LSC week 10 power rankings: Texans clinch share of conference title, Buffs hold in top four

West Texas A&M fullback Jordan Johnson (16) keeps his footing to score a touchdown against Texas A&M-Commerce last Saturday. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]

1. Tarleton (9-0, 7-0): Tarleton embarrassed arch-rival MSU-Texas by handing the Mustangs their worst loss in school history, 66-7. Thanks to a dominating performance, the Texans clinched a share of the Lone Star Conference championship, while holding the top-spot in the NCAA Division II Super 4 Regional Rankings.

2. Angelo State (8-1, 5-1): It was another smooth weekend for the Rams as they rolled nonconference foe Adams State, 41-21. Former Caprock running back Kaleb King rushed for a career-high 113 yards with two touchdowns.

3. A&M-Commerce (7-2, 5-1): Quarterback Miklo Smalls took over in the final 10 minutes as the Lions scored 14 unanswered to put away a stingy West Texas A&M team, 34-20. Smalls was named LSC Offensive Player of the Week for his late game heroics, finishing the game with 214 yards with a touchdown pass and running for a score.

4. W. Texas A&M (6-3, 3-3): Coach Hunter Hughes team is a handful of plays away from being 8-1. However, a young WT team shows inconsistencies that hurts them at times from getting over that major hump. If the Buffs can win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, it will be WT’s first time to reach seven wins since the 2013 season.

5. E. New Mexico (5-4, 3-4): The Greyhounds hold on to the fifth spot despite a two-game losing skid. ENMU will hope to turn things around in a spoiler role when it host Angelo State on Saturday.

6. UTPB (3–6, 1-5): The Falcons move up two spots after a come-from-behind 48-38 home win at Eastern New Mexico. Congrats to the fourth year program on winning a program-best three wins in a season.

7. MSU-Texas (4-5, 2-4): The wheels fell off fast and MSU-Texas couldn’t recover, suffering its worst loss in school history, 66-7, at Tarleton. The Mustangs are in a tail spin, dropping four of their last five games.

8. A&M Kingsville (2-7, 1-5): Coach Daren Wilkinson and his team got an overdue win, rallying to beat Western New Mexico, 44-30. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak, and gave the Javelinas their first LSC win. QB Koy Detmer, Jr. threw for 296 yards with two touchdowns.

9. W. New Mexico (1-8, 1-5): The slumping Mustangs couldn’t hold on to a halftime lead, falling dropping their fourth in a row. They will try to snap that skid at struggling MSU-Texas on Saturday.

LSC standings

Team   LSC   Overall

Tarleton   7-0    9-0

Angelo State 5-1    8-1

A&M-Commerce   5-1  7-2

West Texas A&M    3-3  6-3

E. New Mexico  3-4  5-4

MSU-Texas 2-4    4-5

UT Permian Basin   1-5    3-6

A&M-Kingsville  1-5  2-7

W. New Mexico   1-5  1-8

Week 10

Saturday’s games

Tarleton at William Jewel, 1 p.m.

W. New Mexico at MSU-Texas, 1 p.m.

W. Texas A&M at A&M-Kingsville, 3 p.m.

UT Permian Basin at A&M-Commerce, 4 p.m.

Angelo State at E. New Mexico, 7 p.m.