Stephen F. Austin
Abilene Christian
PREVIEW: Top 25 Matchup on Tap for Jacks in the Big Country
9/10/2026 4:34:00 PM | Football
SFA, Abilene Christian meet for third time in just over a year, playoff atmosphere awaits Jacks in ACU home opener
#9/13 Stephen F. Austin at #23/25 Abilene Christian
Saturday, September 12 | 7 P.M. CT
Wildcat Stadium | Abilene, Texas
LISTEN: Q107.7 FM
PxP: Chase Merrell
Color: Rob Hipp
WATCH: ESPN+
PxP: Andy Penney
Color: De'Andre Brown
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A playoff atmosphere awaits Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night out west as familiar foe Abilene Christian welcomes the Jacks into a blackout of Wildcat Stadium. It is the fourth-straight meeting with both programs nationally ranked and its the third matchup in just over a year's time. The Jacks avenged a September 6 loss last fall with a December 6 victory in round two of the FCS playoffs. ACU enters the Week 2 tilt having won ten-consecutive home games: tied for the third-longest home winning streak in the country. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
THE SERIES
The Lone Star State foes meet for the 29th time and for the 13th straight season. SFA holds a narrow 15-13 lead in the series which was first contested in 1973. ACU is 8-4 in home games, including two of last three matchups in Big Country. Seven of the past nine games between the Lumberjacks and Wildcats have been decided by one possession. SFA's loss to ACU last September was the seventh double-digit rally by the Wildcats in their program's DI Era.
29th MEETING ALL-TIME; FOURTH-STRAIGHT TOP 25 MATCHUP
SERIES: SFA, 15-13
STREAK: SFA, W1
LAST 10 MEETINGS: SFA, 7-3
FIRST MEETING: Oct. 6, 1973 at ACU; L, 57-50
LAST MEETING: Dec. 6, 2025 at SFA; W, 41-34
WEEKLY PRESSERS
HC Colby Carthel: WATCH HERE
DB Jamel Acosta-Lewis: WATCH HERE
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
Abilene Christian is 0-2 after opening with road losses to No. 20 Lamar, 21-14, and FBS No. 12 Texas Tech, 33-10. The Wildcats are averaging 12 points and 276 yards per game, with three interceptions thrown and no rushing touchdowns through two weeks. Alex Broome has supplied the season's biggest highlight with a 98-yard kickoff-return touchdown against the Red Raiders, while Cristian Driver, the son of 14-year NFL veteran Donald Driver, leads the receiving corps with 13 catches for 149 yards. Defensively, ACU limited Texas Tech to four field goals and kept the Red Raiders out of the end zone during the second and third quarters. The Wildcats were stopped on 4th and 3 from the Lamar 6 with 14 seconds to play in the Week 0 loss.
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.
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 233 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 is underway for the Lumberjacks. The Jacks' five league titles are the second most among active members behind overall league leader McNeese with 14.
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 105 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, 46 have come at SFA. That total currently has him third on the all-time wins list and just three 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 three SLC victories shy from setting a new program record for league wins.
HOT START BEFORE LABOR DAY
Following thorough research, the 2026 Lumberjacks are believed to be the first NCAA Division I team (FBS & FCS) to win two conference games in the same season before Labor Day. Since the NCAA split Division I into 1-A and 1-AA in 1978, the Jacks are believed to be the fourth team to start a season 2-0 before the holiday.
NATIONAL POLLING
The Jacks moved into the top 10 of the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 rising two spots to sit at No. 9 after starting the preseason at No. 13 nationally. SFA held at No. 13 in the Stats Perform rankings. The Jacks have been nationally ranked for 11-straight weeks. Additionally, SFA is inside the top 15 nationally in the latest independent digital media polls FCS Untapped Top 25 Poll (No. 13) and FCS Nation Top 25 Poll (No. 15).
