The UTRGV Vaqueros are set to host their first ever conference home game on Saturday. Houston Christian comes into Edinburg for the matchup at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium.

UTRGV comes in off a loss in the conference opener against Southeastern. In their second road game of the season, the Vaqueros quickly found themselves down 21-0. They fought back, ultimately totaling over 400 yards of offense on the night, but never managed to climb back within one score and fell 45-31.

The Huskies are coming fresh off a bye week after struggling to start the year. They finished 1-3 during the non-conference portion of their schedule, including a 59-7 loss to Nebraska. The team is averaging 27.3 points per game while allowing 26.3 to opponents.

"Houston Christian's a good team, don't let their record fool you. They've played some really good teams," Coach Bush said during the UTRGV Coach's Show on Sunday. "They've got a good, physical defense and veteran players across the board."

The Huskies also started the 2024 season 1-3, going on to finish 3-4 in conference play. That resulted in the Huskies ending the year tied for fifth in the Southland Conference standings.

Prior to the start of the year, Houston Christian tied with East Texas A&M for seventh in the Southland Conference preseason poll. The only two teams below them were Northwestern State and UTRGV.

"You gotta realize, all the conference opponents, everybody is fighting for the same thing," Coach Bush said after Tuesday's practice. "Everybody is trying to win conference games, and everybody has UTRGV circled as a winnable game... Everyone does not want to be the first ones to lose to the new kids on the block... It's on us to prove week in and week out how quickly we belong in this conference."

Kickoff on Saturday is set for 7:00 p.m. in Edinburg.