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ULM Celebrates 68th Homecoming Game; Faces West Division Rival Texas State

ULM Celebrates 68th Homecoming Game; Faces West Division Rival Texas State

Football Oct 20

Game 8: TEXAS STATE (1-5, 0-3 Sun Belt) vs. ULM (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Oct. 20 | 6:05 p.m. CT
Monroe, La. | JPS Field at Malone Stadium (30,000)

 
ULM Football Notes: Game 8 vs. Texas State
 
FIRST-AND-10 –
• Saturday's game marks the 15th meeting between ULM and Texas State. The Warhawks lead the all-time series 10-4, including a 5-2 record in games played in Malone Stadium. ULM has won the last two meetings: 40-34 in Malone Stadium in 2016 and 45-27 in San Marcos last season.
 
• Since becoming a four-year college in 1951, ULM is 41-25-1 (.619) in 67 Homecoming games, including a 1-0 record against Texas State. The Warhawks have won 12 of their last 17 Homecoming contests.
 
ULM played host to Texas State for its 2016 Homecoming game, and red-shirt freshman Will Collins came off the bench in relief of starting quarterback Garrett Smith, who left in the game with an injury in the second quarter, and threw two touchdown passes while Duke Carter (24 carries for 104 yards and one TD) and Ben Luckett (27 for 100 and two TDs) combined to rush for 204 yards and three TDs in the Warhawks' 40-34 victory over the Bobcats. Trailing 14-10 after one quarter, ULM scored 23 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 33-14 halftime lead.
 
• Fifth-year senior Marcus Green, who accounted for 178 all-purpose yards in ULM's 45-20 victory at Coastal Carolina, has been named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for Week 7. Green averaged 19.8 yards on nine touches against CCU. He produced his first 100-yard receiving game of the season and seventh of his career, with five receptions for 111 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown grab from Caleb Evans in the second quarter. His 17-yard punt return in the second quarter set up a field goal, and his 33-yard reception in the third quarter led to ULM's fourth TD.
 
• Fifth-year senior Marcus Green leads ULM in receptions (31), receiving yards (503), yards per catch (16.2) and touchdown receptions (5). Green ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in TD receptions (tied for first), receiving yards per game (second at 71.9) and receptions (sixth at 4.4 per game).
 
In addition, he leads ULM with 14 explosive plays (20-plus yards), including eight receptions, five kickoff returns and one punt return. His seven receptions of 30 or more yards are tied for fifth in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
 
Green also ranks third in the Sun Belt in all-purpose yards, averaging 116.9 per game.
 
• Junior quarterback Caleb Evans ranks second the Sun Belt in passing yards (231.7 per game) and total offense (279.3 ypg.). The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Evans has completed 146-of-239 throws (.611) for 1,622 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ranks second on the team in rushing, with 72 carries for 333 yards and five TDs.
 
Evans recorded his fifth 200-yard passing game of the season and 12th of his career, completing 16-of-22 passes for 224 yards at Coastal Carolina, including a 37-yard TD strike to Marcus Green. He accounted for 256 yards total offense and three scores at CCU, including TD runs of 1 and 20 yards in the second half.

• A key to Caleb Evans' throwing success in 2018 has been his ability to utilize all of the weapons at his disposal in ULM's one-back offense. Six Warhawks have at least 11 receptions, including Marcus Green (31 for 503 yards), R.J. Turner (27 for 363), Derrick Gore (16 for 57), Markis McCray (13 for 153), Sloan Spiller (13 for 108) and Xavier Brown (11 for 158). In addition, five different receivers have at least one touchdown reception.
 
• Fifth-year senior running back Derrick Gore rushed 16 times for a career-best 147 yards and two touchdowns at Coastal Carolina. Gore scored his second rushing TD of the game on a career-long 46-yard jaunt with 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It marked his second 100-yard rushing game of the season and third of his career.
 
• ULM features a well-balanced ground game, led by Derrick Gore (73 carries for 404 yards and five TDs), quarterback Caleb Evans (72 for 333 and five TDs) and Austin Vaughn (34 for 175 and one TD). That trio has rushed for a combined 912 yards, accounting for 78 percent of the team's total rushing yards (1,167).
 
• Fifth-year senior linebacker David Griffith recorded eight tackles (5 solos, 3 assists), with 2.5 resulting in tackles for loss (13 yards) including a career-best 1.5 sacks (12 yards), and forced a fumble as ULM snapped a four-game losing streak with a 45-20 victory at Coastal Carolina. His forced fumble set up ULM's second touchdown, and his eight stops matched his season high.
 
The Warhawks scored 21 points off three takeaways. In the second half, ULM's defense forced two turnovers and came up with a fourth-down stop.
 
