school history.
? Give the Cowboys their 11th American Southwest Conference Title.
? Would give the Cowboys a berth in the NCAA playoffs for the fourth straight year.
? Be the 116th in the Jesse Burleson era.
 
About East Texas Baptist
The Tigers come into the game with a record of 4-5 on the season and have lost five straight games. They fell 34-27 to Howard Payne in overtime last week in Marshall. The Tigers average 28 points per game and allow 30. Running back Paul Woodard leads the ASC with 103.9 yards per game on the ground. He did not play the first time the two teams played. The Tigers have used a pair of quarterbacks. Shai Markajani has 1279 passing yards and Jaylen Spriggs has 615. Spriggs played the last time the two teams met. Kobe Chambers has 511 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Dominick Williams leads the Tigers' defense with 71 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He leads the ASC in all three categories.     
 
The Series With East Texas Baptist
HSU holds a 24-2 all-time record in the series with East Texas Baptist. HSU is 12-0 at home and 12-2 all-time in Marshall. The Cowboys are 14-2 against the Tigers under Jesse Burleson. HSU has won 10 straight meetings against the Tigers, including 34-16 in a lightning-delayed game in Marshall on Oct. 18.

Physical Affair
Saturday's game against Mary Hardin-Baylor was a physical affair that saw the two teams combine to force seven fumbles and the teams ended up losing five of those. Most of those were rip aways on gang tackling. Bruin Wright, Hayden Hays, Harrison Foster and Micah Henderson had forced fumbles for the Cowboys on Saturday.   

To The House
The Cowboys recorded their fifth defensive score of the season when Matt Pascuzzi picked up a fumble and raced 73 yards for the Cowboys' first touchdown of the day. It was the first fumble that was returned for a score for the Cowboys this season. The other four defense scores have been interception returns.

Welcome Back
Senior tight end Christian Marshall has been limited or out for the last three weeks with an injury and he made his way back to the game on Saturday. He scored on a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He finished the day with three catches.
 
Turner Adds Another Element
Punter Kaden Turner threw a 12-yard pass for a first down last week. As the holder, he has passed, received and rushed for a two-point conversion this season. He also averaged 43.2 yards on his five punts on Saturday.  
 
20-Start Club
The Cowboys now have nine players on the team with 20 career starts and three more will join them this week. Noah Garcia leads the way for the Cowboys with 32. Hayden Philpot is next with 27 (including 27 straight). Garrett Tittle and Bode Walters each have 21 starts. Mike Akinbisola, Harrison Foster, Kyle Brown, Kris Sims and Hayden Hays hit 20 starts on Saturday and Kaiden Roden, Jaxon Lunsford and Dozie Ifeadi will get there this week.
               
Tough Under Fire
Senior quarterback Kyle Brown was under pressure most of the day and was sacked five times, but he also had 41 yards on scrambles and converted two third downs with his feet. He also completed 23-of-33 passes in the contest.

Sink Leads The Way
Kade Sink led the Cowboy defense with nine tackles, including one for loss. He also added a fumble recovery. He is one of three Cowboys with over 60 tackles on the season.

Butcher Gets A Pick
Starting cornerback Collin Hill got banged up and Tate Butcher came in to replace him. The Crusaders tested him with a long ball on the first play and he came up with his first career interception late in the third quarter.

All-Around Noah
Noah Garcia had another all-around game. He had 45 yards rushing, had 10 catches for 78 yards and had 80 yards on two kickoff returns. He was the first Cowboy player with 10 catches in a game since Reese Childress had 11 against McMurry in 2018. He is averaging 172.1 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks seventh nationally.

Stopping The Run
Hardin-Simmons' rushing defense allowed over 100 yards in the first four games. The last five, they held opponents to under 100 yards rushing per game. Opponents have averaged 74 yards per game over the last five. On the year, they are allowing 3.1 yards a carry.

Takeaways
The defense forced four turnovers on the day to run their total to 17 on the year. The Cowboy defense has forced a turnover in 13 straight games dating back to last season. The last game where the defense did not force a turnover was against ETBU on October 26th.
 
Noteables
The Cowboys suffered their first regular-season loss since September 22, 2023, against Endicott in Beverly, Mass...Saturday is Senior Day for the Cowboy seniors. Under Burleson HSU is 14-0 on Senior Day...Kyle Brown tied his career high with 23 completions. He has reached that number three times in his career. The first two were against Howard Payne in 2024 and against Nelson this year. On the year, Brown has 2,217 yards through the air with 18 touchdowns...Pedro Altamirano added a 26-yard field goal. Altamirano is now 9-11 on the year and 46-48 on extra points this year.

2025 Seniors
The 2025 senior class has a record of 36-6, has won two ASC titles and can claim a third on Saturday and played in three NCAA playoff games. They are 18-2 in Shelton Stadium and 24-2 in American Southwest Conference play.
      
 
 

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