No. 12 Angelo State Rams Look to Bounce Back in Kingsville

SAN ANGELO, TX — For the first time in nearly two years, the Angelo State University football team is feeling the sting of a conference loss.

The Rams lost 28-14 to UT Permian Basin last week in a matchup of Top 10 teams. ASU was ranked No. 5, while UTPB was No. 9.

The defeat dropped ASU to No. 12 in the national rankings, and it snapped a 14-game Lone Star Conference winning streak. 

The Rams (4-1 overall, 2-1 LSC) no longer control their destiny in their pursuit of repeating as conference champs, but all of their other goals are still out in front of them.

They’ll look to bounce back this week on the road against Texas A&M-Kingsville (2-3, 1-2), while also hoping now-No. 6 UTPB falls to No. 13 Central Washington, which would open the conference race back up.

“It’s not the end of the world,” ASU head coach Jeff Girsch said about last week’s loss. “We lost the football game, but we didn’t get worse. We played a really good football team. … We’ve got six more, and we can do a lot of special things within those games, so we’re excited to get back out there and get ready for Kingsville.”

The Javelinas employ an air-raid offense led by quarterback Jack Turner, who transferred from Louisiana Tech. He is 114-of-182 passing for 1,436 yards and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Kingsville was dominated 38-0 last year by ASU, but the Javelinas have looked like an improved team this fall, which includes a 43-30 loss to UTPB.

ASU’s QB, Braeden Fuller, made his return last week from a strained calf that sidelined him for three weeks. Fuller is the defending LSC Offensive Player of the Year, but he didn’t have as many game reps as he would have liked before playing against UTPB.

“At the end of the day, he was healthy and ready to go, but after three or four weeks off, sometimes you’ve got to knock the rust off and get some game reps,” Girsch said of Fuller.

ASU and Kingsville will play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium.

The Rams will be back in town next week for homecoming against Midwestern State at 6 p.m. Saturday at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field.