Stephen F. Austin
McNeese State
PREVIEW: #13 Jacks Begin Title Defense in Lake Charles
8/27/2026 1:05:00 PM | Football
SFA kicks off 100th season with 42nd meeting all-time against McNeese
#13/13 Stephen F. Austin at RV/NR McNeese
Saturday, August 29 | 6 P.M. CT
Navarre Stadium | Lake Charles, Louisiana
LISTEN: Q107.7 FM
PxP: Chase Merrell (2nd)
Color: Rob Hipp (1st)
Watch: ESPN+
PxP: Chaston Tavares
Color: Cody Stroud
Sideline: Lexi Arabie
42nd MEETING ALL-TIME; 21st MEETING IN LAKE CHARLES
SERIES: McN, 23-16-2
STREAK: SFA, W1
LAST 10 MEETINGS: McN, 7-3
FIRST MEETING: Sept. 29, 1951 at SFA; T, 14-14
LAST MEETING: Sept. 27, 2025 at SFA; W, 34-17
Takin' our axes to the Boot ??#AxeEm x #EastTexasTough pic.twitter.com/uCukSjYiD4
— Lumberjack Football (@SFA_Football) August 27, 2026
WEEKLY PRESSERS
HC Colby Carthel: WATCH HERE
LB Malachi Williams: WATCH HERE
ON THE HEELS OF HISTORY
The Lumberjacks are coming off a historic 2025 that saw SFA capture the program's fifth SLC title and first since 2010, while making the program's ninth FCS postseason appearance. That title came behind the program's first eight-win conference season and first perfect finish in league play in 99 seasons. The Jacks reached double-digit wins for the fifth time in program history, and the 11 victories last fall are the most since the '95 campaign.
ALL TEXAS, ALL THE TIME
Entering his eighth season directing the gridiron operations in the Piney Woods, head coach Colby Carthel eyes a championship encore for his program which enters the 100th season in school history on a daily mission to "be the best version of the 2026 Lumberjacks" they can be. If anyone embodies #EastTexasTough, it's a man who has spent over a quarter century coaching, and his entire life, in the Lone Star State. A former two-sport standout at Angelo State, all 14 of the Friona native's collegiate head coaching seasons have been spent in East Texas. He's totaled 103 wins, with No. 100 coming in a road blowout of Houston Christian last season, across two stops at a pair of institutions that call the timber-ridden region home. Of the 100+ victories, 44 have come at SFA. That total currently has him third on the all-time wins list and just five back of a new program record. He is one of just six coaches in program history to win 20 or more conference games and is five SLC victories shy from setting a new program record for league wins.
CENTURY MARK IN PIGSKIN CAMPAIGNS
Not long after Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College opened its doors, Dripping Springs, Texas native Robert H. Shelton was designated by SFASTC President Dr. A.W. Birdwell as the program's first football coach. Shelton, who would later become known as the "father of SFA Athletics," not only led that first team in 1923, but dressed out and practiced as well. Eleven days after welcoming students, SFASTC played the first game in program history resulting in a historic 120-0 trouncing of Center High School. It was the first of three wins in the inaugural season and the first of 16 victories in Shelton's six-season tenure. The point total remains a program record for points scored in a single game. Twenty-three players appeared in the first team photo published in the 1924 Stone Fort yearbook. Fast forward ten decades later and one opponent from season one: Lamar, which was known then as South Park Junior College and too in its inaugural season, is part of the '26 slate. The Cardinals won the 1923 meeting 10-0 on October 12 in Nacogdoches. The two sides meet for the 39th time on November 7 in Beaumont.
FOUR DECADES OF DI FOOTBALL
The last four decades of Lumberjack Football has been contested at the Division I level. SFA joined the division in 1986 and in that time has accumulated 231 victories with last season marking the fifth double-digit win season as a DI member.
IT'S THE LAND, MAN!
Season No. 37 of Southland Conference play will get underway for the Lumberjacks on Saturday night in Lake Charles. The Jacks' five league titles are the second most among active members behind overall league leader McNeese with 14.
