The Game
The No. 23-ranked Angelo State football team will play No. 18 Michigan Tech in the first round of the NCAA Division II on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. in Houghton, Mich. The game will be carried on KWFR 101.9FM The Fire with Jeremy Bryant on the call.

Michigan Tech
The Huskies are 9-1 on the season with their only loss being a 37-3 setback to No. 4 Ferris State. It is the second NCAA Division II Playoff appearance for Michigan Tech and the first since 2004. The Huskies are led by head coach Tom Kearly, who has a 59-34 overall record.  

The Series
This will be the first meeting between the two programs. 

LSC Playoff Champions
The Rams won the LSC Playoff Championship by defeating No. 24 Texas A&M-Commerce 35-33. The inaugural LSC Playoff Championship is the first championship of any kind since the 1987 team won the LSC Regular Season Championship. 

AFCA Top 25 
The Rams moved into the American Football Coaches Association top 25 at No. 23 after winning the LSC Playoff Championship. It is the Rams first appearance in the AFCA Top 25 since October 5, 2009 when the team was ranked No. 23. The Rams are the only school from the Lone Star Conference ranked in the top 25.  

Regional Poll 
The Rams secured a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs and were ranked No. 6 in the final NCAA Division II Super Region poll. ASU will face the No. 3 seed Michigan Tech. The winner of the game will play the No. 2 seed Colorado State-Pueblo. Ferris State stayed at No. 1 with Colorado Mines and Ohio Dominican at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. 

Five Game Win Streak
The Rams won their fifth-straight game on Saturday. It is the first time ASU won five in a row during a season since the start of the 2005 season.  The 1994 Rams were the last squad to win five games to end the season as the team won seven-straight to make the playoffs. 

The Last Playoff Appearance
ASU head coach Will Wagner was present the last time Angelo State was in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Wagner was an assistant coach for the Rams opponent Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats came out victorious 45-14 in San Angelo in 2005.  

Playoffs
The Rams are 7-7 all-time in the playoffs and 3-5 in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Rams last won a NCAA Division II game in 1997 over Western State 46-12. ASU's best NCAA Division II season was in 1989 when the team advanced to the semifinals before falling to Jacksonville State. It will be the fourth road NCAA DII playoff game with the Rams holding a 2-2 record on the road. 

100-Yard Receivers
Talon Smith became the third receiver to break the 100-yard receiving barrier this season. He caught five balls for 101-yards and one touchdown in the win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Dakarai Pecikonis has had two games of at least 100-yards receiving with 163-yards against Western State and 136-yards against Tarleton State. Chris Omigie was the third receiver with 105-yards versus Midwestern State. The Rams have had a 100-yard rusher in five games this season. 

100-Yard Rusher
Ryan Byrd found his stride against Texas A&M-Commerce. The junior running back recorded his third game of at least 100-yards on the ground. He carried the ball a career high 23 times for 109 yards and once score. 

Record Breaker
Kyle Washington broke Josh Neiswander's single-season touchdown passing record with three passing TDs against the Lions. The junior now had 28 this season and 51 for his career.  It is the most passing touchdowns since Neiswander threw 25 in 2009. The quarterback is also on pace to break the completion percentage record of 62.4 held by Neiswander. Washington has increased his individual total offense record with 3,570 yards. 

Defensive Stands
The Rams have relied on their defense the last three games of the season to secure wins. Tarleton State, Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce each had opportunities to win but were denied. Fred Lawrence intercepted Tarleton State while Jonathan Shannon made a tackle on fourth down to stop Midwestern State. The Rams made two big stops against TAMUC. The first was at the 1-yard line. The Lions rushed the ball four-straight times and were denied all four times. The last stop came on a two-point conversion. Paul Mason covered the wide receiver to prevent the pass from being completed.  

Road Games
The Rams are 4-0 in road games with wins over Texas A&M-Commerce, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Tarleton State. ASU has won its last six games on the road dating back to 2013. The Rams are 12-7 under head coach Will Wagner on the road. 

Offensive Records
The Ram broke a couple of records on Saturday. ASU broke the single-game total offense average with 486.0 yards per game which broke last season's single-season game average record of 457.9. The offense also broke the record for points scored in a season and touchdowns in just 10 games. ASU has scored 417 points and scored 56 touchdowns this year. The Rams also broke the points scored per game with 41.7. 

Defensive Takeaways
The Rams have recorded 23 takeovers this season and given up only 13 turnovers. ASU is No. 18 nationally in turnover margin at 1.0 per game. Saturday's game was just the second time the Rams were held without a takeaway. 

Winning Season
The Rams moved to 8-2 on the season and are in the midst of the program's 31st winning season since 1964. The eight victories are the most since 2005. ASU won the LSC South Division in 2000 but the last times the Rams won a conference championship was in 1987. 

