2020 Tarleton State Texans football team

The 2020 Tarleton State Texans football team represented Tarleton State University as an independent the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team had planned to play in the fall 2020, until the postponement of the season on August 10, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] A schedule for the spring of 2021 was later arranged. Led by 11th-year head coach Todd Whitten, the Texas compiled a record of 5–3. Tarleton State played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.

2020 Tarleton State Texans football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–3
Head coach	Todd Whitten (11th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Jonathan Beasley (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Scott Carey (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Marcus Patton (5th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Stephen F. Austin			–						6	–	4
Tarleton State†			–						5	–	3
Central Arkansas			–						5	–	4
Presbyterian†			–						4	–	3
Eastern Kentucky			–						3	–	6
Dixie State†			–						2	–	3
Houston Baptist			–						1	–	3
Abilene Christian			–						1	–	5
Campbell			–						0	–	4
North Alabama			–						0	–	4
Note: † – Dixie State, Presbyterian, and Tarleton State played only in the spring. All other teams listed played only in the fall. Presbyterian was in a scheduling agreement with the Pioneer Football League, which it fully joined in July 2021.

Schedule

The team's 2020 fall schedule was scheduled with six home and six away games. On August 10, 2020, Tarleton State University announced the postponement of the football season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, until the spring of 2021.^[1][2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
February 13, 2021	6:00 p.m.	McNeese State		Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX	FSSW+/FS Go	L 37–40 2OT	1,324
February 21, 2021	4:00 p.m.	at New Mexico State		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	FSAZ/FloSports/Comcast	W 43–17	0
February 27, 2021	2:00 p.m.	Dixie State	No. 22	Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX	ESPN+	L 14–26	1,121
March 6, 2021	2:00 p.m.	Mississippi College		Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX		W 39–14	3,614
March 13, 2021	8:00 p.m.	at Dixie State		Greater Zion Stadium St. George, UT		W 37–15	1,427
March 20, 2021	6:00 p.m.	Midwestern State		Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX		W 33–21	10,776
March 27, 2021	6:00 p.m.	Northeastern State		Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX		W 38–0	4,912
April 1, 2021	6:00 p.m.	East Central		Memorial Stadium Stephenville, TX		L 14–21	2,132
Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Rankings

See also: 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

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

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Final
STATS	—	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—
Coaches'	Not released				RV	24	21	RV	RV	—	—

Game summaries

At New Mexico State

See also: 2020 New Mexico State Aggies football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Texans	23	10	7	3	43
Aggies	7	0	3	7	17

Game information

First quarter TSU – Cameron Burston 70-yard run (Christian Hernandez kick), 14:36. Texans 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:24. TSU – Gabe Douglas 86-yard pass from Cameron Burston (Christian Hernandez kick), 11:31. Texans 14–0. Drive: 1 play, 86 yards, 0:12. NMSU – Juwaun Price 94-yard kickoff return (Ethan Albertson kick), 11:19. Texans 14–7. TSU – Team safety, 6:42. Texans 16–7. TSU – Cameron Burston 21-yard run (Christian Hernandez kick), 3:29. Texans 23–7. Drive: 6 plays, 51 yards, 3:07. Second quarter TSU – Gabe Douglas 29-yard pass from Cameron Burston (Christian Hernandez kick), 7:16. Texans 30–7. Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards, 1:12. TSU – Adrian Guzman 35-yard field goal, 0:00. Texans 33–7. Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, 2:42. Third quarter TSU – DeAngelo Rosemond 4-yard run (Christian Hernandez kick), 14:11. Texans 40–7. Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:28. NMSU – Ethan Albertson 27-yard field goal, 1:56. Texans 40–10. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:19. Fourth quarter TSU – Adrian Guzman 34-yard field goal, 13:38. Texans 43–10. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 3:18. NMSU – Robert Downs III 27-yard pass from Jonah Johnson (Ethan Albertson kick), 3:28. Texans 43–17. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:01.

Tarleton State Texans at New Mexico State Aggies – Game summary

at Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

• Date: February 21, 2021
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. CST/3:00 p.m. MST
• Game weather: Sunny, 58 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 0
• Referee: Christian Watson
• TV announcers (FSAZ/FloSports/Comcast): Adam Young and Danny Knee
• Box score, Recap

Statistics	TAR	NMSU
First downs	24	14
Total yards	501	241
Rushing yards	249	54
Passing yards	252	187
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	35:40	24:20

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tarleton State	Passing	Cameron Burston	15/29, 252 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Cameron Burston	4 rushes, 79 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Gabe Douglas	7 receptions, 190 yards, TD
New Mexico State	Passing	Jonah Johnson	17/31, 187 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Juwaun Price	14 rushes, 31 yards
	Receiving	Terrell Warner	5 receptions, 77 yards

Due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the state of New Mexico, this game was played at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Due to contact tracing, the Texans were missing five players, including starting quarterback Steven Duncan. The Aggies, an FBS team, paid the Texans $150,000 for the guarantee game.^[4]