FIRST TIME OUT
The Jacks carry a record of 49-45-5 in season openers and are 2-5 under Carthel. The two sides previously opened the 1954 season against each other with SFA winning 40-13 in Nacogdoches. A win against the Cowboys would mark the first road win in a season opener since 2003.
NOT MUCH LUCK IN LAKE CHUCK
The luck must lie in the L'Auberge or the Golden Nugget, because not much has been found inside Navarre Stadium if you're the Lumberjacks. The Jacks have won just six times on the road in 20 games at McNeese. The last five games played in Lake Charles have been decided by an average of eight points. SFA was last victorious on the road a decade ago; a three-point win that marked the second-straight road win (2014) for the Lumberjacks against the Cowboys which remains the only such occurrence in series history.
NATIONAL NOTORIETY
After capping the 2025 season as the consensus No. 7 team nationally, the highest final poll ranking for the program since 1995 and the third-highest final poll ranking all-time, the Lumberjacks open the 2026 as the consensus No. 13 team nationally, while also ranking inside the top 20 nationally in independent digital media polls FCS Untapped Top 25 Preseason Poll (No. 14) and FCS Nation Top 25 Preseason Poll (No. 17).
The initial AFCA rankings gives the Jacks seven opponents ranked or receiving votes to start the 2026 season, while the Stats Perform rankings features five such opponents.
STREAKIN'
SFA enters the '26 season having won ten straight regular season games following an 0-2 start to the 2025 campaign. The Lumberjacks have also won eight-straight in SLC play dating back to last season.
LIGHTNING BUGS
The Jacks return the electric services of the nation's premier return man in Bus Mortimer. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native turned in an All-American effort last fall setting a new program and conference record for punt return yards (537), while leading the FCS in punt return average (21.5) and punt return touchdowns which led all NCAA divisions. He was the first SFA return man receive AA honors since 2011 and he enters his final collegiate campaign as a preseason All-American and on the watch list for the famed Walter Payton Award. However, Mortimer's biggest play was made this summer as he followed through with a life-saving blood stem cell donation.
GRAY MATTER
Anchoring the offensive line is returning SLC Offensive Lineman of the Year and consensus AA Erik Gray. The Amarillo native has played over 1,000 snaps in his career which started at Texas Tech. Last fall, he became the first Lumberjack offensive lineman to earn AA honors since the 2011 season after rating as the SLC's top center according to PFF. He is a single-digit number honoree (team captain) for a second-straight season.
OUR GUY MALACHI
Williams enjoyed an impactful year one in the Piney Woods. The only defensive starter returning for the Jacks in 2026, the Brookhaven, Mississippi native delivered 91 stops last fall; one of a dozen Southland Conference defenders to reach 90. His 44 solo stops were fifth among that dozen. Williams' versatility saw him rank second on the team in passes defended with six including an interception return touchdown against Cal Poly. Last fall, Williams, who will don the #0 this season after being selected as the Ultimate Teammate by his peers this spring, became the first Jack since 2019 with a 17-tackle performance in the Week 2 loss at ACU. Additionally, Williams landed on the Stats Perform Preseason All-America third team.
THE BOOK OF ELI
It's certainly a page turner. No stranger to the Southland, Ennis elected to return to the Gas Tank League and made Nacogdoches his new home following three seasons at Nicholls and the 2025 campaign at UAB. The 2022 SLC Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-America linebacker for the Colonels, Ennis was recently among the 30 defensive standouts named to the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List. The Ohatchee, Alabama native is one of five defenders that was a previous finalist for the honor. He enters the '26 season with more than 200 career tackles.
GAVIN'S SHOW NOW
Gavin Rutherford played in 14 games with two starts at quarterback in '25 and enters the season as QB1. Of his performances, the Texan's effort against Lamar aided the Jacks in locking up the SLC title. He completed 17 passes and rushed for 75 yards in the win. The dual threat, big-bodied signal caller completed 63% of his 81 attempts last fall for 542 yards and six TDs to go along with 176 yards rushing and six touchdowns. The Katy, Texas native was named the preseason All-SLC first team QB by Phil Steele.
