2013 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team
The 2013 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team represented West Texas A&M University in the 2013 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC). The Buffaloes were led by first-year head coach Mike Nesbitt. The team played its home games at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, Texas. The Buffaloes finished the season with an overall record of 11–3 with a LSC record of 4–2, finishing third in the conference.

The team received a bid to the NCAA Division II Playoffs as the sixth seed in Super Region 4, losing to  28–35 in the quarterfinals; to date, this is the last season the Buffaloes have made the Division II playoffs. For the 2013 season, Nesbitt served under the interim tag before being named the Buffaloes' full-time head coach following the season.

Senior quarterback Dustin Vaughan broke the program record for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Vaughan was one of three finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Vaughn would ultimately finish second in voting.

Offseason
Coaching changes
On August 22, just weeks before the team's opening game, the university announced that head coach Don Carthel had been fired. According to the press release, Carthel was dismissed for misleading university officials about buying tickets for two players on the football team and instructed the players to lie about where the tickets came from.

Mike Nesbitt, who had been originally hired as assistant head coach and offensive line coach, was named the Buffaloes' interim head coach.

Preseason
LSC media poll
The LSC media poll was released on July 29, 2013. The Buffaloes were predicted to finish first in the conference.

LSC media poll 1  West Texas A&M  141 (16) 2  Midwestern State  124 (3) 3  Tarleton State  99 (1) 4  Texas A&M–Kingsville  82 (1) 5  Angelo State  69 6  Eastern New Mexico  39 7  Texas A&M–Commerce  34

Schedule

Rankings

Personnel

Game summaries
At Western State (CO)

 Statistics WTAMUWSCU First downs  30  14 Total yards  562  267 Rushing yards  88  18 Passing yards  474  249 Turnovers  0  3 Time of possession  31:39  28:21

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  37/57, 470 yards, 6 TD Rushing  Geremy Alridge  11 rushes, 50 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  12 receptions, 206 yards, 2 TDWestern State  Passing  Brett Arrivey  22/33, 177 yards, 2 TD Rushing  Arius Norris  4 rushes, 13 yards Receiving  Travis Haney  7 receptions, 113 yards, TD

Vs. No. 18 Chadron State (LSC Football Festival)

 Statistics CSCWTAMU First downs  25  23 Total yards  464  462 Rushing yards  242  109 Passing yards  222  353 Turnovers  3  2 Time of possession  33:49  26:11

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsChadron State  Passing  John McLain  28/40, 222 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing  Glen Clinton  24 rushes, 143 yards, TD Receiving  Chapman Ham  8 receptions, 61 yardsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  29/41, 353 yards, TD Rushing  Aaron Harris  17 rushes, 103 yards, 2 TD Receiving  Torrence Allen  8 receptions, 124 yards

Texas A&M–Commerce

 Statistics TAMUCWTAMU First downs  23  31 Total yards  331  590 Rushing yards  64  82 Passing yards  267  508 Turnovers  2  1 Time of possession  26:09  33:51

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsTexas A&M–Commerce  Passing  Tyrik Rollison  15/29, 258 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing  Aaron Fields  4 rushes, 31 yards Receiving  Vernon Johnson  3 receptions, 137 yards, 2 TDWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  36/62, 508 yards, 4 TD Rushing  Geremy Alridge  4 rushes, 44 yards, TD Receiving  Anthony Johnson  9 receptions, 181 yards, TD

At Texas A&M–Kingsville

 Statistics WTAMUTAMUK First downs  25  14 Total yards  419  188 Rushing yards  118  96 Passing yards  301  92 Turnovers  0  2 Time of possession  26:51  33:09

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  25/33, 227 yards, TD Rushing  Jamison Sterns  6 rushes, 44 yards Receiving  Jace Jackson  6 receptions, 72 yardsTexas A&M–Kingsville  Passing  Aaron Bueno  13/23, 92 yards, TD Rushing  Cornelius Shackelford  14 rushes, 47 yards Receiving  C. J. Griggs  2 receptions, 24 yards

Central State

 Statistics CSUWTAMU First downs  17  32 Total yards  305  663 Rushing yards  126  169 Passing yards  179  494 Turnovers  3  0 Time of possession  36:08  23:52

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsCentral State  Passing  Michael Wilson  16/32, 124 yards, INT Rushing  Michael Wilson  15 rushes, 52 yards Receiving  Zach Thomas  6 receptions, 59 yardsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  33/41, 438 yards, 7 TD Rushing  Aaron Harris  6 rushes, 82 yards, TD Receiving  Anthony Johnson  8 receptions, 114 yards, TD

At No. 21 Tarleton State

 Statistics WTAMUTSU First downs  22  30 Total yards  360  560 Rushing yards  105  133 Passing yards  255  427 Turnovers  1  3 Time of possession  32:05  27:55

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  25/43, 255 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing  Aaron Harris  17 rushes, 66 yards, TD Receiving  Torrence Allen  5 receptions, 74 yardsTarleton State  Passing  Jake Fenske  25/42, 388 yards, 3 TD Rushing  Zach Henshaw  22 rushes, 107 yards Receiving  Le'Nard Meyers  8 receptions, 168 yards, 2 TD

