The long wait for the new football season comes to an end this week as the Rams visit NCAA Division I foe Texas State Saturday night. Kickoff at Bobcat Stadium is 6 p.m.
Facing Division I Opponents...For the second straight season, and fifth time in eight years, Angelo State will face an NCAA D-I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly I-AA, opponent. Last season, the Rams nearly shocked Sam Houston State in Huntsville, falling 17-13, in the season opener. ASU also faced Texas State, formerly Southwest Texas State, in 2001, 2003 and 2004.
Against the Bobcats...Angelo State is 5-17 all-time against Texas State with the last meeting coming in 2004. The Bobcats hold seven-game winning streak over ASU, including a 45-10 victory in San Marcos in 2004. The last Ram victory in the series came in 1979, 14-3, in San Angelo. Saturday's meeting between the two teams marks the fourth in the past decade with ASU making three previous trips to San Marcos over the past seven years. The Rams dropped meetings in San Marcos in 2001 (10-0), 2003 (42-7) and 2004 (45-10). Angelo State is 1-11 all-time against Texas State in San Marcos with the only road victory in the series for the Rams coming in 1978, 29-6, en route to a perfect season and an NAIA National Championship.
Last Time We Met...On Sept. 4, 2004, the Rams fell 45-10 at Texas State in the second week of the season. After the Rams took the first lead of the game, 3-0 on a 24-yard Brian Hepler field goal midway through the first quarter, the Bobcats scored 35 unanswered points to easily cruise the to victory. The Rams got their only touchdown in the fourth quarter as Trey Weishuhn connected with Travis House on a 33-yard scoring strike with 14:54 left in the contest.
The Coaches...Now in his fourth season with the Rams, Dale Carr (Colorado State, 1987) feels that his squad is ready to return to the national spotlight after two losing seasons. Carr sparked the Rams to an NCAA Division II playoff appearance in his first season in 2005, but after losing a bulk of that team to graduation he has steadily rebuilt the program in preparation for another postseason run. Carr is 14-18 all-time with the Rams in his previous three seasons. Prior to his arrival at ASU, Carr spent nine seasons as the head coach at Tyler Junior College, amassing a 66-31 record.
Brad Wright (Texas State, 1981) is in his second season at Texas State as its head coach after serving three years as an assistant coach for the Bobcats. In his debut campaign, Wright led the Bobcats to a 4-7 record and a fourth place finish in the Southland Conference.
More Mature Rams in 2008...Angelo State boasts 10 seniors in 2008, twice as many last fall. They are cornerback Quinton Butler, linebacker Jordan Cortez, offensive lineman Joey Faken, safety Tarric Jones, running back Terrell Lee, safety Michael McLeod, wide receiver Drew Peterson, running back Daniel Thomas, wide receiver Sam Tindol and tight end Jason Watson. In 2007, ASU had just 15 upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) compared to 32 this season.
Thomas Ready to Bounce Back...Last fall, ASU tailback Daniel Thomas was on pace to become just the 10th 1,000-yard rusher in school history. However, an injury in the seventh game of the season limited the then junior to just 924 yards, the 11th highest single-season total for the Rams. Thomas, a second team All-LSC South pick last fall, enters his final season ranked fourth on ASU's all-time rushing list with 2,074 career yards.
New Faces in the Backfield...Thomas will have some much-needed help in the backfield this year after averaging nearly 30 carries per game last season before his injury. Senior Terrell Lee will move from the defensive backfield to tailback this fall and junior Texas Tech transfer Kobey Lewis will give the Rams a different look, hopefully keeping opposing defenses off balance.
Neiswander One Year Later...This time last season, quarterback Josh Neiswander was getting ready for his first career start in the Rams' season opener. Now, a more mature junior Neiswander has settled into the starting role and is ready for a second season under center. Last fall, the Winnsboro native tossed for 1,901 yards and completed 53.8 percent of his passes. He had seven touchdowns to eight interceptions.
Seniors Anchor Deep Receiving Corps...Seniors Drew Peterson and Sam Tindol will lead a very deep and talented group of Ram receivers in 2008. Angelo State sports 14 wide receivers on the roster. Expected to add speed to the lineup are juniors Damien McCradic and Robert Boone, both out of Trinity Valley Community College.
A New Linebacker-U?...With 16 linebackers on the roster, Angelo State may just battle for that title in 2008. Senior Jordan Cortez will lead a deep group of linebackers into the new season. In all, there are nine linebackers that have playing experience for the Rams.
Big Rams Up Front...Angelo State finished the 2007 season ranked fourth in sacks allowed, thanks to a pair of seniors up front. This fall, with just one senior but two all-conference juniors, the offensive line looks to improve upon last year's performance. Senior Joey Faken will start at strong tackle, junior Jorrie Adams starts at weak tackle and junior Brian Dickey starts at strong guard. Two sophomores fill out the starting lineup for the Rams with Nic Sirles at weak guard and Zack Bradley at center.
Balanced Defense...Last season, no Ram recorded 60 tackles, however ASU returns 10 players that had at least 30 stops in 2007. Angelo State returns its top seven tacklers from last year's squad as the Rams lost just one senior on defense. Leading the way is the junior linebacking duo of D'Angelo Waites and Ian Ritchey. Waites led the Rams with 55 tackles last fall while Ritchey was tied for second on the team with 54 stops. Senior Tarric Jones led all defensive backs last year with 54 tackles. In all, nine different Rams led ASU in tackles in the 10 games last season.
Scouting the Bobcats...After a 4-7 campaign and a fourth-place finish in the Southland Conference last fall, Texas State was picked to finish fifth this season according to the league's preseason poll. The Bobcats had five players honored as Preseason All-SLC, including record-setting senior wide receiver Cameron Luke (6-2, 211).
Luke was a first team All-SLC pick as a junior after setting school records with 60 receptions for 1,035 yards and 12 touchdowns. Also earning preseason honors for Texas State were senior fullback Blake Burton (6-0, 237) on first team and sophomore running back Karrington Bush (5-10, 182), senior center Jeff Bowen (6-1, 275) and junior defensive back Will Thompson (5-10, 174) on second team. Bush was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2007.
In all, the Bobcats return 17 starters from last year's squad, eight on offense and nine on defense, and 42 letterwinners. Included in that group is junior quarterback Bradley George (6-6, 230). George tossed for 2,099 yards while completing 56.9 percent of passes with 16 touchdowns in his second season as the Bobcats' starting signal caller. Bush rushed for 1,039 yards in his first collegiate campaign with three touchdowns.
The Bobcats averaged 421.9 yards per game in 2007 with a fairly balanced attack. Texas State averaged 224.5 passing yards and 197.5 rushing yards per game last fall.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Marcus Clark (5-10, 199) led the Bobcats with 71 tackles as a freshman and leads a defense that gave up 460 yards per game in 2007. Texas State also returns junior defensive end Travis Houston (6-2, 223) and senior safety Michael Rutledge (5-10, 196), who ranked second and third on the team in tackles last fall, respectively.
Tailgate Party...ASU will be hosting a tailgate party prior to the Rams' game at Texas State, beginning at 4 p.m. The tailgate party will take place in the alumni parking lot at Bobcat Stadium and will be marked with ASU flags.
On Tap for the Rams...Angelo State opens up Lone Star Conference competition with a road game at Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. While the contest will count as an LSC crossover game for Texas A&M-Commerce, it will not for the Rams due to the unbalanced schedule of the conference. ASU will officially open LSC crossover play on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Southwestern Oklahoma.
