HCU Huskies (1-3, 0-0 SLC) at UTRGV Vaqueros (4-1, 0-1 SLC)
Saturday, Oct. 4 – 7 p.m.
Vackar Stadium – Edinburg, Texas
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EDINBURG, Texas – Southland Conference play kicks off HCU football this Saturday when the Huskies take on UT Rio Grande Valley in the first-ever SLC game played in the Rio Grande Valley at 7:00 p.m. at Vackar Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Nicholas Pietrzycki provides audio play-by-play on Patriot Talk 920 AM.
The Huskies (1-3, 0-0 SLC) are coming off their bye week last weekend after finishing up non-conference play on Sept. 20 against Northern Colorado. HCU fell in overtime against the Bears, 26-23.
Redshirt senior linebacker
Rodney Dansby turned in a performance that earned him SLC Defensive Player of the Week honors, finishing the game with 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception return for a touchdown and a forced fumble. He is now just 15 tackles shy of 400 for his career, ranking third all-time at HCU and just 30 behind Brennan Young for second on the list.
Senior wide receiver
Deuce McMillan continues his steady rise up the all-time receiving lists at HCU and now sits just 15 yards shy of 1,000 career receiving yards with 985. That ranks sixth in program history while his 90 career receptions rank third.
As a team, the Huskies boast the best third down defense in the nation. HCU is allowing opponents to convert on third down attempts on just 17.9 percent (10-of-56) of their tries. North Dakota State is second at 22.4 percent (11-of-49).
In its first year of play, UTRGV (4-1, 0-1 SLC) has earned three home wins over non-division I opponents and a road victory over Prairie View A&M before falling on the road at Southeastern this past Saturday, 45-31.
The Vaqueros finished that game at SLU with 457 yards of total offense behind a balanced attack with 240 yards through the air and 217 on the ground. Quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger went 16-of-29 passing for 218 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Tony Diaz, a redshirt freshman receiver, caught four passes for 113 yards and a score while Nathan Denney led the team with 56 yards on the ground on seven carries.
Defensively, UTRGV registered five tackles for loss in the defeat and forced three fumbles. Defensive back TJ Neal ended the game with a team-high 11 tackles and a forced fumble while linebacker Jaiden Haygood added eight tackles.
The Huskies return home on Saturday, Oct. 11, to host Northwestern State in a Family Weekend matchup at Husky Stadium with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m.
