2011 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team

The 2011 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team represented West Texas A&M University during the 2010 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC). Led by seventh-year head coach Don Carthel, the Buffaloes played their home games at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, Texas.

2011 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football
Kanza Bowl champion
Kanza Bowl, W 26–7 vs. Central Missouri
Conference	Lone Star Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 25
Record	8–3 (6–2 LSC)
Head coach	Don Carthel (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Stephen Lee (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Colby Carthel (6th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium

2011 Lone Star Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Midwestern State $^		8	–	0					10	–	1
No. 16 Abilene Christian ^		7	–	1					8	–	3
No. 25 West Texas A&M #		6	–	2					8	–	3
Tarleton State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Texas A&M–Kingsville		4	–	4					6	–	5
Angelo State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Incarnate Word		2	–	6					2	–	8
Eastern New Mexico †		1	–	7					2	–	9
Texas A&M–Commerce		1	–	7					1	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Kanza Bowl participant † – Eastern New Mexico vacated both wins Rankings from AFCA poll

The team finished the regular season with an overall record of 7–3 with a LSC record of 6–2, finishing third in the conference. For just the second time under Carthel, the Buffs failed to receive a bid for the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Instead, the team was invited to the Kanza Bowl, where they defeated Central Missouri 26–7.

Offseason

Coaching changes

In January 2011, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Nesbitt was hired for the same position with the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. Nesbitt was replaced by Stephen Lee, who previously served as co-offensive coordinator/passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Brenham High School in Brenham, Texas.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	CSU Pueblo*	No. 19	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	L 24–26	7,935
September 17	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 5 Texas A&M–Kingsville		Cowboys Stadium Arlington, TX (LSC Football Festival)	W 42–21	24,837
September 24	6:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word	No. 21	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	W 52–7	6,138
October 1	7:00 p.m.	at Tarleton State	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX	W 44–13	7,534
October 8	6:00 p.m.	Angelo State	No. 20	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	W 19–7	14,577
October 15	2:00 p.m.	at No. 10 Abilene Christian	No. 17	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX	L 18–28	10,246
October 22	6:00 p.m.	Eastern New Mexico	No. 24	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX (Wagon Wheel)	W 52–21	8,413
October 29	6:00 p.m.	Central Washington*	No. 20	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	W 49–35	4,427
November 5	2:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Midwestern State	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX	L 21–35	10,820
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Texas A&M–Commerce		Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX (East Texas vs. West Texas)	W 49–0	3,630
November 27	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 23 Central Missouri*		Hummer Sports Complex Topeka, KS (Kanza Bowl)	W 26–7	465
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

See also: 2011 NCAA Division II football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
AFCA	19	—	—	21	20	20	17	24	20	20	—	—	25

Game summaries

CSU Pueblo

See also: 2011 CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
ThunderWolves	0	17	3	6	26
No. 19 Buffaloes	10	7	7	0	24

Vs. No. 5 Texas A&M–Kingsville (LSC Football Festival)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	10	10	15	7	42
No. 5 Javelinas	0	7	14	0	21

Incarnate Word

See also: 2011 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	7	0	0	7
No. 21 Buffaloes	14	10	21	7	52

At Tarleton State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Buffaloes	9	7	21	7	44
Texans	10	3	0	0	13

Angelo State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	7	7
No. 20 Buffaloes	0	7	3	9	19

At No. 10 Abilene Christian

See also: 2011 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Buffaloes	3	7	0	8	18
No. 10 Wildcats	0	14	7	7	28

Eastern New Mexico

	1	2	3	4	Total
Greyhounds	0	0	7	14	21
No. 24 Buffaloes	14	14	14	10	52

Central Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	7	7	35
No. 20 Buffaloes	7	14	14	14	49

At No. 5 Midwestern State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Buffaloes	7	0	14	0	21
No. 5 Mustangs	7	14	7	7	35

Texas A&M–Commerce

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	0	0	0
Buffaloes	21	14	7	7	49

Vs. No. 23 Central Missouri (Kanza Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	7	13	3	3	26
No. 23 Mules	7	0	0	0	7

Personnel

2011 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 4 Luke Halpin So RB 5 Khiry Robinson Jr WR 8 Nate Slaughter So WR 9 Brittan Golden Sr QB 10 Dustin Vaughan So WR 11 Torrence Allen So WR 14 Jace Jackson So QB 16 Tanner Marsh Jr WR 17 Lance Ratliff So WR 19 Luke Russell So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Jordan Smith Jr DL 2 Tyrell Higgins Jr DB 3 Caleb Randolph Sr LB 6 Bryan Johnson Sr DB 7 Mario Goins So DL 12 Jonathan Hatton Sr DB 15 Torian Oakley  Fr DB 18 Tarin Lee So LB 20 Anthony Scott Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P, K 13 Kevin Vanvoris So P, K 41 Sergio Castillo So DS 54 Ramon Lopez Jr	Head coach Don Carthel Coordinators/assistant coaches Stephen Lee Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Colby Carthel Defensive coordinator Joel Hinton Wide receivers Nick Paremski Secondary Matt Storm Offensive line Caid Faske Defensive tackles Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: October 17, 2024