Texas A&M-Commerce Lions (1-6, 1-2 SLC) at HCU Huskies (3-4, 1-2 SLC)
Saturday, Oct. 28 – 2 p.m.
Husky Stadium – Houston, Texas
Watch
Live Stats
Game Notes
HOUSTON – The HCU football team returns to the field after last weekend's bye to host the newest member of the Southland Conference, Texas A&M-Commerce, for Homecoming on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Husky Stadium. Saturday's game will be shown live on ESPN+ with the voice of the Huskies, Garrett Jones, providing play-by-play.
HCU (3-4, 1-2 SLC) and Texas A&M-Commerce (1-6, 1-2 SLC) have played twice before with just one of those games counting as the first came in the team's 2013 developmental season. Last season, in the first meeting between the two teams as SLC opponents, the Lions earned a 31-3 victory over the Huskies. Linebackers
Rodney Dansby and
Jalyx Hunt combined for 19 tackles and three sacks in the loss.
The Huskies are back in action after their bye week following the team's second shutout of the season, defeating Prairie View A&M, 30-0, on Saturday, Oct. 14. HCU boasts the No. 2 rushing attack in the conference thanks to a stable of four running backs all averaging at least 59 yards per game on the ground. Junior
Darryle Evans leads the team with 357 yards gained on the ground while fellow junior
Jesse Valenzuela is averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has scored four touchdowns. Redshirt freshman running back
Champ Dozier, who has missed the last three games, was recently named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List, given annually to the top freshman in the FCS.
Defensively, HCU continues to excel at making stops behind the line of scrimmage. The Huskies rank third nationally with 7.9 tackles for loss per game. Among the SLC leaders, six of the top 20 individuals on the TFL list are Huskies led by senior
Jalyx Hunt with seven total TFLs. Junior placekicker
Dillon Fedor has been a steady special teams presence for HCU and is tied for sixth in the nation in field goal percentage, connecting on 8-of-9 of his field goal attempts.
The Lions have dropped their last two games, including last weekend's 27-7 home loss to Nicholls, and are 0-4 away from home this season. A&M-Commerce has played a schedule that, to this point, has included three ranked FCS teams and an FBS opponent. The TAMUC defense leads the conference in interceptions, with 13, and sacks, with 20.
The Lions' defense is led by junior safety Max Epps who leads the league with four interceptions and is second on the team with 37 tackles. Junior Clifford Funderburk is the TAMUC leader with four sacks. Offensively, junior Josh Magana has seen the majority of snaps at quarterback and has eight touchdown passes to just three interceptions. Sophomore Reggie Branch has rushed for 256 yards and receiver Keith Miller III is tied for third in the conference with four TD catches.
HCU will hit the road for its next two games, beginning next Saturday, Nov. 4, at 3:00 p.m. in Natchitoches, La. against the Northwestern State Demons.