• ULM ranks second in the Sun Belt in sacks, with 20 for 134 yards. The Warhawks have recorded multiple sacks in five of their seven games, including five each at Southern Miss (36 yards) and at Coastal Carolina (37 yards). Last season, ULM managed 21 sacks (137 yards) in 12 games.
 
CLASS BREAKDOWN (STARTERS) –
ULM Offense: 3 seniors, 6 juniors, 2 sophomores
ULM Defense: 3 seniors, 5 juniors, 2 sophomores, 1 freshman
Texas State Offense: 3 seniors, 2 juniors, 4 sophomores, 2 freshmen
Texas State Defense: 2 seniors, 5 juniors, 3 sophomores, 1 freshman
 
STAT LEADERS –
ULM (after seven games):
Rushing – Derrick Gore (73 carries for 404 yards, 5.5 avg., 5 TDs)
Passing – Caleb Evans (146 of 239 for 1,622 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs)
Receiving – Marcus Green (31 catches for 503 yards, 16.2 avg., 5 TDs)
Tackles – Collin Turner (54 tackles, 36 solos, 18 assists, 4.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 3 PBUs)
 
Texas State (after six games):
Rushing – Willie Jones III (61 carries for 219 yards, 3.6 avg., 1 TD)
Passing – Tyler Vitt (60 of 89 for 650 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs)
Receiving – Keenen Brown (26 catches for 370 yards, 14.2 avg., 4 TDs)
Tackles – Bryan London II (58 tackles, 34 solos, 24 assists, 3.5 TFL, 2 FF)
 
ULM/TEXAS STATE NOTES –
Saturday's game marks the 15th meeting between ULM and Texas State. The Warhawks lead the all-time series 10-4, including a 5-2 record in games played in Malone Stadium. ULM has won the last two meetings: 40-34 in Malone Stadium in 2016 and 45-27 in San Marcos last season.
 
THE LAST MEETING –
ULM 45, Texas State 27 (Oct. 7, 2017; San Marcos, Texas): Caleb Evans accounted for 456 total yards and four touchdowns to lead ULM to a 45-27 victory at Texas State, as the Warhawks improved to 3-0 in the Sun Belt standings. Evans completed 24-of-37 throws for 433 yards and three scores. His 433 passing yards rank as the 10th-best single-game total in ULM history. Evans completed passes to 10 different receivers and added a 10-yard TD run in the third quarter.
 
On a second-and-6 play on the game's opening series, Evans hooked up with R.J. Turner for a 29-yard completion for a first down at the Texas State 42-yard line. On third-and-6, Evans connected with Brian Williams on a fade route for a 20-yard scoring play as ULM jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
 
Texas State answered on its first possession as Damian Williams finished off a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak, but Caleb Tucker intercepted James Sherman's 2-point pass attempt and returned 100 yards for 2 points. With 10:03 left in the first quarter, ULM led 9-6.
 
On the opening play of the next series, Evans hit Xavier Brown for a 64-yard bomb to the Bobcat 1-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Ben Luckett scored on a 1-yard plunge as ULM extended its lead to 16-6 with 9:44 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Bobcats responded with a seven-play, 86-yard drive and pulled to within 16-13 on Williams' 25-yard TD strike to Tyler Watts with 6:57 left in the first quarter.
 
On third-and-7, Evans found D'Marius Gillespie for a 35-yard completion and a first down at the Texas State 24-yard line. The 10-play, 71-yard drive resulted in a 24-yard field goal from Craig Ford as Warhawks took a 19-13 lead with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.
 
Texas State took its first lead at 20-19 on a double pass, as Williams threw back to Hutch White, who hooked up with Anthony Tyler for a 47-yard scoring play with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
The two teams combined for 39 points and 473 total yards in the first quarter.
 
The Bobcats threatened to add to their lead early in the second quarter, but on a fourth-and-6 play from the ULM 31, Howard Houston and Chase Day wrapped up Williams for no gain.
 
On third-and-11, Evans scrambled for a 13-yard gain and first down at the Texas State 34-yard line. On the next play, Evans fired a 34-yard TD strike to Turner, who broke a tackle en route to the end zone, as ULM took the lead for good at 26-20 with 9:25 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The Warhawks seized control of the game early in the third quarter. On a third-and-1 play, Kerry Starks forced Williams to fumble on a quarterback sneak that Wesley Thompson recovered and returned 6 yards to the Texas State 13. Two plays later, Evans scored on a 10-yard keeper up the middle as ULM built a 32-20 lead with 7:32 left in the third quarter.
The ULM defense forced the Bobcats to go three-and-out on their next series, and Marcus Green returned Marcus Ripley's punt 29 yards to the Texas State 32-yard line. The Warhawk drive stalled after a 15-yard personal foul penalty, but Ford converted a 35-yard field goal to extend the ULM lead to 35-20 with 1:33 to play in the third quarter.
 
