# 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. 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.

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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | RV | 24 | 21 | RV | RV | — | — |

## Game summaries
### McNeese State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Cowboys | 10 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 40 |
| Texans | 3 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 37 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: February 13, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Cloudy, 28 °F (−2 °C)
* Game attendance: 1,324
* Referee: Vidal Jones
* TV: FSSW+/FS Go
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MCN | TAR |
| First downs | 27 | 25 |
| Total yards | 400 | 408 |
| Rushing yards | 230 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 228 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 33:32 | 26:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| McNeese State | Passing | Cody Oregeron | 14/34, 170 yards, 3 TD |
| McNeese State | Rushing | Cody Oregeron | 19 rushes, 108 yards, 2 TD |
| McNeese State | Receiving | Deonta McMahon | 2 receptions, 35 yards |
| Tarleton State | Passing | Steven Duncan | 22/39, 217 yards, TD |
| Tarleton State | Rushing | Braelon Bridges | 15 rushes, 112 yards, 2 TD |
| Tarleton State | Receiving | Tariq Bitson | 5 receptions, 87 yards, TD |

### At New Mexico State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texans | 23 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 43 |
| Aggies | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
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 |
| Tarleton State | Rushing | Cameron Burston | 4 rushes, 79 yards, 2 TD |
| Tarleton State | Receiving | Gabe Douglas | 7 receptions, 190 yards, TD |
| New Mexico State | Passing | Jonah Johnson | 17/31, 187 yards, TD, 3 INT |
| New Mexico State | Rushing | Juwaun Price | 14 rushes, 31 yards |
| New Mexico State | 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.

### Dixie State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trailblazers | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 26 |
| No. 22 Texans | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: February 27, 2021
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Foggy, 58 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 1,121
* Referee: Dan Lewis
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Dixie State | Passing |
| Dixie State | Rushing |
| Dixie State | Receiving |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |

### Mississippi College

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Choctaws | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
| Texans | 21 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 39 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: March 13, 2021
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 3,614
* Referee: Vidal Jones
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Mississippi College | Passing |
| Mississippi College | Rushing |
| Mississippi College | Receiving |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |

### At Dixie State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texans | 14 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 37 |
| Trailblazers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
at Greater Zion Stadium, St. George, Utah
* Date: March 13, 2021
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST/7:00 p.m. MST
* Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 48 °F (9 °C)
* Game attendance: 1,427
* Referee: Bret MacRae
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |
| Dixie State | Passing |
| Dixie State | Rushing |
| Dixie State | Receiving |

### Midwestern State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Texans | 20 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 33 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: March 20, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 10,776
* Referee: Dan Jones
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Midwestern State | Passing |
| Midwestern State | Rushing |
| Midwestern State | Receiving |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |

### Northeastern State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| RiverHawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texans | 14 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: March 27, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Clear, 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 4,912
* Referee: Scott Hardin
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Northeastern State | Passing |
| Northeastern State | Rushing |
| Northeastern State | Receiving |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |

### East Central

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Texans | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville, Texas
* Date: April 1, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 67 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 2,132
* Referee: Dan Lewis
* Box score, Recap
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| East Central | Passing |
| East Central | Rushing |
| East Central | Receiving |
| Tarleton State | Passing |
| Tarleton State | Rushing |
| Tarleton State | Receiving |