Each week, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s Non-FBS Insider provides four talking points following each week of the college football season.

First Down: UTPB announces itself as a LSC contender

The UTPB offense has garnered plenty of headlines this season. That happens when a team averages 55.8 points per game. However, the Falcons defense made the difference in a 29-17 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. That UTPB defense is why the Falcons deserve to be ranked in the top 25 nationally and considered a contender in Super Region Four. 

It’s too early to begin to make playoff predictions, but the Falcons win over the Javelinas firmly placed them among the top three teams in the Lone Star Conference with Angelo State and Central Washington. UTPB’s lone loss was on the road to a solid Western Colorado team, and the Falcons can ill afford to lose focus with big games against the Rams and Wildcats still looming on the schedule.

The Javelinas possibly lost more than a football game Saturday. Quarterback Jacob Cavazos was knocked unconscious after being sandwiched between two UTPB defenders in the first half. Cavazos was transported to the hospital, and the Javelinas Sports Information Department said he had feeling in all his extremities. 

However, Cavazos likely suffered his second concussion in the first five weeks of this season, which leaves the young man dealing with decisions far more important than football. We wish him the best in his recovery.

Second Down: Hardin-Simmons closes strong against Howard Payne

Saturday’s American Southwest Conference game between Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne was significant for both teams. The Cowboys fell to Endicott on the road last week, and some thought the Yellow Jackets were ready to take down HSU in Kevin Bachtel’s first season. 

HPU pulled within one point on Javian Myles's 36-yard touchdown run with 8:13 remaining in the contest. HSU was flagged for a face mask at the end of the play, which placed the ball at the HSU one-yard line for the Yellow Jackets conversion attempt. Bachtel chose to go for two points and the lead, but Landon McKinney’s pass fell incomplete.

HSU started the next drive with 8:04 left on the clock. Five minutes and 50 seconds later, Colton Marshall scored from one yard out to give the Cowboys a seven-point lead following a missed extra point. HPU’s offense only ran one play on its final drive, which was an interception at the HSU 25-yard line that effectively ended the game.

Third Down: Tarleton makes a statement in road win

The 2023 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine featured a new section at the bottom of each FCS team’s feature story. It was titled ‘DCTF’s Take’ and included my take on a team’s prospects for the upcoming season. In the Tarleton section, it was noted that head coach Todd Whitten felt this was his best team since departing NCAA Division II.

The Texans opened the season with nice wins over McNeese and North Alabama. Still, those wins came against opposition predicted to be in the middle-to-lower part of their respective conferences. Tarleton hadn’t passed the proverbial ‘test’ this year. That changed on Saturday.

The Texans went into Hammond, La., and met an angry Southeastern Louisiana team that didn’t appreciate getting run on their home field by Houston Christian a week ago. The Lions were the preseason favorite in the Southland Conference and were hungry. However, Tarleton proved it could challenge some of the top teams in the United Athletic Conference and closed the game with 11 rushing plays that consumed the final 5:17 and departed with a 14-13 victory.

Fourth Down: Another wild finish for the Buffs

West Texas A&M is feeling snakebitten after the last two weeks. Last week against UTPB, the Buffs held a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Falcons rallied to escape with a 41-40 win in overtime after the Buffs failed to convert a two-point conversion that would have sealed the victory.

WT invented a new way to lose against Western Oregon. Kale Steed and the staff at Press Pass Sports captured an incredible final two seconds of a game the Buffs rallied to take a six-point lead with 5:31 left in regulation. WOU’s Brenden Hodge caught a two-yard pass with two seconds left on the clock to give the Wolves a 37-36 lead. 

Following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Buffs Kanon Gibson heaved a pass that Kenneath Redd caught at the WOU 41-yard line. The Wolves were called for roughing the passer on the play, which moved the ball to the WOU 26-yard line with no time remaining on the clock. Preston Gregg’s 44-yard field goal attempt to win the game went wide right, giving the Buffs consecutive losses by one point.