Watts gained 24 yards on a reverse to set up a Bobcat first down at the ULM 20-yard line. Williams capped off a six-play, 65-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run as Texas State cut its deficit to 35-27 with 14:29 left in the fourth quarter.
 
On a second-and-2 play on ULM's next possession, Evans hooked up with Green for a 67-yard scoring play as the Warhawks moved out to a 42-27 lead with 13:48 remaining in the game. Green spun out of two attempted tackles near field before breaking away to end zone.
 
ULM put together a 15-play, 75-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes and resulted in Ford's third field goal, a 20-yarder, as the Warhawks took a 45-27 lead with 4:59 left on clock.
 
Green finished with five catches for 118 yards.
 
After surrendering touchdowns on Texas State's first three drives, the ULM defense settled in and kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard for their next seven possessions, including five three-and-outs. The Warhawk defense limited the Bobcats to five first downs, 71 total yards and seven points in the second half.
 
WARHAWKS CELEBRATE 68TH HOMECOMING GAME –
Since becoming a four-year college in 1951, ULM is 41-25-1 (.619) in 67 Homecoming games, including a 1-0 record against Texas State. The Warhawks have won 12 of their last 17 Homecoming contests.
 
ULM played host to Texas State for its 2016 Homecoming game, and red-shirt freshman Will Collins came off the bench in relief of starting quarterback Garrett Smith, who left in the game with an injury in the second quarter, and threw two touchdown passes while Duke Carter (24 carries for 104 yards and one TD) and Ben Luckett (27 for 100 and two TDs) combined to rush for 204 yards and three TDs in the Warhawks' 40-34 victory over the Bobcats. Trailing 14-10 after one quarter, ULM scored 23 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 33-14 halftime lead.
 
EVANS ECLIPSES 5,000-YARD CAREER MILESTONE –
Junior quarterback Caleb Evans ranks second the Sun Belt in passing yards (231.7 per game) and total offense (279.3 ypg.). The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Evans has completed 146-of-239 throws (.611) for 1,622 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ranks second on the team in rushing, with 72 carries for 333 yards and five TDs.
 
Evans recorded his fifth 200-yard passing game of the season and 12th of his career, completing 16-of-22 passes for 224 yards at Coastal Carolina, including a 37-yard TD strike to Marcus Green. He accounted for 256 yards total offense and three scores at CCU, including TD runs of 1 and 20 yards in the second half.
 
With his 11-yard completion to Green early in the second quarter at Ole Miss, Evans became the eighth quarterback in ULM history to reach the 5,000-yard passing milestone. He completed 17-of-28 throws for 206 yards against the Rebels.
 
The Mansfield, Texas, native accounted for 317 yards total offense and two scores in the second half alone as ULM attempted to rally from a 28-point halftime deficit in ULM's 35-27 loss to Troy in the Sun Belt opener for both teams. In the second half, Evans completed 18-of-29 throws for 216 yards, including touchdown tosses of 4 yards to Sloan Spiller and 23 yards to Josh Pederson, and rushed nine times for 101 yards. He finished 29-of-48 passing for 290 yards. It marked his second career 100-yard rushing effort.
 
Evans completed 15-of-28 passes for 225 yards at Texas A&M, including a 2-yard touchdown toss to R.J. Turner, and one interception.
 
He connected on 15-of-28 passes for 195 yards in ULM's 21-20 win at Southern Miss, including TD strikes of 49 and 4 yards to Marcus Green.
 
Evans accounted for 408 yards total offense and three TDs to lead ULM to a 34-31 season-opening victory over Southeastern Louisiana. He capped off a seven-play, 63-yard drive with the game-winning 11-yard TD run with 37 seconds left. Evans also added a two-point run on the conversion to provide the final margin. He set career highs for pass completions (35) and attempts (53) against Southeastern, including scoring tosses of 3 and 79 yards to Green. His 35 completions are tied for the sixth-highest single-game total in school history (Pete Thomas completed 35-of-50 throws at New Mexico State in 2014). Evans, who completed throws to 10 different receivers, also rushed 13 times for 62 yards and one score.
 
In 26 career games, Evans has completed 433-of-727 passes (.596) for 5,324 yards, 29 TDs and 18 interceptions.
 
