Fast forward 11 years, however, and the date of origin is the only similarity the programs share.
Third-ranked UMHB (1-0) and TLU (1-1), two teams on seemingly divergent paths, will clash at 6 p.m. today in an American Southwest Conference opener at Tiger Field.
It will be the 11th meeting in the series that has been decisively one-sided of late. The Bulldogs haven’t won this matchup since 1999, and the Crusaders - who own a 9-1 edge in the series - have won the last two meetings by a combined score of 79-9.
Today’s tilt, at least on paper, stacks up in a similar fashion.
UMHB yielded just 37 rushing yards and churned out a balanced offensive attack that produced 401 total yards in a 30-7 manhandling of NAIA nationally ranked Southern Nazarene (Okla.) last week.
“I never thought (Southern Nazarene) was a great team, but I did think they were very well-coached and they played hard,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “For us to do what we did and do it as well as we did, I think it’s a good indication that we’ve got a pretty good nucleus of a football team.”
TLU is coming off a 24-0 loss to No. 21 Trinity in which the Bulldogs rushed for only 96 yards and passed for just 93.
Anthony Smith is TLU’s biggest threat. The 5-9, 179-pound junior tailback has rushed for 168 yards, although 123 of them came during a non-conference overtime win against Sul Ross State on opening weekend.
The Bulldogs have rotated quarterbacks, alternating between senior Joel Waldon and junior Dustin Burleson to mixed reviews.
“Waldon and Burleson are both pretty athletic, but Smith is a bigger threat,” Fredenburg said. “He’s good, really good. He has great speed.”
There should be at least one other similarity between the teams tonight. That being the shuffling of quarterbacks.
UMHB sophomore Kyle Noack sparkled last week in place of senior Josh Saenz, who was serving a one-game suspension, and Fredenburg isn’t going to name his starter - at least publicly - until kickoff.
“We’re going to play the best one,” Fredenburg said. “And I expect both guys to play.”
Whoever is under center will have the luxury of handing off to junior tailback Quincy Daniels, who ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns last week.
UMHB will try to run its conference winning streak to 22 games. The Crusaders haven’t lost an ASC game since 2005 and have won the last 21 by an average margin of 38.2 points.
With the confidence that comes from such a streak, and with an Oct. 4 showdown with rival Hardin-Simmons looming, Fredenburg wants to guard against his players looking past the Bulldogs.
“I told them that our goal is to get better every week, regardless of who we play,” Fredenburg said. “That needs to be the main focus of this team. We just need to get better.”
Notes: Today’s game is the second of three consecutive night games for UMHB, which will face McMurry at 6 p.m. next Saturday in Abilene. . . . TLU is coached by Dennis Parker, who guided Marshall to a Class 5A state title in 1990 and was the head coach at North Texas for three years (1991-93).
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
