The Teams: No. 16 Tarleton State Texans (3-1, 1-0 UAC) vs. Southeastern Louisiana Lions (1-3, 0-0 SLC)
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 are finally back in Stephenville, their first game at Memorial Stadium in a month, as they'll host the Southland Conference's Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday on Family Weekend.
 
Tarleton's game, set for 6 p.m., 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 Tally Neal helping lead the event. Memorial Stadium gates will open at 4 p.m. The first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive special Family Weekend shirts, provided by Triple Crown Ford. The Sound and the Fury will perform at 5:47 p.m., followed by the national anthem. The Texan Rider will lead the Texans onto the field at 5:57 p.m., and kickoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.
 
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 second meeting between the Texans and Lions. Tarleton won on the road 14-13 last year, getting head coach Todd Whitten his 100th victory at the helm of Tarleton State.
• SLU is 1-3 overall (0-2 on road), losing 52-0 at Tulane and 35-10 at Southern Miss. They lost 41-0 to No. 1 South Dakota State last week.
• SLU is averaging the second fewest points across FCS at 9.5 PPG despite being 12th in average time of possession at 33:09.
• Tarleton is 2-0 against Southland Conference opponents this season (McNeese, HCU). TSU has won five straight against SLC teams.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton moved up one spot in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll this past week and is now No. 16 in both, that and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. These are the highest rankings of the season for the Texans.
• This is Tarleton's final non-conference regular season game. The Texans have won six straight non-conference games against non-FBS opponents dating back to 2022 and 12 of their last 13 dating back to 2021.
• The Texans have won seven of their last eight games, dating back to Oct. 21 of last season.
• •With a win Saturday, Tarleton would start its season 4-1 for the third straight year. The Texans were also 3-1 entering their game against SLU in 2023, improving to 4-1 then, as well.
• Kavyon Britten is the reigning FCS National Offensive Player of the Week and UAC Offensive Player of the Week. Last week at North Alabama he rushed for 273 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries (13.0 YPC). He set a new program record for rushing yards in a game and owns the most in a single-game across all of D1 this year. Britten leads the FCS with 660 rushing yards, second most across all of D1 (Iowa's Kaleb Johnson has 685).
• Kasyus Kurns leads FCS in takeaways (four) and fumble recoveries (three). He's had a takeaway in three games.
• Tarleton State has the third best turnover margin in the FCS at +8. The Texans have won the turnover battle in every game, going +4 in Week 0, +1 in Week 1, +1 in Week 2 and +2 in Week 4. SLU is -2 on the year.

 
BRITTEN'S BIG DAY
It's no secret that Tarleton State running back Kayvon Britten is one of the best players in the nation. The senior was named the unanimous Preseason UAC Offensive Player of the Year, was placed on the FCS Preseason All-America Team by Stats Perform, and was listed on the 2024 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List. Still, Britten cannot be stopped, and he showed out on Saturday at North Alabama to the tune of 273 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries, averaging 13.0 yards per carry. Britten was named the FCS National Offensive Player of the Week and the UAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
 
Britten made history on Saturday, as he set the new single-game rushing record in program history. He 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 (Boise State's Ashton Jeanty) and the second-most by a FCS player at 266 (Richmond's Zach Palmer-Smith). Britten's four rushing touchdowns are tied-most in a game at the FCS level this season and tied-second most across all of D1. Britten tied the program record in scoring with his four touchdowns, joining six other players (four running backs, two wide receivers). 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 on Saturday, 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).
 
Surprisingly, Britten's 273 rushing yards aren't the most he's had in a game. He rushed for 277 yards during his time at Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Oct. 16, 2022.
 