WARHAWKS FROM THE LONE STAR STATE –
ULM's 2018 roster features 41 players from Texas: red-shirt freshman linebacker Andy Becker (Liberty Hill), freshman wide receiver Jahquan Bloomfield (Katy / Seven Lakes), fifth-year senior cornerback Jarell Brown (Wylie), senior wide receiver Xavier Brown (Duncanville), red-shirt freshman wide receiver Perry Carter (Houston / St. Pius X), freshman cornerback Floyd Connell (Copperas Cove), red-shirt freshman tight end Cameron Darling (McKinney / McKinney Boyd), junior offensive lineman Trace Ellison (Frisco / Centennial), junior quarterback Caleb Evans (Mansfield / Bishop Dunne), red-shirt freshman wide receiver CJ Fletcher (Houston / Lamar), fifth-year senior linebacker David Griffith (Plano / Plano Senior), sophomore safety Austin Hawley (Gladewater), red-shirt freshman kicker David Heaton (Humble / Atascocita), junior tight end Reagan Heddins (Grand Prairie / South Grand Prairie), fifth-year senior cornerback Marcus Hubbard (Rowlett / Sachse), red-shirt freshman Zachari Jackson (Grand Prairie / Mansfield Lake Ridge), freshman linebacker Keyshawn Johnson (Duncanville), junior offensive lineman Brandon Jones (Montgomery), sophomore safety Logan Latin (Houston / Lamar), freshman offensive lineman Blake Lodes (Mansfield / Lake Ridge), senior Markis McCray (Euless / Trinity), freshman kicker Jacob Meeks (Grand Prairie / Mansfield Lake Ridge), freshman safety Bacari Middleton (Grand Prairie), junior defensive end Sam Miller (Canton), junior offensive lineman Ben Moye (Garland / Sachse), freshman defensive end Brandon Nettles (Arlington, Texas / Lake Ridge), freshman cornerback Jordan Oliver (Richmond / Kempner), freshman offensive lineman Conner Parsons (Mansfield), freshman running back Isaiah Phillips (Lufkin), junior center Bobby Reynolds (Keller), junior defensive lineman Larance Shaw (Fort Worth / Crowley), sophomore defensive end Ty Shelby (Houston / Friendswood), senior tight end Sloan Spiller (Katy), freshman quarterback Colby Suits (Forney / North Forney), fifth-year senior safety Wesley Thompson (Tyler / Chapel Hill), fifth-year senior safety Collin Turner (Arlington / Martin), junior defensive lineman Jaylen Veasley (Rockwall), fifth-year senior defensive end Shaquille Warren (Tyler / Chapel Hill), sophomore linebacker Traveion Webster (Longview), sophomore quarterback Brennen Wooten (San Angelo / Central) and graduate kicker Matt Wylie (Dripping Springs).
 
NCAA STAT LEADERS –
Here's a glance at how ULM ranks among the NCAA individual stat leaders in 2018:
 
Individual Statistics (Top 50 )
Rushing Yards Per Carry: Derrick Gore (48th at 5.53 rushing yards per carry)
Completions Per Game: Caleb Evans (27th with 20.9 completions per game)
Passing Yards: Caleb Evans (27th with 1,622 passing yards)
Passing Yards Per Game: Caleb Evans (47th at 231.7 passing yards per game)
Receiving Yards: Marcus Green (49th with 503 receiving yards)
Receiving Touchdowns: Marcus Green (37th with 5 receiving touchdowns)
Total Offense: Caleb Evans (29th at 279.3 yards total offense per game)
All-Purpose Yards: Marcus Green (38th at 116.9 all-purpose yards per game)
Points Responsible For: Caleb Evans (44th with 80 points responsible for)
Combined Kick Return Yards: Marcus Green (50th with 268 combined kick return yards)
Punt Returns for Touchdowns: Marcus Green (tied for 3rd with 1 punt return for touchdown)
Solo Tackles: Collin Turner (48th with 5.1 solo tackles per game)
Fumbles Recovered: Sam Miller (tied for 8th with 2 fumble recoveries)
 
WARHAWK SINGLE-GAME BESTS UNDER VIATOR –
Here's a look at the top single-game totals produced by ULM during head coach Matt Viator's tenure (2016-present; 31 games):
 
Rushing Yards: 325 vs. Southern, 2016
 
Passing Yards: 454 vs. Arkansas State, 2017
 
Total Yards: 593 vs. ULL, 2017
 
First Downs: 31 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 2018; vs. Texas State and Georgia State, 2016
 
Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed: 42 yards by Georgia State, 2016
 
Fewest Passing Yards Allowed: 0 by Louisiana, 2016
 
Fewest Total Yards Allowed: 240 by Louisiana, 2016
 
Fewest First Downs Allowed: 16 by Memphis, 2017; by Georgia State, 2016
 
Sacks By: 5 vs. Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss, 2018; vs. ULL, 2017
 
Turnovers Forced: 4 vs. Southern Miss, 2018
 
Points (Game): 56 vs. ULL, 2017
 
Points (Half): 33 (1) vs. Texas State, 2016
 
Points (Quarter): 23 (1) vs. Texas State, 2016
 
Victory Margin: 25 vs. Coastal Carolina, 2018
 
Fewest Points Allowed (Game): 20 by Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss, 2018
 
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