COMMERCE – The No. 11 Texas A&M University-Commerce plays its final non-conference game of the 2019 season with a key regional matchup at No. 20 Colorado State-Pueblo.
 
WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce at Colorado State University-Pueblo
WHERE: Pueblo, Colo. | Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl
WHEN: 6 p.m. MDT (7 p.m. CDT) on Saturday, September 28
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 3-0 after defeating Eastern New Mexico 45-27 in the Lone Star Conference opener. CSU-Pueblo is now 2-1 after being tripped up by No. 17 Colorado School of Mines, 34-14, snapping a 15-game home winning streak.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. CSU-Pueblo is ranked No. 20 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 16 in the D2Football.com Poll.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csu-pueblo/
LIVE STATS: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=csup

BAILIFF BEGINS ON RIGHT FOOT
• Lion Football head coach David Bailiff was hired in December 2018 as the 20th head football coach at A&M-Commerce.
• Since East Texas joined the Lone Star Conference as charter members in 1931, Bailiff is the 13th head coach of the Lions.
• He has won all three of his "firsts" games at A&M-Commerce, defeating Nuevo Leon for the win in his first game, beating Western Oregon for the win in his first road game, and taking down Eastern New Mexico in his first LSC game.
• Bailiff was the head coach at Texas State University from 2004-06 and at Rice University from 2007-17. The Lions' 2019 season will be Bailiff's 15th season as a collegiate head coach.
 • As a collegiate head coach, Bailiff has led a team to the NCAA Division I National Semifinals and has made five total postseason appearances with a 5-2 postseason record.
• The 2005 Texas State Bobcats were Division I National Semifinalists, and Bailiff led the Rice Owls to four bowls with a 3-1 record in those games.
 • Bailiff has led teams to 10-win seasons in three seasons (one at Texas State, two at Rice). Under his watch, the Owls had the most wins in school history over a two (18), three (25), and four (30) year periods. Rice's 18-9 mark from 2013-14 was the second-best of any FBS program in Texas.
 
LION COACHES IN THEIR FIRST SEASON

Year	Coach	Overall	LSC
2019	David Bailiff	3-0	1-0
2013	Colby Carthel	7-5	2-4
2009	Guy Morriss	5-5	5-4
2004	Scotty Conley	4-6	4-5
1999	Eddie Brister	4-7	4-5
1986	Eddie Vowell	2-9	1-5
1964	Ernest Hawkins	2-7	1-5
1954	J.V. Sikes	6-3-1	5-0-1
1951	M.A. "Catfish" Smith	9-2	5-0
1946	Bob Berry 2nd Stint	5-2-2	3-1-1
1942	Dennis Vinzant Only Season	4-3-1	2-0-1
1935	Bob Berry 1st Stint	6-2-1	3-1
1931	J.W. Rollins	3-6

 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE THUNDERWOLVES
• This is the second meeting between these two schools in football.
• Pueblo upset the then-No. 1 Lions, 23-13, in rainy conditions in Commerce last year.
• The Lions have played two other games against the RMAC.
• All three previous games against RMAC schools have been played in Commerce.
• This is the Lions' first non-conference game in the Mountain Time Zone.
• The Lions defeated Adams State 48-17 in the 2015 season opener.
• A&M-Commerce defeated Colorado Mesa 34-23 in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Division II playoffs.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
• By qualifying for their fourth straight NCAA Division II Playoff berth in 2018, the Lions have the third-longest active playoff streak in the nation.
• Only Northwest Missouri State (15 straight) and Ferris State (five straight) have longer active playoff streaks than A&M-Commerce.
• In Lone Star Conference history, only A&M-Kingsville (1992-98, 7 straight) has a streak of more than four appearances.
• The Lions have also advanced to the regional semifinal round for three consecutive seasons. National runner-up Ferris State has reached the regional semifinal four times in a row.
 
