The Teams: No. 11/13 Tarleton State Texans (5-1, 2-0 UAC) vs. Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-6, 0-2 UAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium (24,000)
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (John Liddle, LaDarrin McLane)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens, Ty Walker)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
The Texans have been unstoppable of late, and under head coach Todd Whitten, have nearly been unbeatable on Homecoming. They'll look to continue the hot play against conference foe Utah Tech on Saturday night.
 
Tarleton's game, set for 6 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on ESPN+, with John Liddle and LaDarrin McLane on the call. The game can be heard on Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas, with Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens and Ty Walker leading the broadcast.
 
GAME DAY FESTIVITIES
Texan Alley opens at 8 a.m. for tailgaters. The Pointe-du-Hoc rally will be at 2:40 p.m. at Rudder Way Statue, with special guest Rep. DeWayne Burns helping lead the event. Memorial Stadium gates will open at 4 p.m.
 
At Texan Alley from 4-5:30 p.m., Tarleton State will host a Bart Crow concert in Texan Alley to further elevate the tailgate experience. Bart Crow is a well-known country music singer and songwriter, and started first performing live while at Tarleton State. Crow has put together an impressive track record as a recording artist, having lofted six No. 1 singles onto the Texas Music Chart – one of which, "Wear My Ring," sold over 165,000 copies. The concert is presented by Mark and Susie McKenzie.
 
The Homecoming Game is presented by Clear Path Home Care, who is helping provide the first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles with special Homecoming shirts.
 
The Sound and the Fury will perform at 5:42 p.m., followed by the national anthem. Sgt. First Class Dana Bowman will deliver the game ball after jumping out of a helicopter and parachuting onto the field. The Texan Rider will lead the Texans onto the field at 5:57 p.m., and kickoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.
 
After the game, Tarleton State will host a spectacular drone show at Memorial Stadium. Fans are encouraged to stick around to witness the hundreds of drones flooding the sky to make custom Tarleton State animations, a first-of-its kind experience at the university.
 
Single-game tickets can be purchased and claimed at TarletonSports.com/Tickets. Tarleton State students, fans and staff can also show their Texan card at the gate to gain entry. For maps of the area and complete tailgating policies, visit TarletonSports.com/TexanAlley.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the fifth all-time meeting. The other four happened in 2021-22. They played twice in the COVID-19 2021 season, once in the 2021 season and once in 2022. The home teams have won the last two, and split the others.
• At 0-6, this is the worst start to a season for Utah Tech since 2021 (0-9). At 11, this is its longest skid in program history (previous long was nine straight).
• Defensively, the Trailblazers allow the second most points across all 129 FCS programs at 49.2 PPG. They've allowed 50+ in three games and 30+ in all six. They have no interceptions on the year.
• Utah Tech has played four QB's this year. Reggie Graff has 6 GP.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton moved up three spots in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll to No. 11 and one spot in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll to No. 13 this past week. These are the highest rankings of the season for the Texans.
• The Texans have started 5-1 for the first time in their NCAA Division I era. It's the Texans' best start through six games since 2019, when they started 6-0 (which turned into 11-0).  The Texans have won four straight games and nine of their last 10, dating back to last season. Tarleton is 2-0 in conference play for the first team as a D1 team.
• Tarleton State is one of nine teams across 129 FCS programs with 5+ wins on the year.
• Saturday marks Tarleton's Homecoming game. Over the past seven seasons, Tarleton is 6-1 on Homecoming.
• Texan starting quarterback Victor Gabalis transferred from Utah Tech in 2023. At Tarleton State, the Texans are now 12-3 when Gabalis starts at QB, last losing nearly 365 days ago (Oct. 14, 2023, at EKU).
• The Texans just won at Southern Utah 38-37 in overtime this past Saturday. This was the Texans' first overtime win since Oct. 27, 2018 (35-34 at Midwestern State). It was Tarleton's third OT game of its D1 era.
• Kavyon Britten just broke the 1,000 yard mark on Saturday in the sixth game of the season. He leads all of FCS in rush yards (1,025) and rush yards per (170.8). He became the third Texan in program history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in multiple seasons, and was tied-sixth fastest in FCS history to 1,000 rushing yards in a season.

