Week 5 Preview: UMHB set for high-profile rivalry showdown at No. 6/9 Hardin-Simmons

No. 22/22 UMHB at No. 6/9 Hardin-Simmons

Saturday, October 11, 2025 • 1:00 PM CT • Shelton Stadium
Weather: sunny, 87, 10 mph wind

Setting the Stage

Round 1 of the two-round fight between the ASC’s upper echelon kicks off Saturday afternoon under the West Texas sky, with No. 6/9 Hardin-Simmons (4-0) put its perfect record to the test against a UMHB (2-2) squad ranked No. 22 nationally and coming off a confidence-boosting 42-28 win at ETBU.
The Cru is on the road for the third straight week, having traveled to D2 Mars Hill on Sept. 27 and ETBU on Oct. 4. HSU, meanwhile, is in the friendly confines of Shelton Stadium for the fourth week in a row. The Cowboys have won their last 16 regular-season home games dating back to Oct. 1, 2022.
Saturday features a rematch of the second-round playoff contest between the two last fall, a game won by UMHB, 17-14. After going 0-2 against the Cowboys during the regular season, The Cru stepped up with its season on the line, taking an early 14-0 lead and holding it for four quarters. It was UMHB’s first win over HSU since its 50-20 win on Sept. 24, 2022.
This is the fourth time the two rivals will meet in Abilene in Larry Harmon’s four year tenure as head coach. UMHB is 2-2 in games played at Shelton Stadium.

Series History

UMHB holds a 25-9 all-time series lead, with its first win having come against the Cowboys on Nov. 2, 2002. HSU took the first four meetings between the two from 1998-2001, but since that point, The Cru has won 25 of the last 30 contests in the series. UMHB is 18-9 against HSU in regular-season meetings, and 12-5 in games played inside Shelton Stadium. That said, the Cowboys hold the recent advantage, with wins in four of the last five matchups.

In The Polls

UMHB is ranked No. 22 in both major polls — the D3football.com Top 25 and the American Football Coaches Association Top 25. The Crusaders are also No. 22 in the Week 5 “In The Huddle” D3FB Top 40. HSU is No. 6 in the AFCA Poll, having moved up one spot after its win over Howard Payne, and No. 9 in the D3football.com Poll. The Cowboys sit at No. 7 in the “In The Huddle” Top 40.

3 things we’re watching

Will UMHB carry over last week’s effectiveness in the run game?: One of the biggest storylines that emerged from last week’s win at ETBU was The Cru’s ground game, the unit that churned up a season-high 284 yards, averaged 6.9 yards/carry, and had two 100-yard rushers. UMHB hasn’t run the ball that well over a full four-quarter span in a while. But the question now becomes if The Cru can replicate it against HSU’s bigger, stronger defensive front. While ETBU had size and the nation’s sack leader on its defensive line, the Cowboys have depth to maintain a steady presence up front for an entire game; they won’t be worn down easily.

Through four games, HSU has allowed 3.7 yards/carry, the second-best average in the ASC, and two of the league’s top three players in tackles for loss start for the Cowboy defense in DL Hayden Hays (5.0 TFL for 8 yds) and LB Kade Sink (5.5 TFL for 41 yds). But on the net, they’re 113th in D3 in rushing defense, allowing 132.0 rush yards/game, and three of their four opponents have gone over 140 yards. That includes Howard Payne, who ran for 171 yards a week ago, though a portion of that production came with the game no longer in doubt and HSU’s defensive reserves on the field.

Still, there’s a track record here that indicates UMHB should have opportunities to keep the ball on the ground and pick up positive yardage in doing so, an aspect that could turn out to be crucial in determining a winner. But it will be hard-fought yardage nonetheless for Asa Osbourn, Kamerin Ferguson, and the Crusader offense, and we have seen HSU stack up against the run before, holding McMurry to just 48 yards on 30 carries in a narrow Week 2 win. Ultimately, how much UMHB prioritizes its run game, and how HSU chooses to go about countering that decision, may end up dictating a lot.

After The Cru’s performance last week, there’s no doubt HSU will come in well prepared to stop the run. But UMHB has also had a week to fine-tune something that worked especially well in its conference-opener against no slouch of run defense. Keep an eye on this storyline.