Career-wise, Britten has now logged over 3,000 rushing yards, split between two seasons at Arkansas Pine-Bluff (1,294 in 19 games) and two seasons at Tarleton State (1,810 in 15 games). He is 190 yards short of breaking the 2,000-yard mark at Tarleton State. Since Derrel Kelley III already has 2,000 rushing yards with the Texans, Britten and Kelley would become the third duo across the FCS who each have rushed for 2,000 yards for the same program, joining Central Arkansas' ShunDerrick Powell and Darius Hale, and William & Mary's Bronson Yoder and Malachi Imoh. Britten is now 340 yards away from becoming the third Tarleton State player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons (Derrick Ross 2004-05, Daniel McCants 2018-19).
 
Britten's 660 rushing yards marks the most in the FCS and the second most across all of NCAA Division I (Iowa's Kaleb Johnson has 685). He is averaging the fifth most rushing yards per game in the FCS at 128.0. Through four games, Britten has rushed for 150+ yards three times.
 
TRENDY
The Texans are 3-1, looking to make it 4-1 for the third straight year. They are 7-1 over their last eight dating back to last season. Tarleton State has the third best turnover margin in the FCS at +8, and is tied-third best in average turnover margin at +2.0. The Texans have the tied-fourth most takeaways in the country with 10 (tied-fifth in INT with six, tied-10th in fumble recoveries with four). Tarleton is tied-11th in turnovers lost with two through four games. Last year, turnovers were a problem for the Texans at the start of the year, as they had 12 in the first four games. Tarleton has not only controlled the ball, they have controlled possession this year, clocking in with the 37th best average time of possession in the FCS at 31:12. Last year Tarleton averaged 27:47 TOP, tied-17th lowest in the FCS among 127 programs.
 
QB1 RETURNS
Following a thumb injury in Week 0, starting quarterback Victor Gabalis returned to action this past Saturday. Gabalis has now started 13 games under center for the Texans, leading them to a 10-3 record, and Tarleton has won six straight games when Gabalis has started.
 
Through four games, Tarleton has had three different starting QB's play two games apiece; Gabalis, Daniel Greek and Jaden Pete. The three have combined to throw for 450 passing yards, 234 of which have gone to Darius Cooper (52.0 percent).
  
RESPECT THAT!
In the two polls recognized by the NCAA for the FCS, Tarleton State was ranked No. 16 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and 16th in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll this past week, after Week 4. They stayed pat in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and rose a spot in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll week-over-week. 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.
 
Last year, the Texans ended their regular season with a splash and found themselves in the conversation for being ranked for the first time at the NCAA Division I level. In the two NCAA recognized polls, they were No. 27 and No. 28, respectively.
 
The active No. 16 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.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST
Already the winningest coach in program history, Tarleton State Football head coach Todd Whitten reached one of the rarest marks in coaching lore – 100 wins with a single program. The Texans held off Southeastern Louisiana 14-13 at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Louisiana, on Sept. 30, 2023. Whitten won his 100th at the helm of the Texans, becoming just the 12th head coach among all current NCAA Division I schools in Texas to reach 100 wins with one program in the history of college football, joining TCU's Gary Patterson (181, 2000-21), Texas' Darrell Royal (167, 1957-76), Houston's Bill Yeoman (160, 1962-86), Texas' Mack Brown (158, 1998-2013), Rice's Jess Neely (144, 1940-66), Texas A&M Commerce's Ernest Hawkins (132, 1964-85), Sam Houston's Ron Randleman (131, 1982-2004), Baylor's Grant Teaff (128, 1972-92), Texas A&M's R.C. Slocum (123, 1989-2002), North Texas' Odus Mitchell (122, 1946-66), and TCU's Dutch Meyer (109, 1934-52).
 
Tarleton scored all 14 points in the first quarter. Defensive back Blake Smith returned an interception for a touchdown on the first Texan defensive play of the game. Running back Kayvon Britten scored his team-leading sixth touchdown of the season on a 15-yard run late in the opening frame to give Tarleton the lead 14-7.
 