 
TOP-10 TEAM
As the Texans climb closer to becoming a top-10 team in the national polls, Tarleton State has proven to be a top-10 team in straight winning over the past two seasons. In 2023, the Texans posted their best mark in their NCAA Division I era at 8-3, and to start 2024, they have their best six-game start to a season since 2019 at 5-1. Since the start of 2023, the Texans are 13-4 (.765) overall, and 13-2 (.867) against non-FBS opponents, as two of their four losses came against Power Four conference opponents. The Texans have won nine straight games against FCS teams, and have won nine of their last 10 games overall. This season the Texans are one of nine across 129 FCS programs with 5+ wins. Only one team in the FCS has more wins (Montana State, 6-0).
 
Since the start of 2023, Tarleton State has the 10th best winning percentage across all of the FCS:
1. South Dakota State, .950 (19-1)
2. Florida A&M, .833 (15-3)
3. Montana, .810 (17-4)
4. Villanova, .789 (15-4)
T5. Delaware, .778 (14-4)
T5. Mercer, .778 (14-4)
T5. Montana State, .778 (14-4)
T5. South Dakota, .778 (14-4)
9. Harvard, .769 (10-3)
10. Tarleton State, .765 (13-4)
 
HOMECOMING SUCCESS
Homecoming Week is one of the best weeks during the calendar year, and Tarleton State shines through and through. Besides the plentiful fun and unique traditions the university has to offer (purple pancakes, the duck launch, the Yell Contest and more), the Tarleton State Football game to end the festivities has typically been a joyous event from start to finish.
 
Attendance-wise, Tarleton has broken its record for fans at the game three straight years at its homecoming game. Last year, Tarleton State hosted 23,042 fans as the Texans blitzed Morehead State 42-0, an attendance record that still stands. In 2022, the Texans had a then-record 20,237 fans at the game after a then-record 16,216 fans in 2021.
 
On the field itself, the Texans are 6-1 on Homecoming over their past seven seasons, and under head coach Todd Whitten, the Texans are 11-3 in such games.
 
This upcoming Saturday, Tarleton State has big plans for the day. Texan Alley will get an extra boost of fun with a Bart Crow concert from 4-5:30 p.m. At around 5:50 p.m., Sgt. Dana Bowman will soar through the sky and deliver the game ball as he parachutes onto the field from a helicopter. The Texan Rider will ride his horse after that to lead the team onto the field, and after the game, Tarleton Athletics is hosting a drone show, with 250 drones set to fill the sky with unique Tarleton State animations and colors. It's sure to be one of the most memorable Homecoming games in Tarleton State history.
 
GABALIS' OLD FRIENDS
Tarleton State starting quarterback Victor Gabalis will face off against his former team for the first time since transferring away from them in 2022. Gabalis played one season with Utah Tech, playing in all 11 games in 2022. He started five, including the final four of the season, and led the team with 1,948 passing yards on 258 attempts, throwing for 17 touchdowns. He had the most passing TD by a Trailblazer QB since 2019 and the most passing yards since 2018. Gabalis made his impression on the Texans when he beat Tarleton State in the second-to-last game of the year on Nov. 12, finishing 22-of-36 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. To end that season he absolutely starred, throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns at BYU, which included a season-long completion of 80 yards that went the distance to put Utah Tech up 13-7.
 
At Tarleton State, Gabalis has consistently done the most important thing -- win. The Texans are 12-3 since 2023 when Gabalis has started at quarterback. He's missed just two games over that stretch, the second and third games of this season, due to a thumb injury. Gabalis is coming off of his two best games of the season. This past Saturday, he completed 18-of-32 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown while rushing in a score on his birthday. The week before against Southeastern Louisiana, Gabalis tossed a season-high three touchdowns, completing 15-of-26 for 203 yards. Last year, Gabalis threw 13 interceptions in 11 games. This year? Just one INT in four.
  
BRITTEN'S BIG CAMPAIGN
Kayvon Britten continues to pour it on this season, logging his fifth 150+ yard game in six games this past Saturday. He's now at 1,025 rushing yards on the season, the most in the FCS and second most in all of NCAA Division I, just six yards behind Boise State's Ashton Jeanty. Britten also leads the FCS in rush yards per game at 170.8, and is second in all of D1 behind Jeanty's 206.2. Britten has scored eight touchdowns over his past three games and now has nine rushing touchdowns on the season, the tied-fifth most in the FCS.
 
