ELLENSBURG – The Central Washington University Football Team (7-1) welcomes the 16th-ranked Angelo State Rams (6-2) for a Saturday evening matchup that could impact the playoff outlook for both teams, according to a statement from CWU athletics.

"The Rams are a very good football team. Early on they had two very quality wins over MIAA opponents that really set the tone for their season, but then their quarterback got hurt and they kind of had a stumble there in the middle part there, but now the quarterback's back and it feels like they're in a scenario where they're starting to get back on stride and back on tempo with the expectations they had at the beginning of the season,” Head Coach Chris Fisk said.  

The Wildcats defeated Midwestern State 56-13 to remain undefeated in conference play. They had to navigate two weather delays and rain on their way to their seventh win of the season.    

“We are very proud of the way this team continues to handle adversity and travel; they are road warriors. We are excited to get home and celebrate senior week next week in a big game against Angelo (State),” head coach Chris Fisk said.    

Tied 7-7 after the first quarter, the Wildcats' offense exploded with 35 points in the second quarter to take a 42-13 lead at halftime. Quarterback Kennedy McGill began the third quarter with back-to-back connections, first to Logan Brady for nine yards, then to Camden Loidhamer for 21 yards and the first down.    

McGill then ran the ball for 19 yards to put the Wildcats deep in Mustang territory. Ryder Bumgarner took it from there, running in the final 24 yards for the touchdown. The Wildcats added one more score in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on their dominant win.    

McGill finished the game completing seven of nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns while leading the rushing attack with 174 yards and two more scores. Bumgarner and Ki’Marree Washington each had a rushing touchdown, with Bumgarner adding 64 yards and Washington adding 55. The Wildcats' defense had two sacks, three tackles for loss and a 90-yard pick-six. 

Angelo State is currently outscoring their opponents 37.38 points per game to the 18.75 points they give up per game. The blue and gold have a very balanced attack, averaging 197.8 rushing yards per game and 183 passing yards per game. The Rams have a stout rushing defense only allowing 102.8 rushing yards per game and give up 245.38 passing yards per game to their opponents. 

“They're backed in a corner, they're fighting for their lives, they're fighting for playoff hopes. Just like I know how the Rams will be, if they're backed in a corner, they're going to come out swinging,” Fisk said.  

The Rams are currently successful on 40% of their third down attempts and 60 percent on their fourth down attempts, compared to the 40.91% third down and 43.75% fourth down success rate opponents are averaging.  

Opponents are holding onto the ball slightly longer than ASU by a margin of 30:08 minutes per game compared to the 29:50 minutes the Rams hold onto the ball. Angelo State is a disciplined team currently averaging 58.13 penalty yards per game, racking up 50 penalties for a total of 465 yards this season. 

“I think this will be just like every matchup we've ever had with these guys. If you look at every one of them they've been decided by a touchdown or less and they're tight and physical games. It's usually for us the most physical game of the year, we're going to have to be at our best to win this football game,” Fisk said.  

The Wildcats are set to kick off against Angelo State in their final home game of the season Nov. 1 at 6 p.m.