PORTALES, NM - Eastern New Mexico football is set to host #1 Texas A&M-Commerce this Saturday night inside Greyhound Stadium at 7 p.m. The Hounds are set to get their Lone Star conference schedule underway and will have upset ambitions in mind as they square off with the defending Division II national champions.

WELCOMING THE CHAMPS
• The Hounds welcome #1 Texas A&M-Commerce to Portales and will seek the upset over the defending Division II national champions on Saturday evening.    
• Commerce received 26 of the 33 available first-place votes in this week's AFCA Division II coaches poll.
• Eastern New Mexico dropped back-to-back games for the first time in the Kelley Lee era last week with a 34-24 loss to #25 Colorado Mesa and will have to upset the Lions this weekend in order to avoid dropping three straight games for the first time since 2015. 
 • Commerce currently holds the nation's longest active win streak with 12 consecutive victories and has also secured a win in six consecutive true road games as well. 

A SECOND HALF RESURGENCE
• Despite suffering a loss in the home opener a week ago at the hands of #25 Colorado Mesa, Eastern New Mexico oustcored the Mavericks 21-3 in the second half and recorded three second half rushing touchdowns to illustrate that the "Ground Strike" offense may have finally hit it's stride. 
• The Hounds outgained Mesa by a total of 186-to-141 in the second half and generated 186 of their total rushing yards for the game as well.
• Wyatt Strand, Paul Terry, and Tayshaun Gary all found their way into the end zone in the second half. Strand scored as time expired in the third quarter on a 57-yard rush, which now stands as the longest rush of his career.
  
THE EMERGING THREAT 
• Runningback Paul Terry has now led the Hounds in carries in both games so far this season after registering 22 carries for 145 yards and a score in last Saturday's contest.
• Terry now ranks second in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 115.5 yards per game and is tied for the lead with multiple others in touchdowns with two scores on the season.
 
HISTORY WITH THE LIONS 
• Eastern New Mexico is 12-16 all-time against Texas A&M-Commerce and has been defeated in the last four match-ups between the two programs. 
• The Hounds do boast an 8-4 record all-time record at home against the Lions and they last defeated Commerce back on Nov. 11, 2013 on the road by a final score of 42-35.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Commerce defeated William Jewell last weekend by a final score of 21-17 on the road. Quarterback Preston Wheeler has seized control of the on-going starting quarterback battle for the Lions and completed 21-of-25 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown for a completion rating of 80.6.
• Wheeler currently ranks third in the LSC with an average of 241.5 yards passing per game while Brucks Saathoff ranks second in the league with an average of 10.0 tackles per game.
 • Kicker Kristov Martinez ranks 10th all-time in Division II history with 57 made field goals and is the leading active field goal kicker in the nation after starting the season off 3-for-4 in field goal attempts. 
• Despite their number one national ranking, Commerce hasn't showen signs of dominance yet in 2018 and ranks in the middle of the pack in the LSC in both total offense (371.0 ypg) and total defense (331.5 ypg). 
• The Lions were nearly upset in their season opener at home against Texas A&M-Kingsville, needing double-overtime to escape with a win, and then had a luckluster performance a week ago with a William Jewell team that finished last season with a record of 2-9. 

BACK ON THE RUSHING TRACK
• After rushing for a season-high 327 yards in last week's loss to Colorado Mesa, Eastern has regained their rightful throne as the conference's best rushing team with an average of 264.0 yards per game.
 • A year after leading the nation in rushing yards, Eastern enters week three ranked 15th in Division II in rushing yards per game. The Hounds also led the nation in time of possession a season ago, but have struggled to keep the football under their control so far this season and currently rank eigthth in the league with an average time of possession of just 24:33. 

STOPPING THE RUN
• Eastern New Mexico has been gashed so far this season by a pair of talented rushing units in their first two games against Missouri S&T and Colorado Mesa. The Hounds rank at the bottom of the conference with 245.0 rushing yards per game allowed. 
• Commerce on the other hand has struggled mightily to find a consistent rushing attack and ranks eighth in the LSC with an average of just 108.0 rushing yards per game, setting the scene for an interesting match-up that could allow the Hounds the break from a rushing attack that they've needed in order to secure their first win of 2018. 

THE MISTER WITH THE EXPERIENCE
• Graduate student Mister Birdo figures to make his 26th appereance in a Greyhound uniform this weekend, making him the unquestioned leader of a young offensive line unit that finally began to enforce their will and demonstrate their talent during last week's second half. 
• Birdo will be tasked with directing an offensive line that will line up against a Commerce defensive line that features multiple Division I transfers and will be put to the test early and often. 

HOUNDS ALL TIME RECORDS
• The Hounds 2015 season still sits atop the all-time records for scoring, total offense, and rushing. The 2015 squad scored 485 points, totaled 5,878 offensive yards, and rushed for 4,144 yards. 
• Kamal Cass finished his ENMU career (2014-17) as the all-time leading rusher in school history with 4,301 yards. He also owns the season record for touchdowns with 22 in 2015 and career all-purpose yards with 5,322.
• Quarterback Wyatt Strand is eighth all-time in school history in touchdowns responsible for with 33. He is nine away from moving into the top-five all-time. He is currently eighth in ENMU history in all-purpose yards with 3,468. 

THE HOUNDS IN LSC PLAY
• The Hounds finished 6-2 in conference play in 2017 and placed third in the league standings in the first season under Kelley Lee
• At 6-2, ENMU stood alone at third place. Midwestern State finished the season undefeated to claim the league title, with Texas A&M-Commerce finishing second at 7-1.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Hounds are 7-0 during the Kelley Lee era when leading at halftime. Their 17-0 halftime lead against UT Permian Basin was their largest during the 2017 season. ENMU went into the break with the lead in four of their last five games last season. 
• The Hounds are 1-1 all-time under Lee when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when the game is tied going into the break.

400 OR MORE
• ENMU is 6-1 under Kelley Lee when totaling at least 400 yards of total offense.
• When totaling 500 or more yards of total offense, ENMU is 2-1 during the Lee era.

21 AND UP
• The Hounds are 7-2 under Kelley Lee when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, ENMU is 4-1 during the Lee era and 2-1 when scoring 40 or more points. 

HOUNDS FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 81 seasons of ENMU Football the Hounds have compiled a 397-392-21 (.503) record in 809 total games.
• Since joining the NCAA in 1984, the Hounds have a 171-173-4 (.497) record in 348 total games
• The Hounds have won eight or more games nine times in program history and have posted 25 seasons of seven or more wins.
• ENMU has won a school-record nine games two times (1957 & 1987). 
• Since joining the NCAA in 1984, ENMU has won seven or more games in 11 seasons and posted six seasons of eight or more wins, with the most recent coming in 2017.
• ENMU has won or shared two LSC Championships in school history with the last coming in 2013.
• The Hounds have qualified for the postseason two times in their history, with both being berths to the Heart of Texas Bowl in 2015 and 2016.