Stephen F. Austin
Abilene Christian
NOTES: 'Jacks, Wildcats to Tangle in Top 25 Tilt in Abilene
9/3/2025 4:01:00 PM | Football
SFA begins FCS play out in West Texas for 27th matchup all-time with ACU
27th meeting, SFA leads 14-12
Abilene, Texas (Wildcat Stadium)
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE
TOP 25 TILT - The 'Jacks and the Wildcats meet as top 25 opponents. ACU, coming off an FBS loss at Tulsa, ranks 16th in Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and 17th in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. SFA holds the #25 ranking in the Stats Perform poll and sits at #23 in the coaches ranking. SFA at ACU is one of two top 25 FCS matchups in Week 2 joining a consensus top three matchup in South Dakota State at Montana State.
• ONLY ONE TIME EARLIER - Saturday's meeting will be just the seventh in the 27-game series that will be contested in the month of September. The sixth day of September kickoff marks the second earliest date that the Lumberjacks and Wildcats have played. The two programs sqabbled on September 4, 1999; a 51-34 SFA home win and one of three times the 'Jacks have put 50 on the board against ACU.
• THERE'S BEEN SOME WILD ONES - In the Colby Carthel era alone, the 'Jacks and 'Cats have matched up in some thrillers. SFA took down a top-12 ranked ACU squad in last season's finale to avenge a seven-point defeat to the Wildcats in '23. The three matchups prior to that saw SFA average over 35 ppg with a pair of three-point wins during an in-season home and home with ACU in 2022. The 'Jacks won the Oct. 8 Nacogdoches meeting on the leg of Chris Campos who drilled a 51-yarder to win it, while the Nov. 19 season finale gave the 'Jacks the WAC title after Campos cut the fourth quarter deficit to 21-16 with a 46-yarder at the 8:30 mark to set up a 12-yard Trae Self run and a successful two-point try with under three minutes to play to gain a lead that they would not surrender. In 2020, the 'Jacks outlasted ACU in OT winning 35-32 at Globe Life Park. In Carthel's first season, ACU held off SFA in double OT for a 31-24 win in Abilene.
• WILDCAT RUNDOWN - Keith Patterson, the reigning UAC Coach of the Year, enters his fourth season at the helm of the ACU program. He averaged seven wins per season over his first three years in Abilene. The Wildcats are coming off a season-opening loss at FBS Tulsa. ACU quarterback Stone Earle returned to the program he began his collegiate career with. Earle threw for more than 1,200 yards over 11 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons before enjoying time at North Texas and Marshall. He returns to lead a unit guided by legendary Texas Tech quarterback and current ACU OC Graham Harrell. Kaghen Roach (DL) and Will Shaffer (LB) were consensus preseason All-America honorees and Shaffer was also named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watchlist.
• LAST TIME OUT - SFA and Houston met for the fourth time overall and for the first time since 1948 in the Week 1 matchup from TDECU Stadium. The 'Jacks were slowed offensively gaining just 144 total yards in 58 plays. Defensively, SFA held up against their Big 12 opposition forcing five UH punts when facing the top line of the two-deep and two Cougar FGAs from 40+. Additionally, the 'Jacks produced a fourth down stop deep in their own territory with under a minute remaining in the first half.
• SOUTHARD SMOTHERED - Senior linebacker Jaydon Southard was all over the yard on Thursday night as the Wichita Falls native produced a career-high 11.0 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss. It marked the first time in his collegiate career that he crossed over the double-figure mark in stops. His 1.5 TFL are also a single-game high.
• SPECIAL SHOWCASE - A handful of first-year 'Jacks produced on special teams in the Week 1 loss. Australia native Lachie Pozzobon averaged nearly 44 yards per punt with a long of 51 and field-flipping one downed inside the 20. FBS transfer Bugs Mortimer registered a 30-yard punt return, the longest of his career, just under the halfway point of the third quarter.
• WEEK 1 NUMBERS TO KNOW - The SFA defense forced seven 3 & Outs and registered 8.0 tackles for loss in the Week 1 defeat at Power 4 Houston.
• NOW DEBUTING - Sixteen Lumberjacks made their SFA debut on Thursday night including Malachi Williams who finished with seven tackles and a half tackle for loss, as well as seven other defenders that logged at least a tackle. True freshmen Sema'J Avery, Jaiydyn Johnson and Cam Brooks all debuted after dressing out for their first collegiate action.
• ACADEMIC HEISMAN - Graduate defensive lineman Ky Thomas is SFA Football's nominee for the William V. Campbell Trophy which is the highest academic honor bestowed on a collegiate football player; the academic Heisman. Thomas graduated Cum Laude in May 2023 with a Business Administration and Management degree from SFA. He carried an undergraduate GPA of 3.50 and is currently pursuing his MBA.
• SPEAKING OF GRADUATES - Over the course of the 2025 season, a record-breaking 3,675 student-athletes will take the field with an undergraduate diploma already in hand. Of that total, released by the National Football Foundation, 20 of those players are Lumberjacks. SFA is one of 13 FCS teams with 20 or more graduates on the '25 roster. The 'Jacks join Incarnate Word (24) and East Texas A&M (21) as SLC programs with 20 or more degree-holding ballers. The following are the 'Jacks that have secured undergraduate degrees with 11 having received undergraduate degrees from SFA and Jake Henry graduating with an MBA.
Blaine Green - Lavar Lindo - Robert Keller - Jared Manos - Jerrell Wimbley - Charles Demmings - Ky Thomas - Canen Adrian - Isaiah Davis - Anthony Williams Jr. - Victor Idusuyi II - Sam Vidlak - Nick Blake - Torren Coppage-El - Devion Hargrove - Jake Henry - Ques McNeal - Malik Moore - JK Moore - Mike Talbert Jr.
• MEL KNOWS CHUCK - Longtime ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper has listed senior CB Charles Demmings as one of three FCS players that could be the first such player off the board in next April's draft. Per Kiper's "Early Predicitions on Top Prospects," Demmings "is a hard-working and instinctive football player. He makes plays on the ball, with five picks and 26 pass defenses over the past three seasons. His game is still developing since he didn't play football until his senior year in high school, which means there is a lot of upside there, too." The Mesquite, Texas native joins NDSU's Bryce Lance (WR) and William & Mary's Jalen Jones (CB).
SFA TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets as well as individual game 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 battles through a thrilling Southland Conference schedule. Visit SFATickets.com to secure your tickets today and be part of the action all season long.
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