LIONS CONTINUE RANKINGS RUN
• The Lions jumped to No. 11 nationally in the 2019 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' Poll released Monday.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 57 consecutive AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• This is A&M-Commerce's 63rd all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.
• In the polls recognized by Division II as the top rating system, the Lions have been recognized as a nationally ranked team 112 times since joining Division II in 1981.
 
SENIORS SUCCEED OVER CAREER SPAN
• The 2018 senior class claimed sole possession of the school record for wins in a four-year period with 43.
• The 2019 senior class is already on pace to challenge that record, with a record of 41-6 through 47 games.
• They are six games away from tying the school record for most games played by a senior class.
 

Years	Record
2015-18	43-10
2014-17	42-10
2016-19	41-6
1951-54	36-5-2
2013-16	35-14
1957-60	34-7
1972-75	32-13-1
1936-39	31-8
1990-93	31-16-1

 
LION SUPPORT FANTASTIC ONCE AGAIN
• In six home dates, A&M-Commerce drew 45,296 total fans in 2018. That total attendance ranked second in Division II.
• In terms of average attendance, the Lion faithful turned out at a rate of 7,549 per game. That ranked eighth nationally.
• Over the last five years (available in the NCAA rankings database), the Lions have nearly doubled their average turnout since the 2013 season. The next closest season since 2009 was over 2,400 fans per game fewer.
• Including the Nuevo Leon game, the Lions rank sixth in total attendance and 11th in average attendance.
 

Year	Home Gms	Total	Rank	Average	Rank
2019	2	15,287	6th	7,644	11th
2018	6	45,296	2nd	7,549	8th
2017	6	51,482	3rd	8,580	5th
2016	4	34,379	14th	8,595	7th
2015	7	40,049	12th	5,721	19th
2014	6	36,757	11th	6,126	18th
2013	5	21,673	40th	4,335	42nd
2012	5	11,774	-	2,355	95th
2011	4	9,002	-	2,251	98th
2010	5	7,352	-	1,470	125th
2009	4	13,640	-	3,410	56th
2008	5	12,504	-	2,501	88th

 
GRADS KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
• Eight Lions are continuing their football careers after earning a degree. Here are the eight graduates and the school they earned their degree from
            • Neema Behbahani - A&M-Commerce
            • Terrell Collins – Arkansas
            • L.A. Dawson – West Texas A&M
            • Tyler Guice - A&M-Commerce
            • Deion Malone – Arkansas
            • Alex Shillow – A&M-Commerce
            • Darent White - A&M-Commerce
            • Preston Wheeler - A&M-Commerce
 
OPENING SIX PACK
• The Lions have won their first Lone Star Conference game of the season in each of the last six years.

2019	EASTERN N.M.	W 45-27
2018	A&M-KINGSVILLE	W (2OT) 37-36
2017	EASTERN N.M.	W 51-22
2016	at Eastern N.M.	W 49-10
2015	at A&M-Kingsville	W 37-17
2014	vs. A&M-Kingsville (at AT&T)	W 55-20

 
NO SMALLS FEAT
• Quarterback Miklo Smalls won Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win over ENMU.
• Smalls completed 13-of-15 passes for 243 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
• Eight of his 13 completions resulted in first downs, as he averaged 16.2 yards per attempt and 18.7 yards per completion.
• After a first quarter interception, Smalls' next 11 pass attempts were completed before his only ball to hit the ground on his final attempt in the fourth quarter.
• He had 268 yards of total offense of the Lions' 333 yards on only 42 plays, as A&M-Commerce averaged 7.9 yards per play on offense in the game.
•His 86.7 completion percentage in the game is fifth-best in the nation this year of passers with 15 or more attempts in a game.
•His 78.7 percent (37-of-47) completion percentage for the season ranks third in Division II.
• He ranks fourth in the nation in passing efficiency (195.9).
• His passing efficiency rating of 297.413 is the best single-game performance by a quarterback in Division II this season. One FCS quarterback and two Division III quarterbacks have had 300-plus ratings this year.
• Here is a chart to compare, including using the NCAA formula on Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott's game which earned him a perfect rating in the NFL system.
 