AUTOMATIC ALVARADO
In addition to first-team honorees Gray and Mortimer, SFA returns just one other All-Southland performer from a season ago after producing a league-best 16 selections. Placekicker and SLC second teamer Carlos Alvarado returns after leading the league in total points (91) and FG% in league play (90.9%). He went 7-of-8 on attempts from 30+ yards and nailed a 43-yarder against Lamar in the first 3-FG effort of his career.
BIG PLAY CLAY
Junior wide receiver Clayton Wayland posted career highs in catches, yards and TDs last fall and is the top statistical returner in the wide receiver room. He finished with 40 receptions for 526 yards and five receiving touchdowns, while contributing to four plays of 40+ yards last fall.
LOADED BACKFIELD
Jaylen Jenkins is the top returning rusher for the Jacks this fall and headlines a stacked running back room. A 1,000-yard rusher for his collegiate career, Jenkins scored on the ground six times last season and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. He is joined by returners Braden Lewis and Preston Alford, true freshman Caleb Crenshaw (Austin, Texas | Anderson HS) and transfers Speedy Jones (New Mexico Highlands) and Rickey Stewart (Texas).
NEW COORDINATORS, NO PROBLEM
SFA will see two new coordinators calling plays this fall, but neither are strangers to the program. Jared May takes over as OC after serving as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach since beginning his second stint in Nacogdoches in 2019. Caid Faske, recently named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's 2026 40 Under 40 class, is back in the Piney Woods following three seasons as DC at Colorado State Pueblo. Faske coached the Jack defensive ends from 2019 to 2022.
FRESH FACES
The first official depth chart of the 2026 season features 19 players listed among the two deep that are in their first season as Lumberjacks. Of the near 20 new names, four are true freshmen including League City native Sean Carter who is currently the backup to Mortimer at wide receiver.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The Jacks reloaded the '26 roster with a high school signing class that included 22 prep athletes in the early signing period including 19 from the Lone Star State. SFA added collegiate experience in the form of 39 transfer student-athletes including ten G5 additions, nine players from both the FCS and NCAA DII levels, six from the JUCO ranks and five that were on P4 rosters last fall.
Seventy players call the Lone Star State home, while 17 other states are represented as well as the countries of Australia, Tonga and Venezuela.
GRADUATES ON THE GRIDIRON:
Five Jacks will take the field with a college degree in hand. Offensive linemen Giovanny Alegria and Jamiah Harvey, wide receiver Kylon Harris, cornerback MJ Artmore and defensive lineman Landon Williams have all earned degrees with the first three earning their diploma from SFA.
SINGLE DIGITS
Fourteen players, including three that earned the distinction last fall, are among the program's single-digit honorees this season. Erik Gray (#55), Bugs Mortimer (#9) and Gavin Rutherford (#12) enter season two as team captains and are joined by Malachi Williams who dons the #0 after being named the "Ultimate Teammate." Lowote Jurkin (#1), Michael Woods (#2), Jamel Acosta-Lewis (#3), Eli Ennis (#4), Gary Seidenberger (#5), Jaylen Jenkins (#6), Jaiydyn Johnson (#7), Gerard Edimo (#8), Derrick Bohler (#11) and Clayton Wayland (#14) round out the 2026 team captains.
HOMER SWEET HOMER
The Jacks kick off the 54th season of Homer Bryce Stadium on September 5 and enter the fall on an eight-game home winning streak dating back to the 2024 season. The Lumberjacks boast six home games on their schedule for the third-consecutive season and since the 2020 campaign, SFA is 26-6 inside Homer Bryce Stadium.
THE LAND OF 10,000 LAKES
Consensus All-American and Senior Bowl participant Charles Demmings became the 34th Lumberjack all-time to be selected in the NFL Draft this past spring when the Minnesota Vikings took the Mesquite, Texas native with the 23rd pick of the fifth round, 163rd overall.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets for the upcoming SFA Football season are on sale now, offering the best value for a six-game home slate. Don't miss a single snap as SFA looks to defend its Southland Conference title. Visit www.SFATickets.com to secure your season tickets today and be part of the action all season long.
FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA football, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.