It remained 14-7 until the 5:17 mark of the fourth quarter. Southeastern Louisiana scored to seemingly tie the game, but the Texans blocked the extra point to cling on to a one-point lead. Tarleton refused to give SLU the ball back, bleeding out the last 5:17. After exhausting all of the Lions' timeouts, Tarleton chose to go for it on 4th-and-1 with 1:29 left at midfield. The offensive line opened up a hole for Britten to power four yards to ice the victory for the Purple and White.
 
The Texan defense played lights out. They forced three turnovers in the game, a Smith pick-six, a Keldric Williams interception, and a forced fumble and recovery by freshman Steve Albert Jr. They also forced a turnover on downs, forced a missed field goal, plus had five tackles for loss, including a sack by Kasyus Kurns. 
 
On Tarleton's clock-bleeding final drive, Britten and Derrel Kelley III rushed a combined nine times for three first downs to send the Texans back to Stephenville with the win.
 
Britten finished with 87 yards on 18 rushes (4.8 yards per carry), to go with his touchdown. Kelley had 71 yards on 16 carries (4.4 YPC). Gabalis completed 8-of-21 passes for 62 yards and an interception. Quarterback Daniel Greek led one drive in the third, going 1-for-2.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Kayvon Britten's 273 rushing yards with four touchdowns set the single game program rushing record to lift Tarleton State to a 28-14 road win at North Alabama in its United Athletic Conference opener Saturday night at Braly Stadium. Britten broke a nearly 20-year-old record set by Derrick Ross on Sept. 10, 2005. Senior defensive back Kasyus Kurns collected his fourth takeaway of the season with a fumble recovery while defensive back Blake Smith obtained his first interception of the season.
 
Looking to strike first, North Alabama began by setting up its offense on Tarleton State's five-yard line. After Tarleton State forced the Lions into a combined two rushing yards on their next two plays, the Texans prevented North Alabama from getting in the end zone on third down. North Alabama scored the only points of the first quarter with a 20-yard field goal and carried the 3-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.
 
With the powerful Tarleton State offensive line creating holes, Britten took advantage and gave the Texans the lead with a 96-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The Lions to cut the deficit 7-6 going into halftime.
 
North Alabama muffed a punt return in the third, allowing Kurns to recover the fumble and put Tarleton State's offense on the Lions' 19-yard line. Tarleton State quickly took advantage, with Britten gaining all 19 yards off five rushing attempts en route to his second touchdown of the game. North Alabama responded by marching down the field to set themselves up in the red zone following a 31-yard pass and catch. The Lions got in the end zone thanks to a 10-yard run and tied the game 14-14 by converting the two-point conversion.
 
The tie would be broken just two plays later, with Britten going 65 yards untouched for his third touchdown of the game to give the Texans a 21-14 lead. Brandon Tolvert sacked the North Alabama quarterback on third down of the Lions' final offensive drive of the quarter, allowing Tarleton State to keep its lead.
 
North Alabama looked to tie the game on its first drive of the fourth quarter, marching the ball to the red zone. While the Lions completed three consecutive passes, the Texans' defense forced North Alabama into a turnover on downs. TarletonState's defense once again prevailed in the Lions' second offensive drive of the fourth quarter, forcing the Lions to go three and out.
 
Tarleton continued to feed Britten, who gained 33 yards before Victor Gabalis connected with Darius Cooper for a 34-yard gain. Gabalis and Cooper set up Britten's fourth touchdown that extended Tarleton's lead 28-14.
 
Getting the ball down to Tarleton State's 19-yard line in the closing minutes, North Alabama looked for a shot in the end zone. The Texans spoiled North Alabama's hopes of a comeback, with Smith coming down with the interception to put the ball back in Tarleton State's hands.
 
