Photo by: Alex Nabor
Jacks Honored as Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week
9/14/2026 8:27:00 AM | Football
Top 25 road win extends regular season winning streak, improves SFA to 3-0
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Following Stephen F. Austin football's Week 2 Top 25 road win at Abilene Christian, FCS Stats Perform has named the Lumberjacks the national team of the week. SFA moved to 3-0 with the 26-7 win, snapped ACU's ten-game home winning streak and extended their own regular season win streak to 13 games.
SFA totaled 459 yards of offense, including 216 on the ground at 6.2 per carry, behind a balanced attack with 35 of the team's 66 total plays serving the dominant rushing effort. In the defensive trenches, the Jacks were just as busy holding the Wildcats to just 1.4 yards per rush and 33 total yards on the ground. SFA manufactured ten tackles for loss and forced multiple turnovers for the third-straight game.
Trailing 20-7 coming out of the intermission, all three of ACU's third quarter possessions saw the football move inside the SFA40 with one drive reaching the SFA24. However, the Wildcats would not score a point as the Jacks turned away the host forcing two punts and picking off a pass.
Gavin Rutherford threw two touchdown passes: a 69-yard strike to the elusive Bugs Mortimer to match the Wildcats and a 13-yard connection to Gerard Edimo who crossed the back of the endzone and hung on through contact to give the Jacks the advantage. Rutherford added a rushing score, an untouched saunter from 26 yards out, for the finishing touches on a rather dominant effort in all three phases.
Carlos Alvarado knocked in a 26-yarder and added a career-long make of 51 moments before the intermission, while Dillon McDougal employed a field-flipping effort averaging nearly 48 yards per punt, with one downed inside the 20 and another inside the 10, in addition to delivering the fourth-longest punt in program history of 75 yards.
Gary Seidenberger picked off a third quarter pass to end an ACU drive in Lumberjack territory, Davonta Morgan-Collins added two pass breakups, Jaiydyn Johnson delivered a sack and K'Mard Kimble led the Pine Curtain's exploits in the ACU backfield with 2.0 tackles for loss.
The Jacks' win over the Wildcats is the second straight, the program's fifth on the road and the 16th in the all-time series. SFA moves to 8-2 against ACU since Carthel's first season in 2019. Saturday's win also marks the third-straight season with a top 25 road win.
UP NEXT
The Lumberjacks' non-conference tour continues next week in Prairie View as SFA meets the defending SWAC Champions for the first time ever away from Nacogdoches. It's the eighth meeting all-time between the two Lone Star State foes with SFA holding a 5-1-1 advantage in the series, while the Panthers won the most recent matchup: a 56-48 shootout in the Piney Woods in the closest contested meeting in the series not including the 1987 tie. The Jacks meet an opponent from the SWAC for the 21st time (16-3-1) in program history. Kickoff from Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Don't miss a single snap as SFA looks to defend its Southland Conference title. Visit www.SFATickets.com to secure your 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.
SFA totaled 459 yards of offense, including 216 on the ground at 6.2 per carry, behind a balanced attack with 35 of the team's 66 total plays serving the dominant rushing effort. In the defensive trenches, the Jacks were just as busy holding the Wildcats to just 1.4 yards per rush and 33 total yards on the ground. SFA manufactured ten tackles for loss and forced multiple turnovers for the third-straight game.
Trailing 20-7 coming out of the intermission, all three of ACU's third quarter possessions saw the football move inside the SFA40 with one drive reaching the SFA24. However, the Wildcats would not score a point as the Jacks turned away the host forcing two punts and picking off a pass.
Gavin Rutherford threw two touchdown passes: a 69-yard strike to the elusive Bugs Mortimer to match the Wildcats and a 13-yard connection to Gerard Edimo who crossed the back of the endzone and hung on through contact to give the Jacks the advantage. Rutherford added a rushing score, an untouched saunter from 26 yards out, for the finishing touches on a rather dominant effort in all three phases.
Carlos Alvarado knocked in a 26-yarder and added a career-long make of 51 moments before the intermission, while Dillon McDougal employed a field-flipping effort averaging nearly 48 yards per punt, with one downed inside the 20 and another inside the 10, in addition to delivering the fourth-longest punt in program history of 75 yards.
Gary Seidenberger picked off a third quarter pass to end an ACU drive in Lumberjack territory, Davonta Morgan-Collins added two pass breakups, Jaiydyn Johnson delivered a sack and K'Mard Kimble led the Pine Curtain's exploits in the ACU backfield with 2.0 tackles for loss.
The Jacks' win over the Wildcats is the second straight, the program's fifth on the road and the 16th in the all-time series. SFA moves to 8-2 against ACU since Carthel's first season in 2019. Saturday's win also marks the third-straight season with a top 25 road win.
UP NEXT
The Lumberjacks' non-conference tour continues next week in Prairie View as SFA meets the defending SWAC Champions for the first time ever away from Nacogdoches. It's the eighth meeting all-time between the two Lone Star State foes with SFA holding a 5-1-1 advantage in the series, while the Panthers won the most recent matchup: a 56-48 shootout in the Piney Woods in the closest contested meeting in the series not including the 1987 tie. The Jacks meet an opponent from the SWAC for the 21st time (16-3-1) in program history. Kickoff from Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
There's never been a better time to lock in your seat at Homer Bryce Stadium! Don't miss a single snap as SFA looks to defend its Southland Conference title. Visit www.SFATickets.com to secure your 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.
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