LSC Roundup 10-5

MSU up to No. 8 spot, faces No. 5 ACU next - J. Scott Russell, Times Record News
Midwestern State moved ahead two spots to No. 8 in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II Poll released Monday afternoon.

The Mustangs are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the Lone Star Conference and will square off with the other Saturday afternoon against No. 5 Abilene Christian at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The ranking is the Mustangs’ highest since they were No. 7 in the final AFCA Division II regular-season poll last season.

Super Region 4 continues to dominate the poll with five teams in the Top 10 and seven in the Top 25 that play in either the Lone Star Conference or Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The LSC boasts the most nationally ranked teams with four — all in the Top 10 — with No. 7 West Texas A&M and No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville joining MSU and ACU. The MIAA also is well represented with three teams in this week’s rankings including No. 6 Northwest Missouri State, No. 12 Central Missouri and No. 19 Missouri Western State.
related: Hometown Heroes notebook (Oct. 5)

Hounds struggle at Southwestern - Clovis News Journal
Eastern New Mexico University football coach Mark Ribaudo didn’t offer a complicated explanation for the Greyhounds’ surprising 21-10 Lone Star Conference North Division loss to Southwestern Oklahoma on Saturday at Weatherford, Okla. The Bulldogs (1-4, 1-1 North) simply outplayed ENMU, reducing the Hounds’ potent attack to one-dimensional and putting together just enough offense of their own.

“We couldn’t run the ball and our defense couldn’t stop the run,” Ribaudo said Monday. “In football, (those are) the critical areas. You can get away occasionally with not doing one well, but when you don’t do either well you’re not going to beat anybody.”

Despite that, Ribaudo said it wasn’t until the final three minutes or so that he’d resigned himself to defeat against a team which had one only one game since the start of the 2009 season.

“We created four turnovers, we blocked a field goal, we pinned them inside the 20 twice,” he said. “We had every opportunity to win that game, and they gave us opportunities. We just didn’t pull the trigger. You’ve got to play with your ‘A’ game every game in this conference.”


MSU golf roundup (Oct. 5) - Times Record News