With six regular season games to play, Britten is well on his way to breaking all of Tarleton's rushing records. He is now just 535 yards short of the most rushing yards in a single-season by a Texan (Derrick Ross had 1,560 in 2004). At Britten's current pace, he is scheduled to break that mark at West Georgia on Nov. 9. Britten is on pace to cross the 2,000 rush yard plateau, which hasn't been done at the FCS level since 2015 (Lamar's Kade Harrington with 2,092). Nobody has surpassed 2,000 rush yards in D1 since 2019, when four FBS players did it (Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard, Navy's Malcolm Perry, Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins).
 
This past Saturday, Britten crossed the 1,000 yard mark in the sixth game of the year. Only five FCS players have reached 1,000 yards in fewer games; South Dakota State's Zach Zenner in 2012, Portland State's Charles Dunn in 2000, Sacramento State's Charles Roberts in 1999, Siena's Reggie Greene in 1997, and Butler's Arnold Mickens in 1994. Britten became the third running back in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in multiple seasons (Derrick Ross, Daniel McCants).
 
Britten has already set program records for most rush yards in a game and for the longest rush. He was named the FCS Offensive National Player of the Week and UAC Offensive Player of the Week against North Alabama after 273 rushing yards and four touchdowns, averaging 13.0 yards per carry. Britten surpassed Derrick Ross' 269 yards rushing vs. Western New Mexico on Sept. 10, 2005. Britten's 273 rushing yards are the most in a single-game across all of NCAA Division I this season, with the FBS leader at 267 (Jeanty) and the second-most by a FCS player at 229. Britten's four rushing touchdowns are the tied-second most in a game at the FCS level this season. Britten tied the program record in scoring with his four touchdowns, joining six others. Before Britten, the most recent to score four times in a game was Xavier Turner vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 20, 2018. In the second quarter at North Alabama, Britten scored his first touchdown on a 96-yard run, which marked the longest run in Tarleton State Football history. It's the third longest rushing play across all of D1 this year, just a yard short of UIW's Dekalon Taylor (Sept. 21) and Saint Francis' DeMarcus McElroy (Sept. 14).
 
Career-wise, Britten has logged 3,000+ rushing yards between two seasons at Arkansas Pine-Bluff (1,294 in 19 games) and two seasons at Tarleton (2,175 in 17 games). Since Derrel Kelley III has 2,000 rushing yards with the Texans, Britten and Kelley have become the third duo across FCS who each have rushed for 2,000 yards for the same program, joining UCA's ShunDerrick Powell/Darius Hale, and William & Mary's Bronson Yoder/Malachi Imoh.
 
TURNED IT OVER
Last year, turnovers hampered the Texans especially early in the season. Through the first six games last year, the Texans had 14 turnovers. This season has been a different story. Tarleton State has the second best turnover margin in the FCS at +10, and is-third best in average turnover margin at +1.67. The Texans have the tied-fourth most takeaways in the country with 14 (tied-third in INT with nine, tied-13th in fumble recoveries with five). Tarleton is tied-16th in turnovers lost with four through six games.
 
RESPECT THAT!
In the two polls recognized by the NCAA for the FCS, Tarleton State was ranked No. 11 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll this past week, after Week 6. They climbed three spots from No. 14 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and one spot from No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.  They were ranked 16 and 17 after Week 2, climbing from their 20th and 21st spots, respectively, after Week 1. They were ranked 21st in both polls in the preseason.
 
The active No. 11 and No. 13 rankings mark the highest for Tarleton State since becoming an NCAA Division I program. The Texans were ranked No. 3 nationally at the very end of their NCAA Division II days in November 2019.
 
NEAR THE TOP
Tarleton is shining on the national stage, near the top of the nation as a team by placing...
- 2nd in Kickoff Return Defense (12.7 yards allowed per)
- 3rd in Turnover Margin (+1.67 per)
- Tied-3rd in Interceptions (nine)
- Tied-4th in Turnovers Gained (14)
- Tied-9th in Fumbles Lost (1)
- 11th in Rushing Offense (214.7 rush yards per game)
- Tied-16th in Turnovers Lost (3)
- Tied-17th in Tackles for Loss Allowed (3.83 per)
- Tied-30th in Sacks Allowed (1.33 per)
Individually, Tarleton has top-25 student athletes at...
- 1st in Rushing Yards (Kayvon Britten) at 1,025
- 1st in Rush Yards Per Game (Kayvon Britten) at 170.8
- Tied-1st in Fumble Recoveries (Kasyus Kurns) at three
- 2nd in All-Purpose Yards (Kayvon Britten) at 172.0 per
- Tied-5th in Rushing TD's (Kayvon Britten) at nine
- Tied-8th in Interceptions Per Game (Blake Smith) at 0.5
- 17th in Rush Yards Per Carry (Kayvon Britten) at 6.83
- 22nd in Receiving Yards (Darius Cooper) at 405
 