The role of the intermediate passing game: From an HSU standpoint, this is where the Cowboys have thrived through much of this season. QB Kyle Brown is extremely effective, and his ASC-leading 175.5 passing efficiency is evidence of that. As long as he gets the ball into the hands of his receivers—namely Kris Sims (18 catches, 250 yards) and Wes Douglass (19 catches, 379 yards)—they’re able to do the rest, consistently picking up yards after the catch. Take the 90-yard throw-and-catch between Brown and Dozie Ifeadi against HPU, for example. Ifeadi made the catch 15 yards past the line of scrimmage, but then dodged two Yellowjacket defenders, picking up another 75 yards en route to the end zone.

That’s what this HSU passing attack can do, beating defenses with 10-15 yard passes, and every now and again, turning one of those into a much longer gain. Even running back Noah Garcia is a threat in this aspect on short routes out of the backfield, with 16 receptions and an average of 10.2 yards/catch. UMHB’s approach to defending HSU’s efficiency through the air is going to be crucial, and while they’ll be aiming to avoid giving up completions over the top of the secondary—as ETBU’s offense did twice last Saturday—there’s also a threat to passes going underneath in the pockets between the linebackers and safeties, especially if the secondary drifts too deep.

On the other side, this is a Crusader offense that showed flashes of an improved passing game at ETBU after struggling to find any sort of rhythm in the losses to UW-Whitewater and Mars Hill. But there’s a big difference between the ETBU passing defense (215th out of 241 teams in D3 in pass yds allowed/game) and the HSU passing defense (44th in the same category). It will take an even more precise effort through the air for UMHB to establish itself this week, and this is a Cowboy defense with four interceptions already, two of which were returned for TDs.

But the optimism for this Crusader passing attack is in the receivers who have begun stepping up, speedy pass-catchers like sophomore Luke Vidal, who turned a short pass into a 67-yard gain a week ago, and B.J. Stewart, who has a team-high 29 receptions. UMHB isn’t an offense that takes risks with a ton of deep passes, and that’s okay, especially against an HSU secondary that defends the pass well. But it makes it even more important for The Cru to find some level of success with short-to-intermediate completions on Saturday, because they will face passing downs against this HSU defense. Their ability to move the chains in those situations is going to determine a lot about how well UMHB keeps pace and how many drives finish in the end zone.

The impact of the punting units: We can break down the offensive dynamics all day, but there are going to be plenty of defensive stops from both sides in this one. These defenses are too good and too experienced for this to turn into some sort of high-scoring shootout. With those defensive stops will come punts, and it’s in games like this one where field position suddenly becomes all the more important. You can be sure both punting units will have a role to play on Saturday, tasked with pinning the opponent deep and giving their own defense favorable starting position on more than one occasion. In fact, the punting game may end up being the most valuable aspect of special teams in this meeting between The Cru and the Cowboys.

For HSU, Texas Tech transfer Kaden Turner is off to a stellar start in his first year with the program, leading the ASC in punting average, at 42.3 yards/punt. The sophomore is the lone punter in the conference to have recorded a punt of at least 60 yards this season, with his 65-yarder in the Louisiana Christian win. Texas Tech’s backup punter in 2024, six of Turner’s 12 punts have landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

UMHB has seen similar success with freshman Logan Childs, whose average of 38.8 yards/punt ranks in the Top 50 nationally. Like Turner, Childs has sent six punts inside the opponent’s 20, and the hang time on his punts have been notable as well, with an additional six called as fair catches. The San Antonio native is also tied for the league-high in 50-yard punts this season, with three.

And along with the punting conversation, it should be asked, “How effective are these offenses when they are pinned deep in their own territory?”. Obviously, the quality of the opposing defense plays a big role in what the offense does from there, but it’s a question worth asking to get a better understanding of the impact these punting units may have.

To this point, there have been eight instances of UMHB taking possession after a punt with the ball inside The Cru’s own 25. Of those eight drives, The Cru has scored on one—a two-play, 75-yard drive in the win over Bethel. The other seven have ended with five punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs. HSU’s offense has been better when faced with the same situation, coming away with points on six of its 11 drives, with five ending in touchdowns. The other five drives concluded with two fumbles and three punts. But again, the quality of defense matters, and UMHB has gone up against somewhat stiffer competition from that standpoint, with both Bethel and UW-Whitewater ranking in the Top 15 nationally in scoring defense in their respective divisions. Of HSU’s four opponents, just one—Chapman—is currently a Top 50 scoring defense.

UMHB 2-deep depth chart