Div	Player	Matchup	Date	C-A-I	Yds	TD	Effic
FBS	Tua Tagovailoa	Alabama vs. Southern Miss.	9/21	17-21-0	293	5	276.72
FCS	Chris Oladokun	Samford vs. Tennessee Tech	8/31	19-24-0	428	6	311.467
II	Miklo Smalls	TAMUC vs. Eastern N.M.	9/21	13-15-1	243	4	297.413
III	Seamus Lambert	Trinity (Conn.) vs. Bowdoin	9/21	13-18-0	391	5	346.356
	Jimmy Gephart	Heidelberg vs. Capital	9/21	11-15-0	300	4	329.333
NFL	Dak Prescott	Cowboys vs. Giants	9/8	25-32-0	405	4	225.69

 
TO THE CRIB!
• Junior return specialist Dominique Ramsey's 55-yard punt return for a touchdown in the ENMU game earned him Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
• He became the first player in the Lone Star Conference to return a punt for a touchdown this season.
• He averaged 35 yards per punt return in the ENMU game and ranks second in the LSC in both punt and kickoff return average.
• He now has five career returns for touchdowns:

Date	Type	Opponent	Yards
9/21/19	Punt	EASTERN N.M.	55
11/17/18	Punt	at Minnesota Duluth	79
11/10/18	INT	ANGELO ST.	99
10/27/18	INT	WEST TEXAS A&M	84
9/22/18	Punt	COLORADO ST.-PUEBLO	72

 
SHILLOW GETS STOPS
• Redshirt junior safety Alex Shillow made a career-high 11 tackles in the win over Eastern New Mexico and moved into the top 10 in the LSC in tackles per game at 7.5 stops per contest.
• The NCAA Division II National SAAC Chair also recovered a fumble on kickoff coverage in the first half to set up a Lion score.
• His 131 career tackles ranks second on the team behind Mark Westbrook.
• Westbrook has 144 career stops from various linebacker and safety positions over the years.
• Westbrook needs one solo tackle to reach the 100 career solo tackle mark.
 
COOPER CATCHING ON
• Junior receiver Chance Cooper had two receiving touchdowns in the win over Eastern New Mexico, and is now one of only five LSC receivers with three touchdown catches this year.
• The other four receivers with three touchdowns did so in three games, giving Cooper the lead in receiving touchdowns per game at 1.5
• His 77.0 yards per game ranks sixth in the LSC and his 19.3 yards per reception ranks third in the league.
• His 73-yard reception in the ENMU game ranks third in the LSC this season.
 
JAKE IS THIS YEAR'S MR. AUTOMATIC
• Junior kicker Jake Viquez drilled a 43-yard field goal and made all six of his PAT attempts in the win over Eastern New Mexico.
• For the season, he is 3-of-3 on field goal attempts and a perfect 10-of-10 on PAT attempts.
• His 9.5 kicking points per game is tied with Angelo State's Jared Defelice for the LSC lead.
• Including the career of Lion Legend Kristov Martinez, the Lions have now made 113 consecutive PATs, dating back to the Eastern New Mexico game in 2017.
 
ON THIS DAY IN TAMUC/ETSU FOOTBALL (5-3):
• 1957 - The East Texas Lions open the season with a 25-7 road victory at Southeastern Louisiana.
• 1963 - East Texas gets off to a 2-0 start with a 17-8 win over Arlington State at home
• 1968 - The Lions roll to one of the biggest shutout wins in program history to this point, crushing the Bears of Southwest Missouri State, 52-0
• 1985 - ET moves to 2-1 on the season with a 34-24 victory over Northeastern State in Tahlequah.
• 1991 - The Lions punch up a weight class and nearly pull off the upset with a narrow 23-26 loss at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.
• 1996 - The Lions head northeast and take a 20-7 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• 2002 - A&M-Commerce opens conference play at Central Oklahoma and loses to the Bronchos, 19-16.
• 2013 - In the Lions' third straight game against ranked opposition and are dropped by No. 23 Midwestern State, 30-24.