NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- The Merrimack College football team will board the plane and travel to face fourth-ranked Tarleton State University at Memorial Stadium (Stephenville, Texas) on Saturday night.
The Warriors are coming off a thrilling victory over the Maine Black Bears, a product of facing four turnovers with a defensive touchdown and a special teams score.
"I think one big takeaway from Saturday's victory is learning how to win a close game," Merrimack head football coach Mike Gennetti said. "The experience of going through that is invaluable. Every season you have a new team, so for them to find ways to win the game as they did is really important; it leads to confidence and further belief that they can do it again."
Tarleton State (3-0) enters the matchup as the fourth-ranked team in the FCS. The Texans earned a notable win against Bowling Green, a program rooted in the FBS. It marked the Texans' second win in as many years against an FBS opponent after having defeated Army during the 2025 campaign. Tarleton State advanced to the FCS quarterfinals last season before it fell to Villanova.
"Tarleton State is explosive on offense," Gennetti said.
Texans running back Tylan Hines has been named the UAC Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. He averages 8.5 yards per carry this season as is coming off a performance in which he totaled 147 yards from scrimmage on 19 touches with two touchdowns.
"He is an electrifying player," Gennetti said. "They're explosive on the perimeter at wide receiver. Marquis Willis is as dynamic as a receiver you'll see at the FCS level. Their quarterback, Kaden Anderson, is a really good decision-maker and can move in the pocket well and create space for himself to get the ball downfield to these playmakers.
"Outside of that, they love football down there," Gennetti said. "They're anticipating a crowd of about 25,000 people on Saturday night. It will be an incredible experience for this program."
Kickoff is set from Memorial Stadium at 7 pm.
