LSC week 9 power rankings: Buffs continue to climb

West Texas A&M celebrates after winning the Wagon Wheel against Eastern New Mexico last Saturday. [Trevor Fleeman/ WT athletics]

1. Tarleton (8-0, 6-0): Thanks to a dominating 8-0 start to the year, the Texans earned the top spot in the first release of the NCAA Division II Super 4 Regional Rankings. Look for Tarleton to keep a strong hold on that ranking at home against MSU-Texas on Saturday.

2. Angelo State (7-1, 5-1): What a job by first-year coach Jeff Girsch. His Rams are in the playoffs as a No. 5-seed if the playoffs started today. There is lots of football left, but so far the turnaround has been pretty impressive by Girsch and his staff.

3. A&M-Commerce (6-2, 3-1): It’s been a tragic week in Commerce in light of the recent fatal shootings. The Lions football team has had to do their best to focus themselves on a Lone Star Conference showdown at West Texas A&M. TAMC currently sits at No. 6 in the regional rankings.

4. W. Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2): Coach Hunter Hughes and his team brought the Wagon Wheel back to Canyon, beating Eastern New Mexico for the first time since 2015 with a 35-14 thumping. The Buffs didn’t get much respect by the committee in the regional rankings, but a home win against Texas A&M-Commerce could turn heads.

5. E. New Mexico (5-3, 3-3): Six turnovers and an early 21-point deficit doomed the Greyhounds during a 35-14 home loss to West Texas A&M. It was coach Kelley Lee’s first loss to the Buffs in his three seasons as coach at ENMU. Lee and the Hounds will hope to regroup at UT Permian Basin on Saturday.

6. MSU-Texas (4-4, 2-3): Struggles continued for the Mustangs, as they suffered their fourth loss in the past five games. A long road trip to the Northwest didn’t go as planned with Western Oregon rolling up 501 yards of offense in a 37-22 victory.

7. W. New Mexico (1-7, 1-4): The Mustangs couldn’t find a rhythm, falling to Texas A&M-Commerce 62-21. WNM had no answer for the Lions run game allowing 279 rushing yards in the loss.

8. UTPB (2–6, 0-5): The Falcons have now dropped six straight games after a lopsided 65-7 loss to Angelo State. The UTPB offense mustered only 208 yards against Rams.

9. A&M Kingsville (1-7, 0-5): Coach Daren Wilkinson’s team gave No. 4 Tarleton everything they wanted in a 45-33 loss. The Javelinas even cut the lead to 11 early in the fourth quarter. Despite the defeat, quarterback Koy Detmer, Jr., threw for 450 yards with three touchdowns.

LSC standings

Team   LSC   Overall

Tarleton   6-0    8-0

Angelo State 5-1    7-1

A&M-Commerce   4-1  6-2

West Texas A&M   3-2  6-2

E. New Mexico  3-3  5-3

MSU-Texas 2-3    4-4

W. New Mexico   1-4  1-7

A&M-Kingsville  0-5  1-7

UT Permian Basin    0-5   2-6

Week 9

Saturday’s games

MSU-Texas at Tarleton, 2 p.m.

Angelo State at Adams State, 2 p.m.

A&M-Commerce at W. Texas A&M, 4 p.m.

E. New Mexico at UT Permian Basin, 6 p.m.

A&M-Kingsville at W. New Mexico, 7 p.m.