With the latest rankings, the Jacks currently have five teams on their schedule ranked or receiving votes entering Week 2 action.
Opta Analyst FCS Stats Perform Top 25
W1: #13
W0: #13
PRE: #13
AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25
W1: #9
W0: #11
PRE: #13
STREAKIN'
SFA has won 12 straight regular season games following an 0-2 start to the 2025 campaign. The Lumberjacks have also won ten-straight in SLC play dating back to last season.
HOMER SWEET HOMER
The Jacks kicked off the 54th season of Homer Bryce Stadium against East Texas A&M and improved a home winning streak that dates back to the 2024 season to nine games. The Lumberjacks boast six home games on their schedule for the third-consecutive season and since the 2020 campaign, SFA is 27-6 inside HBS. The Jacks are currently tied for fifth nationally in active home-winning streak.
FAMILIARITY ABOUNDS...AGAIN
After matching up against his former team in East Texas A&M last week, eighth-year head coach Colby Carthel is no stranger to the Big Country. He served as ACU's defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for six seasons from 2000 to 2005.
Offensive coordinator Jared May is very familiar with the Big Country as a native of nearby Hamlin. May played collegiately at Hardin-Simmons where he was a two-time All-American and began his coaching career there as a GA in 2006.
FOOTBALL FINDIN' FRISBY
Makai Frisby's snagged his third interception of the season against East Texas A&M, becoming the first SFA defender with three interceptions over the team's first two games of a season since 2005 when Stephon Rhea collected two against Henderson State in the season opener and added his third at No. 16 Montana State in Week 2.
To say the first-year Jack's debut went well might be an understatement. The Newport News, Virginia native picked off two passes including a 35-yard interception return touchdown in the second quarter, delivered two tackles and nearly housed a blocked PAT in the season-opening win at McNeese.
Frisby became the first Lumberjack with two interceptions in a game since Jaheim Mullen picked off a pair in a 59-17 victory over Northwestern State on October 5, 2024 inside HBS. He is the first Jack to record two on the road since Trent Perriman collected two in the 2016 Battle of the Chief win over NSU.
CARLOS HITS THE CENTURY MARK
Redshirt junior placekicker Carlos Alvarado accounted for eight points in the win over McNeese and crossed over 100 career points for his career. Last week in the home opener, Alvarado delivered 14 points with the first of five successful PAT giving him 100 career points as a Lumberjack. It also marked the second three-FG effort of his career as he punched through makes of 23, 37 and 26. He has 101 points (70 PAT, 15 FG) in 16 games played.
AMONG THE SLC'S BEST IN WEEK 1
Lowote Jurkin (Defensive) and Carlos Alvarado (Special Teams) were named Southland Conference Players of the Week following Week 1 action. Jurkin, a native of Pflugerville, delivered 1.5 sacks, a quarterback hurry, a pass break up and two tackles, while aiding the Lumberjack defense in holding the Lions to 187 total yards of offense with just 56 yards coming on 22 rushing attempts. SFA's pass rush helped generate three interceptions to run the defense's season total to five. In two games, Jurkin has totaled 3.5 tackles for loss with the 1.5 sacks, two QBH and a fumble recovery.
THROUGH TWO WEEKS, SFA
· ranks second in the FCS in interceptions with five
· ranks second in the FCS in turnovers gained with seven, the most by the program through two games since 2023
· holds a top 20 mark in passing efficiency defense (107.81), a mark that leads the SLC
· employs top 20 rankings in both scoring offense and scoring defense
· ranks fifth in FCS in punt return defense having not allowed a return yard in five punts this season
PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION
Eight Lumberjacks have contributed to SFA's eight sacks. Jurkin is the only defender with more than one, while six other players have a full sack on their stat ledger through eight quarters.
MALACHI REACHES 100
Senior linebacker Malachi Williams entered the '26 season after a 91-tackle effort in his first year as a Lumberjack last fall. He recorded nine stops on the road at McNeese to reach the 100-tackle mark as a Lumberjack and added five more last week to move his season total to a team-leading 14.