Angelo State

 Statistics ASUWTAMU First downs  27  25 Total yards  554  519 Rushing yards  256  48 Passing yards  298  471 Turnovers  2  2 Time of possession  35:41  24:19

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsAngelo State  Passing  Kyle Washington  22/36, 298 yards, TD Rushing  Kyle Washington  11 rushes, 106 yards, TD Receiving  Joey Knight  9 receptions, 106 yards, TDWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  32/58, 471 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing  Geremy Alridge  10 rushes, 39 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  12 receptions, 199 yards, 2 TD

At McMurry

 Statistics WTAMUMCM First downs  28  40 Total yards  693  708 Rushing yards  241  300 Passing yards  452  408 Turnovers  1  3 Time of possession  27:29  32:31

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  27/40, 452 yards, 6 TD, INT Rushing  Aaron Harris  11 rushes, 136 yards, TD Receiving  Anthony Johnson  5 receptions, 97 yards, TDMcMurry  Passing  Gabe Rodriguez  28/46, 344 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT Rushing  Paxton Grayer  12 rushes, 159 yards, 2 TD Receiving  Greg Livingston  8 receptions, 129 yards, 2 TD

Eastern New Mexico

 Statistics ENMUWTAMU First downs  24  23 Total yards  380  484 Rushing yards  232  12 Passing yards  148  472 Turnovers  1  1 Time of possession  33:02  26:58

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsEastern New Mexico  Passing  Jeremy Buurma  8/16, 148 yards, TD Rushing  Christian Long  27 rushes, 121 yards, 3 TD Receiving  Ricky Milks  2 receptions, 49 yardsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  38/57, 472 yards, 5 TD, INT Rushing  Geremy Alridge  2 rushes, 19 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  11 receptions, 158 yards, 2 TD

West Georgia

 Statistics UWGWTAMU First downs  25  25 Total yards  435  546 Rushing yards  290  167 Passing yards  145  379 Turnovers  3  0 Time of possession  35:11  24:07

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Georgia  Passing  Austin Trainor  4/9, 83 yards Rushing  Quan Jones  19 rushes, 97 yards, 2 TD Receiving  Malcolm Johnson  1 reception, 56 yardsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  29/41, 370 yards, 6 TD Rushing  Aaron Harris  16 rushes, 145 yards, 2 TD Receiving  Torrence Allen  5 receptions, 97 yards, TD

At Midwestern State

 Statistics WTAMUMSU First downs  22  14 Total yards  315  284 Rushing yards  65  123 Passing yards  250  161 Turnovers  2  2 Time of possession  30:57  29:03

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  23/46, 250 yards, 2 INT Rushing  Aaron Harris  13 rushes, 38 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  7 receptions, 94 yardsMidwestern State  Passing  Jake Glover  10/18, 116 yards, INT Rushing  Keidrick Jackson  25 rushes, 132 yards, TD Receiving  Mark Strange  7 receptions, 117 yards

At No. 10 Indianapolis (NCAA Division II First Round)

 Statistics WTAMUINDY First downs  28  17 Total yards  435  312 Rushing yards  115  122 Passing yards  320  190 Turnovers  0  1 Time of possession  34:15  25:45

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  37/47, 320 yards, 3 TD Rushing  Aaron Harris  13 rushes, 59 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  15 receptions, 146 yards, TDIndianapolis  Passing  Connor Barthel  19/37, 190 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing  Klay Fiechter  16 rushes, 67 yards Receiving  Greg Johnson  5 receptions, 64 yards

At No. 7 Ohio Dominican (NCAA Division II Second Round)

 Statistics WTAMUODU First downs  30  24 Total yards  530  392 Rushing yards  114  143 Passing yards  416  249 Turnovers  1  2 Time of possession  37:12  22:48

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  39/52, 416 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing  Geremy Alridge  18 rushes, 76 yards Receiving  Torrence Allen  11 receptions, 145 yards, TDOhio Dominican  Passing  Mark Miller  20/33, 249 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing  Brandon Schoen  14 rushes, 65 yards Receiving  Nate Weeks  6 receptions, 103 yards

At No. 4 Grand Valley State

 Statistics WTAMUGV First downs  23  22 Total yards  434  295 Rushing yards  37  76 Passing yards  397  219 Turnovers  3  2 Time of possession  33:03  26:57

 Team  Category  Player  StatisticsWest Texas A&M  Passing  Dustin Vaughan  36/56, 397 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT Rushing  Aaron Harris  16 rushes, 46 yards Receiving  Anthony Johnson  11 receptions, 165 yards, 2 TDGrand Valley State  Passing  Heath Parling  16/32, 219 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing  Chris Robinson  16 rushes, 48 yards Receiving  Kirk Spencer  4 receptions, 77 yards, TD

References

West Texas AandM
Category:West Texas A&M Buffaloes football seasons
West Texas AandM Buffaloes football