An explosive Texas Wesleyan offense isn’t anything new under offensive coordinator Fran Johnson. After all, the Rams entered the 2024 season with an offense that’s produced between 42-45 points per game for three consecutive seasons. But the 2024 Rams offense is producing numbers rarely seen in college football.

The Rams offense averages 59.9 points per game, the highest scoring average in college football this season. This would set a new NAIA record for most points per game, breaking the one held by Morningside (Iowa) in 2015 with 58.9 per contest. However, Texas Wesleyan isn’t guaranteed to finish with the highest-scoring offense in the country because the Rams made program history with their first outright Sooner Athletic Conference title and a bid to their first NAIA playoff appearance.

In another program first for Texas Wesleyan, the Rams received the 8-seed and a first-round bye when the bracket was revealed. While the offense is undoubtedly impressive, the Rams have steamrolled opponents by an average of 41.1 points per game because the defense only allows 18.8 points.

Head coach Brad Sherrod believes the Rams' controversially missing the playoffs last year motivated this year’s domination.

“It burned the kids last year that they didn’t get in, and they felt they deserved to be in the playoffs,” Sherrod said. “That was a motivating factor that has kept our players focused and humble throughout the offseason and regular season.”

While the program was on the verge of making the playoffs each of the past two seasons, expectations were high for Sherrod when he was named head coach in May following the resignation of Joe Prud’homme, who resigned in mid-March after leading the program since its inception in 2017.

“We focused on the things that help us win ballgames and didn’t talk about winning. We talked about the fundamentals of how we play the game and hammered that during practice,” Sherrod said. “I didn’t interfere with the offense because I believed we had the coaches and players to be great. We talked about our philosophy of how physical we wanted to be on both sides of the ball and how we wanted to protect the ball better and force more turnovers on defense.”

Sherrod was right about the offense. Redshirt junior Carson Rodgers (Houston St. Pius X) has been a steady force, completing 63.2% of his passes for 2,502 yards, 22 touchdowns, and eight interceptions this year. Senior running back Ernest Ceasar (East Chambers) has 1,109 yards and 39 touchdowns rushing, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt. Senior wide receiver AJ Bobb (Atascocita) has 945 yards and nine touchdowns on 48 receptions, while fellow senior wideout Michael Banks (Fort Worth Dunbar) has added 708 yards and seven touchdowns on 28 receptions.

“When I took this job, I told the players that we were going to bet the ball in the hands of our playmakers, and we’ve done that this year with Ernest, AJ, and Michael,” Sherrod said. “Getting them the ball is a special guy, as well. Carson makes good decisions when he has to throw, and the offensive line is young, and I believe they are just beginning to jell and find their way as a unit.”

The path hasn’t always been easy for the Rams this season. After opening with tight wins over nationally ranked opponents Lindsey Wilson and Ottawa (Ariz.), Texas Wesleyan handily defeated its next four opponents before trailing 21-17 at the half on the road against Wayland Baptist. The Rams responded quickly and held a 52-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“We needed that test to see how we would respond. It wasn’t something we couldn’t overcome, but it was about being ourselves and cleaning up some of the mistakes Wayland forced,” Sherrod said. “It was tight against Louisiana Christian in our last regular season game at the half, and they did a great job responding to my challenge to play physical, fast, and hard.”

Sherrod knows his team will rely on those experiences during the playoffs.

“We know every game we play from here on out will be a tight, physical contest. The key for us is to remain steady and be who we are,” Sherrod said. “Don’t start getting out of character or changing because things get tight. Play every down and make a play when we have the opportunity. It’s about being consistent with our play, who we are, and what kind of team we are.”

Saturday will mark a first for Sherrod, who led the Rams to the playoffs in his first season as a collegiate head coach. The veteran coach has a stable of quality coaches he calls mentors, including K.C. Keeler at Sam Houston, Jeff Traylor at UTSA, and Dave Clawson at Wake Forest.

“I’ve talked to K.C. a bit more because he was in the playoffs at Division III and FCS, and I’ve leaned on him recently. He’s helped with my scheduling and understanding where we should focus on how to approach the playoffs,” Sherrod said. “Jeff has been very helpful throughout the season in keeping the team focused, and I go back to my notes with Dave. We always got the most out of the players we had there to get to bowl games, and that’s some of the best coaching I’ve been around from the standpoint of the competition we faced each week in the ACC.”