RECLASSIFICATION SUCCESS
There's no way around it, the Texans had one of the most impressive reclassification periods in NCAA history. The Texans posted a winning season in every year of reclassification, just the third team since 2004 to do so. The Texans also posted the third highest winning percentage in a reclassification period since 2004 at .610:
1. North Dakota State: .750 (33-11, 2005-08)
2. Central Arkansas: .630 (29-17, 2006-09)
3. Tarleton: .610 (25-16, 2020-23)
 
BEST IN TEXAS
Since the start of the 2018 season, Tarleton has been one of the best scholarship football programs in the entire state of Texas. The Texans enter Saturday's game with a .736 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state. Tarleton is the only Texas D1 or D2 institution with all six winning seasons since 2018. They have 53 wins since the start of 2018, the tied-second most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program, behind Texas (who has played nine more games). The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Tarleton State	UAC	.736
2.	Angelo State	LSC	.710
3.	Texas	SEC	.679
4.	Incarnate Word	SLC	.667
5.	SMU	AAC	.663
6.	Sam Houston	C-USA	.653
7.	Texas A&M	SEC	.646
8.	UTSA	C-USA	.585
9.	TCU	Big 12	.550
	Midwestern State	LSC	.550

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Texas	SEC	55
2.	Tarleton State	UAC	53
	SMU	AAC	53
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	51
5.	Angelo State	LSC	49
6.	UTSA	AAC	48
	Incarnate Word	SLC	48
8.	Sam Houston	C-USA	47
9.	TCU	Big 12	44
10.	Baylor	Big 12	43

 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tarleton State and Southern Utah football series is not for the faint of heart. It was another chaotic installment of the latest chapter between the Texans and Thunderbirds, and yet again it was a one-point difference. This year, the Texans left the field victorious by a point, as they pulled out a 38-37 win in overtime at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City on Saturday night.
 
The Texans and Thunderbirds have played four times over the past four years, and the combined margin of victory is now nine points. The teams are split 2-2, with Tarleton winning by one point this year, Southern Utah winning by one point in 2023, Tarleton winning by two points in 2022, and Southern Utah winning by five points in 2021.
 
The Texans led 28-7 at halftime before Southern Utah stormed back in the second half. The Thunderbirds scored 24 unanswered to lead 31-28 with three minutes to play in regulation. Tarleton State drove down and tied up the game on a field goal, then picked off Southern Utah on the Thunderbirds' first offensive play of their next drive. Tarleton missed its field goal late, sending the game into overtime.
 
Tarleton State got the ball first and Kayvon Britten cashed in his third touchdown of the game to put the Texans ahead 38-31. Southern Utah answered with a touchdown of its own, but missed the extra point to send the Purple and White home with the win.
 
Britten finished with 191 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. On his birthday, quarterback Victor Gabalis completed 18-of-32 for 285 yards, throwing one touchdown and rushing in another. Three receivers logged more than 80 yards; Keylan Johnson had 98 yards on two catches, Benjamin Omayebu had 87 yards on eight receptions, and Darius Cooper went for 81 yards on five catches.
 
Defensively, the Texans had two stars lead the way. AJ Owens had the huge late interception in the fourth quarter to go with a forced fumble, a sack and six total tackles (five solo). Defensive back Donta Stuart had 18 tackles, the most by a Texan in a game since Ronnell Wilson had 22 against Mississippi College on March 6, 2021.
 
Blake Smith also had an interception to go with seven tackles, and Charles Perkins joined Owens with a sack, adding three tackles. Caden Holt and Kasyus Kurns each added eight tackles, with Kurns logging a pass breakup.
 
UAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Tarleton has garnered five UAC Player of the Week awards through Week 5.
 
