Stephen F. Austin
Nicholls
NOTES: 'Jacks Back in Homer Bryce to Host Nicholls in Homecoming Tilt
10/15/2025 5:01:00 PM | Football
SFA puts four-game winning streak on the line against Colonels as second half of regular season commences
38th meeting; SFA leads 26-11
Nacogdoches, Texas (Jimmy W. Murphy Field at Homer Bryce Stadium)
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin football puts a four-game winning streak on the line on Saturday night as the Lumberjacks welcome in Nicholls for a Southland Conference tilt in front of a Homecoming crowd inside Homer Bryce Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.sfajacks.com.
• ON TAP: Stephen F. Austin returns home for its fourth contest inside Homer Bryce Stadium in its last five games. The 'Jacks welcome in Nicholls for the 38th meeting all-time between the SLC foes in a series that was first contested in 1984. The Lumberjacks won last year's meeting in Thibodeaux to snap a four-game losing streak to the Colonels. SFA looks to remain unbeaten in league play, while the Colonels seek their first win since a Week 0 victory over Incarnate Word in late August.
• LAST TIME OUT: The 'Jacks delivered a full-on assault of Incarnate Word On October 4 in the Alamo City. The 'Jacks forced two turnovers and forced three UIW field goal scoring drives that totaled 154 yards in 36 plays, ate up one full quarter of time and produced only nine points. Jaydon Southard led the defensive effort with 16 tackles including a dozen solo stops. Offensively, SFA was in rhythm as Sam Vidlak fired three first half touchdown passes of 20-, 37- and 45-yards.
• OUTTA THE 'JACKS (BYE) WEEK: The bye week, or 'Jacks Week as it is referred to in the Piney Woods, split the regular season in half. Since Carthel's first season of 2019, the 'Jacks are 4-4 when coming off of a bye week.
• WELCOME HOME 'JACKS: SFA kicks off its 79th consecutive season with a homecoming game in Week 7. The 'Jacks hold a known record of 43-40-1 in homecoming matchups and are coming off of a 55-6 win over Houston Christian in 2024 which snapped a two-game losing streak in such games. Saturday's meeting with the Colonels will be the seventh on Homecoming. SFA is 4-2 against Nicholls in HOCO tilts. Nicholls will become the fifth team that SFA has played at least seven times on Homecoming and it will be the second-most Homecoming matchups against an out-of-state foe (McNeese, 8).
• HOME SWEET HOMER: The Lumberjacks begin the back half of the regular season as well as the home schedule on Saturday. SFA closed out its three-game home stretch unbeaten after wins over Sul Ross, Cal Poly and McNeese. That successful stretch inside Homer Bryce marked the first time since 2014 that the 'Jacks played three consecutive weeks in Nacogdoches which saw SFA defeat Incarnate Word (Sept. 6), Texas A&M-Commerce (Sept. 13) and Weber State (Sept. 20). Since the 2020 campaign, SFA is 22-6 inside Homer Bryce Stadium following Saturday night's win over McNeese. The 'Jacks have eight undefeated home seasons inside HBS, winning no fewer than four games in each of those schedules including four each in 2020 and 2021. In home openers, SFA moved to 6-1 under Carthel and has won six straight following the decisive victory over Sul Ross.
• AN EYE FOR FIVE: A win on Saturday night would give the 'Jacks a fifth-straight victory and match its longest such streak since closing out the 2021 regular season with five-consecutive wins.
• NOTES ON NICHOLLS: The Colonels enter at 1-5 overall and are even at 1-1 in SLC play. Of Nicholls' five losses, two were against G5 programs in Troy and Texas State and two others came against top 30 FCS programs in rv West Georgia and #20/25 Lamar last weekend in Beaumont.
The Colonels are one of the most disciplined teams in the 'land leading in fewest penalty yards per game (42.17) and fewest penalty yards (253) and rating second in fewest penalites (34) and fewest penalties per game (5.67). Defensively, Nicholls rates as the league's best defending the pass allowing just under 150 yards per game through the air; the third-best rate in FCS.
Miequle Brock Jr. is one of the Colonels' biggest offensive threats. He ranks fourth in the SLC in all-purpose yards per game at 85.83 behind the league's sixth-most rushing yards at 266. Brock averages nearly four catches per game and is inside the league's top ten in receiving yards per game (41.5).
Two Colonel defenders hold top five tackle averages in the SLC in Hayden Shaheen (8.8) and Jake Dalmado (8.2).
• GETTING DEFENSIVE: Senior linebacker Jaydon Southard is in the midst of a career year and is coming off a 16-tackle effort at UIW which led to him being named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week in addition to receiving SLC defensive honors as well. His 12.6 tackles per game leads the SLC and rates fourth nationally, while his 5.80 solo stops per game rate tenth in the FCS and are an SLC-best effort. Additionally, Southard's 1.20 tackles for loss per game rank second in the SLC and are a top 25 mark nationally. He produced back-to-back double-digit tackle efforts for the first time as a Lumberjack after a career-high 16 vs. Abilene Christian, which followed 11 in the season opener against Houston. He reached the century mark as a Lumberjack in the win over Cal Poly and enters Week 7 with 63 stops on the season in five games played. He has crossed over 11+ tackles in a game four times in 2025 and Southard is the first Lumberjack with multiple games of 16+ stops since Devin Ducote in 2010.