Tackles
Rush Seaver has recorded 131 total tackles this season which is the most in a single season since James Williamson had 132 in 2003. The senior has averaged 13.1 tackles per game and is No 7 in NCAA Division II. He is the LSC No. 1 tackler.    

Ranked Opponents
No. 18 Michigan Tech will be the third-ranked opponent the Rams will face this season and the third on the road this season. 

Streaking
Kyle Washington extended his streak of throwing a touchdown pass in consecutive games to 17. The Humble native added three passing touchdowns and now has 28 TD's on the season and 51 in his career.  

PATs
Peter Marquez, in his first season at Angelo State, has etched his name into the record books. The junior kicker has made 51-of-52 PATs which ties the ASU record set in 1987 by Bryan Thompson. 

Receiving Milestone
Dakarai Pecikonis continued his climb on the ASU all-time career receiving list. The senior wide receiver moved closer to the ASU all-time career receiving yards mark with 2,665 yards. He is 4-yards from moving into No. 2 all-time ahead of Darron Johnson and just 91 yards from passing Don Burrell for the top spot.  

Career Sacks
Clayton Callicutt has quietly moved up the ASU career sack list. The junior has 7.0 sacks this season and now has 19.0 for his career as a Ram. Callicutt is currently No. 4 on the ASU all-time career sacks. The three names in front of him are Dane Krager (31), Greg Collins (26.5) and Pierce Holt (21.5). The junior is currently No. 15 in NCAA Division II and No. 1 in LSC in tackles for loss with 1.94 per game. 

Kickoff Returns
The Rams are No. 11 in NCAA Division II by averaging 24.2 yards per kick return this season. ASU has had five games of at least 100 return yards. Anthony Yancy is No. 10 in NCAA Division II and No. 1 in the LSC at 30.0 yards per return. He is one of 10 players in NCAA Division II with two kickoff return touchdowns.  

Team Captains
Dominique McCoy, Rush Seaver, Blake Smith, Warren Truesdale and Kyle Washington were selected as captains for the 2014 season by their teammates. Seaver, Truesdale and Washington were captains last season as well. 
Night Train
The Rams will play their second day game of the season. ASU had been accustomed to playing under the lights this season. ASU played nine games under the lights.  

Program Milestone
Angelo State won the program's 406th football game dating back to 1939. The following lists the coaches and record breakdown in Ram football history. 
 

Pete Sikes	1939-1949	41-23-5
Max Bumgardner	1950-1968	74-74-2
Grant Teaff	1969-1971	19-11
James Cameron	1972-1973	13-7
Jim Hess	1974-1981	65-23-3
Jerry Vandergriff	1985-2004	143-101-2
Dale Care	2005-2010	28-36
Will Wagner	2012-Present	23-20

ESPN Top 10 Plays
Dakarai Pecikonis made an acrobatic catch in the third quarter. The 29-yard reception made it all the way to No. 5 on ESPN Sportscenter Top 10 Plays. It is the second time in two years the Rams have been showcased on Sportscenter. Last season, Jermie Calhoun scored a touchdown after leaping over a Black Hills State defender that went all the way to No. 1 before Peyton Manning threw seven touchdowns in a single game. 

New Defensive Coordinator
Girsch spent the last 17 years coaching at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, before being hired by Wagner. He has spent the last six years as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Fighting Bees. He was named a MSFA Midwest League Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008. He has coached five All-Americans and been a part of seven Mid-State Football Association Conference Championships. His defense has finished in the top 25 in scoring for the last five years highlights by a No. 2 finish in 2009 and a No. 5 finish in 2011.

Head Coach
Will Wagner (Hardin-Simmons, '96) will begin his fourth season as head coach of the Rams. He is 22-20 in his fourth season at the helm of the Rams. The Odessa native helped Northwest Missouri State win three national championships as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.

The Program
Angelo State won the NAIA National Championship in 1978 and has won three Lone Star Conference Championships (1978, 1984, 1987). The Rams have seen five NCAA D-II playoff appearances and produced 57 All-Americans. Angelo State has sent 11 student-athletes on to successful NFL careers, including Pierce Holt, who earned two Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988 and 1989. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Legendary Baylor head coach Grant Teaff coached at ASU, and has been inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame with Holt and former Rams' offensive lineman Rodney Cason.

Follow From Home
If you cannot attend the Angelo State football game, ASU has you covered. Jeremy Bryant will call the game with help from analyst Daniel Ramirez on 101.9 KWFR-FM, which will also be streamed on AngeloSports.com. Live updates will be provided on Angelo State's Facebook page along with its Twitter account, @AngeloSports, Instagram, angelosports_com or on YouTube AngeloSports.