In Week 0, Texan running back Kayvon Britten and punter Adrian Guzman were named the UAC Offensive and Special Teams players of the week, respectively, while defensive back Kasyus Kurns was named the UAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week. Britten rushed for the second most yards across all of college football, finishing with 164 yards on 25 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He was three yards short of the highest rushing total in the nation. Kurns had one of the best defensive games a player can have in Week 0, scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery, recovering two fumbles in total, forcing one fumble, adding a tackle for loss and six total tackles. His scoop and score marked the first fumble return touchdown by a Texan since March 6, 2021, vs. Mississippi College (both Zech Hopkins and Benjie Franklin). He also became the first Tarleton State player since 2014 to come up with two takeaways and a touchdown in the same game (Devin Figures vs. McMurry on Oct. 25). Kurns added an interception in Week 1 and now has the most takeaways across the FCS with three. Guzman had a solid day punting in Week 0, averaging 46.3 yards across his six boots, launching two 50+ yards and two inside the 20.
 
In Week 4, Britten earned his second weekly honor of the season after he set the program's single game rushing record with 273 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He broke a nearly 20-year-old program rushing record set by Derrick Ross on Sept. 10, 2005. Britten's four touchdowns were tied for the most by an FCS running back this season and his 273 rushing yards were just four yards shy of his career-high set during his time at Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
 
In Week 5, linebacker Ty Rawls was named the UAC Defensive Player of the Week, his first conference weekly award since joining the Texans. Rawls had a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, a tackle for loss and six total tackles in Tarleton State's 36-33 home win vs. Southeastern Louisiana. His forced and recovered fumble marked a crucial part of the game, key to Tarleton's 15-point swing from trailing by five to leading by 10. When the Texans were down 19-14, they scored to go up 22-19, and three plays later, Rawls forced the takeaway. On the very next play, the Texans scored again to lead 29-19. Rawls' fumble recovery was the second of his career, and it marked his first career forced fumble.
 
IT'S A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT
After a season that felt a bit shorter than usual with no bye week, five home games and no playoff eligibility despite the Tarleton State football team going 8-3, that all changes this season. The Texans have six home games and 12 games overall with two bye weeks in the middle, making it their longest regular season in program history.
 
The 12 games mark the most regular season games in program history. Tarleton State has played 12 or more games in a season nine times, with each time featuring 10 or 11 regular season games plus playoff games or bowl games. They last played 12 games in 2019, their final NCAA Division II campaign in which they went 11-1, won the Lone Star Conference and made the playoffs.
 
With 91 days separating Tarleton's season opener and regular season finale, this is the longest regular season on record in program history. Tarleton's season opener serves as the earliest game played in a calendar year by the program since at least 1975 (not including the Spring 2021 pandemic season). The earliest date on record for Tarleton is Aug. 25, when the Texans hosted East Central in 2007, a 44-7 Tarleton win.
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 11 NCAA Division I teams (seven FBS, four FCS) have a better win percentage than Tarleton since 2018 (Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, North Dakota State, James Madison, Princeton, South Dakota State, Florida A&M). So among some other elite programs, Tarleton has a higher W% than the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa, USC, LSU, etc.
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Ohio State	Big 10	.888
2.	Alabama	SEC	.886
3.	Georgia	SEC	.885
4.	North Dakota State	MVFC	.870
5.	Clemson	ACC	.839
6.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.817
7.	South Dakota State	MVFC	.814
8.	James Madison	SBC	.813
9.	Princeton	Ivy	.774
10.	Oklahoma	SEC	.771
11.	Florida A&M	SWAC	.762
12.	Tarleton State	UAC	.736

 
42: The Texans blanked Morehead State 42-0 last year in the Homecoming Game. It marked Tarleton's first shutout since March 27, 2021, vs. Northeastern State (38-0), and their second in their NCAA Division I era.
 
10: Offensive lineman Kariem Al Soufi brings a unique background to Tarleton coming from Germany. Al Soufi is one of just 10 players in FCS who is from Germany, and he is one of three international football players in the United Athletic Conference. He is the only UAC player from Germany, and he is just one of three German FCS players playing for a Texas School (two from Stephen F. Austin).
 
1: Whitten is the only coach at any NCAA level actively coaching in his third stint at his current school. He is just one of 37 coaches at any NCAA level to have three non-consecutive tenures at one school and he is the second coach in with three stints at Tarleton State (W.J. Wisdom, 1920-22, 1924-28, 1930-35).
 
53: With his first kick in the first quarter of his first game at Tarleton, kicker Michael James split the uprights on a 53-yard field goal. It marked Tarleton's first 50+ yard field goal make in 15 years. The last 50+ yard field goal make by Tarleton State was from 64 yards out on Nov. 14, 2009, by Garrett Lindholm at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
UP NEXT
Tarleton State will enjoy its second of two bye weeks of the season. The Texans will be back in action at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. CT.