• BAG 'EM UP: Senior interior defensive lineman Victor Idusuyi II leads the Southland Conference with .67 sacks per game. He has registered 4.0 this season for 33 lost yards behind a single-game best effort 2.5 at UIW. That sack average rates inside the FCS top 30, while teammate Ky Thomas ranks third in the SLC in sack average (.60) and third in tackles for loss average (1.10; 5.5-29).
• VIVA LA VIDLAK: Senior quarterback Sam Vidlak has thrown multiple touchdown passes in each of his last four games including consecutive games with three touchdown strikes in SLC wins over McNeese and UIW. The Applegate, Oregon native is three touchdown passes away from becoming the ninth Lumberjack to reach 40 in a career. He crossed over 4,000 passing yards as a collegian in the win at UIW and sits 639 yards shy of moving into the program's top 10 all-time. Entering Week 7, Vidlak ranks second in the SLC in passing TDs (10), passing yards (1,183), passing average (197.2) and points responsible for (60).
• BIG PLAY CLAY: Sophomore wide receiver Clayton Wayland has developed into an offensive weapon for SFA in year two. The Southlake, Texas native is coming off a career-best effort in the win at UIW where he led the 'Jacks in receiving for a third time this season. Wayland delivered a six-catch, 100-yard performance that was highlighted by a 58-yard, YAC-filled grab in the third quarter which set SFA up inside the UIW5 and led to an eventual six. His totals in receptions and yards are single-game bests and the 58-yarder is the longest reception of his career. Nearly a fourth of SFA's plays that have went for 40+ yards have involved Wayland as he added the big play at UIW to a 40-yard catch at Houston and a 44-yard reception against Cal Poly.
• 15 + 4 = 6: Sam Vidlak connected with Kylon Harris for SFA's first of three first half touchdowns against the Cardinals. It marked the fourth scoring strike between the duo this season and the 12th TD connection in 15 games played together.
• SFA 2K: It's real life but the career numbers by a handful of 'Jacks are video game-like. Seniors Kylon Harris and Jerrell Wimbley (see below) continue to etch their names among the program's all-time greats as both players crossed over the 2,000 yard mark for their respective positions in the SLC-opening win over McNeese. Harris delivered the tenth 100-yard receiving effort of his career to reach 2K receiving yards as a Lumberjack. He is 192 receiving yards from eighth place on the all-time list. His first quarter scoring grab at UIW, the 22nd of his career, moved him into a tie for sixth place on the all-time receiving touchdowns list; five back of fifth place.
• RUNNING BACK RAN IT BACK: Senior running back Jerrell Wimbley was named the SLC Offensive Player of the Week for a second-straight week after an explosive effort against McNeese. The Houston native enjoyed a career-high 171 yards on a single-game best 29 carries vs. the Cowboys. He rattled off a 43-yard touchdown in the final two minutes of the game to set a new personal single-game rushing effort and in the process crossed over the 2,000 career rushing yards mark as he became the 11th Lumberjack all-time to reach 2K on the ground. Wimbley totaled 209 all-purpose yards after hauling in four passes for 38 yards which moves him near the top 10 in career all-purpose yardage at SFA.
Entering Week 7, Wimbley ranks second in the SLC in rushing yards (446), rushing yards per carry (5.72) and rushing yards per game (74.3) and ranks fourth in rushing touchdowns (4). Wimbley is 159 rushing yards away from seventh on the all-time rushing list and he is two rushing TDs shy of becoming the eighth 'Jack to score 20 on the ground in a career.
• MAKING MOVES: Seventh year head coach Colby Carthel is moving up the wins charts at SFA. He is currently three victories shy of becoming just the fourth head coach of the Lumberjacks to reach 40 in a tenure and he would be just the third since the 1980 season. At home, Carthel has totaled 23 victories, sixth-most by an SFA head coach, while an unbeaten campaign inside HBS this season would move him into third all-time.
• BIG PLAY 'JACKS: SFA has produced 24 offensive plays of 20+ yards this season with 13 accounting for 40 or more yards. The longest play from scrimmage through five games is a Sam Vidlak to Kylon Harris 76-yard touchdown against McNeese. The 'Jacks have accounted for five plays of 54+ yards this season.
• BACKFIELD BANDITS: The 'Jacks rank second in the FCS in tackles for loss with an SLC-leading per game average of 8.8. Twenty-three 'Jacks have recorded at least 1.0 tackle for loss with 13 responsible for 2.0 or more and six having registered 3.0 plus. Jaydon Southard leads with 6.0 for 26 lost yards; third-highest loss total behind Victor Idusuyi II (4.0-33) and Ky Thomas (5.5-29).
• TOUGH TO GET TRACTION: Opponents have had issue running the football against SFA as the 'Jacks are allowing just under 82 yards per game on the ground at just 2.2 yards per carry. SFA ranks fourth nationally and leads the SLC in rushing defense.