GOING THROUGH GAVIN
Gavin Rutherford has completed 68% of his passes for 442 yards and three touchdowns while adding two rushing scores. He has accounted for five of SFA's nine offensive touchdowns.
PASS CATCHERS ABOUND
Fifteen players have caught a pass this season, while ten different targets have hauled in multiple passes through eight quarters. Clayton Wayland and Derrick Bohler have each recorded six catches with Wayland leading with 91 yards receiving. Running back Preston Alford has collected four and is north of 120 all-purpose yards this season. True freshman Sean Carter also has four catches.
BACKFIELD BLOSSOMING
Senior Jaylen Jenkins, the elder statesman in the running back room, leads the rushing effort with 147 yards and two touchdowns, while the activity behind him has been just as impressive. Collectively, the Jenkins along with Speedy Jones and Preston Alford are averaging 5.7 yards per carry with Jones' 17 attempts totaling 99 yards and Alford's dozen carries producing 85 yards including the longest play from scrimmage by a Jack this season: a 51-yard gallop against East Texas A&M.
HOME OPENERS
SFA moved to 7-1 in home openers under Carthel and has now won seven after beating East Texas A&M. SFA holds an overall record of 60-37-3 (.611) and is 8-1 overall in such contests since 2018.
DEBUT JACKS
More than 40 players made their SFA debut in Lake Charles, including 25 that are in their first season as Lumberjacks. Defensively, four first-year Jacks in Makai Frisby, A'Amear Walton, Jaydon Eason and Eli Ennis were in the starting lineup.
WELCOME BACK KYLON
The only thing different for Kylon Harris in Saturday's opener was his jersey number. The Louisiana native donned the #10 against the Cowboys and nearly took a 24-yard reception to the house. His one catch for two dozen yards places him seven catches back of setting a new program career record for receptions and has him 132 receiving yards shy of becoming only the third player to reach 3K in a Lumberjack career. In all, Harris has totaled 3,176 all-purpose yards on 262 touches with 29 of those finding the endzone.
WEEK 2 IN REVIEW
#11/13 SFA 44, EAST TEXAS A&M 7
WELCOME HOME BOYS
-- SFA has won nine-straight games inside Homer Bryce Stadium dating back to the 2024 season
-- The Jacks improve to 7-1 in home openers and have won seven straight under Carthel
-- The program's overall record in home openers now stands at 60-37-3
-- It is win No. 185 for the Jacks inside HBS
-- The Jacks move to 27-6 inside HBS since the start of the 2020 campaign
-- The Jacks win over the Lions for the second-straight season and for the 16th time in the series
-- It is the largest margin of victory in the series for either team since 1959
GROUND STRIKES
Gavin Rutherford scored rushing touchdowns in consecutive drives and only 2:18 seconds a part in the win. Backup quarterback JT Kitna also hit paydirt on the ground.
COMPLIMENTS ALL AROUND
It was complimentary football for the Jacks on Saturday night. Speedy Jones responded to the visitors' only points with a 47-yard kickoff return which set up Rutherford's first trip to paydirt. A quick three and out led to Alford's massive gain and Rutherford's second score in less than two and a half minutes.
A forced fumble by Malachi Williams was recovered by Chance Sautter, and even though the Jacks were unable to cash in on a lengthy drive, SFA turned a Davonta Morgan Collins interception on the following ETAM possession into Alvarado's first make. Makai Frisby's third quarter pick led to a powerful scoring run by Jaylen Jenkins and back-to-back turnover on downs led to Alvarado's second and third FG makes. Cam Vandible capped the defensive effort with an interception to set up the Bryson Broadway to Cannon Lemberg score.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Season tickets 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. Single-game tickets are also available for all six of the Lumberjacks' regular season contests in Nacogdoches.
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.