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 .729 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 51 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 10 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	.729
2.	Angelo State	LSC	.706
3.	Texas	SEC	.675
4.	Incarnate Word	SLC	.662
5.	SMU	AAC	.654
6.	Sam Houston	C-USA	.643
7.	Texas A&M	SEC	.636
8.	UTSA	C-USA	.593
9.	Midwestern State	LSC	.569
10.	TCU	Big 12	.551

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Texas	SEC	54
2.	Tarleton State	UAC	51
	SMU	AAC	50
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	49
5.	UTSA	AAC	48
	Angelo State	LSC	48
7.	Incarnate Word	SLC	47
8.	Sam Houston	C-USA	45
9.	Baylor	Big 12	43
	TCU	Big 12	43

 
NEAR THE TOP
Tarleton is shining on the national stage, near the top of the nation as a team by placing...

• Tied-3rd in Average Turnover Margin at 2.00
• 10th in Rushing Offense at 212.8 rushing yards per game
• Tied-19th in Fewest Penalties Per Game at 5.00
• 23rd in Net Punting at 40.42 yards

 
Individually, Tarleton has top-50 student athletes at...

• 1st in Rushing Yards (Kayvon Britten) at 660
• 1st in Fumble Recoveries (Kasyus Kurns) at three
• 2nd in Rush Yards Per Game (Kayvon Britten) at 165.0
• 4th in All-Purpose Yards (Kayvon Britten) at 166.8 per
• 7th in Yards Per Carry (Kayvon Britten) at 7.8
• Tied-11th in Rushing TD's (Kayvon Britten) at five
• 39th in Punting (Adrian Guzman) at 42.5 yards per
• 46th in TFL Per Game (Caimyn Layne) at 1.3

 
UAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Tarleton has garnered four UAC Player of the Week awards through Week 4.
 
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.
 
This past week, Britten earned his second weekly honor of the season -- you should be well versed on his stats by this point.
 
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)
 
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. Since at least 1975 when dates started being recorded, and not including the 2020 season played in spring 2021, Tarleton's Aug. 24 season opener is the seventh time they've started the season before September, and their Nov. 23 regular season finale is the latest Tarleton regular season game, a day beyond their previous known latest game of Nov. 22, 1975.
 
Like last year, all games will be on Saturdays again. All 12 of Tarleton's opponents are NCAA Division I programs, the most the Texans will have ever played against in a season, surpassing their 10 played last year.
 
OFFENSIVE LOYALTY
Tarleton State has been a rare program in the modern college football era that hasn't been affected by the transfer portal much. In fact, the Texans have had 10 of their 11 same offensive starters for most of 2024 begin games from a season ago. Tarleton State lost just one offensive starter to the transfer portal, wide receiver Jaden Smith, who went to Nevada.
 
GOOD WORK GETS NOTICED
In July, head coach Todd Whitten announced that defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix had been promoted to Assistant Head Coach. In addition to helping the Texans to their best record as an NCAA Division I institution in 2023 at 8-3, Nix's defense led the United Athletic Conference in yards per play allowed (4.76), defensive touchdowns (four, tied-fourth in FCS) and fumbles recovered (11, tied-ninth in FCS). The Texans held four opponents to 17 points or fewer and had three defensive players named to All-UAC honors under Nix last season. Nix is the first Assistant Head Coach under Whitten since the head coach returned to the helm in Stephenville in 2016.
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 10 NCAA Division I teams (eight FBS, two FCS) have a better winning percentage than Tarleton since 2018 (Cincinnati, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, North Dakota State, James Madison, Princeton). So among some of the 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.	Alabama	SEC	.895
2.	Georgia	SEC	.894
3.	Ohio State	Big 10	.885
4.	North Dakota State	MVFC	.867
5.	Clemson	ACC	.835
6.	James Madison	SBC	.821
7.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.815
8.	Princeton	Ivy	.784
9.	Oklahoma	SEC	.768
10.	Cincinnati	Big 12	.738
11.	Tarleton State	UAC	.729

 
8: The Texans are 8-0 on Family Weekend since head coach Todd Whitten returned to Stephenville in 2016. They're 6-1 in their final non-conference regular season game (when members of a conference) in the span
 
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 hit the road once again, just for a single-game, however. The Texans will play at UAC foe Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah, on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. CT.