RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team was defeated, 52-23, Saturday by the #15/13 Lamar Cardinals in a Southland Conference (SLC) game at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium.
Senior kicker
Brysen Gardner surpassed his own program record for field goals in a season as he made three kicks for the third time in 2026, bringing his season total to 16 with a 72.7 field goal percentage. Sophomore running back
Brockerick Taylor notched his first-career 100+ yard rushing game, collecting a game-high 105 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns. Receivers
Braden Baize and
Christian Sabsook had 61 and 34 yards, a career-high for Sabsook, while graduate student
Tavian Cord returned to the lineup and had 51 yards on two catches. Fifth-year quarterback
Garret Rangel went 7-for-23 with 135 yards and two interceptions.
Junior linebacker
Jaiden Haygood led the UTRGV (4-5, 2-4 SLC) defense with 14 tackles. Linebacker
Spencer Rich and defensive back
TJ Neal had 10 tackles each.
Lamar (7-2, 5-1 SLC) quarterback
Aiden McCown was 17-for-24 with 167 yards and two passing touchdowns.
Blake Thomas totaled 207 all-purpose yards, racking up 169 yards on four kick returns, including one kickoff returned for a touchdown.
The Vaqueros went into the locker room trailing at halftime for the first time ever at Vackar Stadium. Lamar got the edge early as
Bryce McDonald picked off the first play of the game and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.
Rangel responded after the rough start and opened the next drive with a 36-yard QB keeper. Gardner made a 50-yard field goal to cap the drive, making it 7-3. Lamar answered with a balanced drive that saw McCown score on a two-yard rush for the 14-3 advantage.
Rangel and Cord connected for a 38-yard gain late in the first quarter to set up another field goal. Gardner was true from 22 yards out to trim the deficit to 14-6.
UTRGV's defense forced a Lamar punt to open the second quarter. Neal and Haygood came up with key stops to flip momentum to the Vaqueros, but the Cardinals defense notched a three-and-out. Lamar then went 53 yards on eight plays to extend the lead to 21-9 on an eight-yard pass from McCown to
Davin Driskell.
The teams swapped punts the next two drives, then the Vaqueros created some momentum with a 46-yard pass from Rangel to Baize – a career-best reception for the senior – for a clutch third-down conversion. Gardner made a 24-yard field goal to send the Vaqueros to halftime trailing 21-9.
Lamar started the second half just like the first, turning the first touch into points. Thomas returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, building the Cardinals lead to 28-9. The Cardinals then notched their second interception, this one by
Zaylon Stoker, and cashed in the turnover with a six-yard rushing touchdown by Thomas. Thomas later took a direct snap three yards to the house, extending the lead to 42-9 at the end of the third quarter.
Taylor provided a spark for UTRGV in the fourth quarter. He used his breakaway speed and showed excellent balance to tightrope the sideline as he scored on a 44-yard rushing touchdown.
Andres Sandoval made a 49-yard field goal to keep the Cardinals in control, up 45-16.
Taylor found another gap on the left side of the line on the next possession, racing away for a 31-yard score. Lamar responded with a 48-yard score from McCown to
Parker Jenkins, making it 52-23.
The loss snaps UTRGV's 10-game home winning streak and is the first home loss ever for the second-year program. The 10 consecutive home wins was the fourth-longest active streak in the FCS. Lamar's 52 points are the most ever scored by an opponent at Vackar Stadium – UTRGV was outscoring opponents 435-96 at home heading into Saturday's game.
Up next for the Vaqueros is a SLC game at Northwestern State at 1 p.m. on Nov. 7.
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