PORTALES, N.M. – Game three of the 2024 Eastern New Mexico University football season is here. Before the program takes the field versus Angelo State, please take a look at the 4^th & 1 Preview:

First Down – Chicken Dinner: Winning is back on track for ENMU football to begin 2024. After two games, the Greyhounds sit at 2-0 overall and are now beginning conference play tomorrow evening versus Angelo State. It marks two-straight seasons that the Hounds have finished the nonconference regular season with a perfect record. Last week, ENMU found a strong focus on lengthy drives leaving a trail of dust along the way. The run-focused offense accounted for 417 total yards, 371 rushing yards, and 25 first downs. Defensively, the Hounds posted five sacks and seven total tackles for loss. In comparison, the previous weeks win against New Mexico Highlands saw more explosive plays offensively with significantly shorter drives. The defense allowed more points versus NMHU, but the offense scoring nine touchdowns in the opening game of the year proved to be the breakthrough Eastern needed to begin the season-long campaign.

Second Down – Weekly Honor: For the first time in his collegiate career, defensive lineman DJ Moore was named the Lone Star Conference defensive player of the week. The sophomore concluded the home opener with six tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks. He currently leads the conference in both tackles for loss (4) and sacks (3). He helped ENMU hold Sul Ross State to three points in the first half and pressured the Lobos offensive line to give up four sacks. The Carlsbad, N.M. native spoke with local media after the game and recalled the tough, physical play needed to earn the win over SRSU.

Third Down – Ron's Running: Senior Ron Craten has established himself as the go-to option for Eastern New Mexico. The Oak Grove, La. native has attempted nearly 36% of ENMU's total rushes over the first two games of the season. His production is quite similar as he has ran for 35% of the team's 891 total rushing yards. Craten is the first rusher for Eastern to surpass the 300+ mark just two games into the year since 2019. The Mississippi College transfer is on pace to eclipse his previous career-high rushing total from his previous institution during the game against Angelo State.

Fourth Down – Looking Past The Record: It may be easy to look at the two programs by their record going into Saturday night, but that does not tell the full story. Angelo State comes into their home opener with two-straight losses and their first 0-2 start to the season since 2008. Despite the unfavorable record, the Rams are still receiving one vote in the AFCA top-25 poll. ASU has some talent on both sides of the ball with several 2022-23 all-LSC honorees like Brayden Wilcox, Kyle Bradford, Zorhan Rideaux, Connor Fisher, Noah Plsek, Jake Long, Andrew Pitts, Eric Rascoe, Jordan McKinney, Brad Larson, and Cade Fuller. One of the strongest areas to look out for is special teams for the Rams. Larson is the active DII career leader in field goal percentage (18-19 FG). Fuller ranks eleventh among DII punters with 45.8 yards per attempt. Both losses came to teams ranked in the top-25 currently.

&1 – Game of the Week: ENMU and ASU's contest is the FloFootball DII game of the week. That means fans can watch the game for free on the FloFootball YouTube page. Angelo State will play at home for the first time in 2024 and bring a defense that leads the Lone Star Conference in a few statistical categories. They currently have three interceptions, and two fumbles recovered, which is first in the conference. ASU is also forcing opponents to run the ball for just 52 yards per contest. That means that Saturday will feature the conference's top rushing offense versus the top rushing defense. Lastly, the Rams are only allowing 19 points per game, ranking second among programs in the LSC.