The Teams: No. 3 Tarleton State Texans (6-0, 2-0 UAC) at Utah Tech Trailblazers (1-5, 0-2 UAC)
Where: St. George, Utah
Stadium: Greater Zion Stadium (8,291)
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Rod Zundel, Max Christensen III)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens, Ty Walker)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton State is back in St. George, Utah, for the first time since 2022, for its third UAC game of the season.
 
Tarleton State and Utah Tech will square off at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Rod Zundel and Max Christensen III 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.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the sixth meeting, with the Texans owning a 3-2 advantage. Tarleton State blanked the Trailblazers 42-0 last season at home.
• The teams are split in St. George 1-1. Utah Tech won the last meeting at Greater Zion Stadium 34-28 in 2022, with now Texan QB Victor Gabalis defeating the Texans when he was with Utah Tech.
• Gabalis isn't the only former Trailblazer on the Texans; WR Bryce Parker played at Utah Tech the last two seasons (118 yds, 2 TD in 2025).
• Utah Tech is 1-1 at home, winning last against Northern Iowa 20-9. The Trailblazers also narrowly lost to No. 7 UC Davis 31-24.
• Tarleton State represents Utah Tech's fourth ranked opponent.

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans are ranked No. 3 in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and AFCA Coaches Poll for the fifth straight week. Only North Dakota State and South Dakota State rank ahead of the Texans in both polls.
• The Texans have started 6-0 for the first time in their NCAA Division I era. They last started 6-0 in 2019, a season they started 11-0. They are one of two 6-0 FCS programs (Lehigh) and one of three D1 programs 6-0 (Memphis).
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton State would set a new record for its longest winning streak in its D1 era at seven games. The Texans have tied their D1-high at six straight currently (also Sept. 7-Oct. 26, 2024).
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton State would improve to 4-0 on the road. The Texans won five straight road games last year (Sept. 7-Nov. 9), but they haven't started 4-0 on the road since 2019. Over the past three seasons, Tarleton State is 12-4 (.750) on the road, and 11-2 (.846) on the road against FCS programs.
• The Texans have scored 50+ points in four straight games, their longest such streak in program history. They are fourth in the country in scoring offense at 48.5 points per game, and have the second most points (291).
• The Texans have allowed just two passing touchdowns across six games, tied-second-fewest in the nation.
• The Texans have coughed up just one turnover this season, going 78 straight drives without turning it over.

 
HALFWAY PERFECT
It's the halfway point of the season for Tarleton State Football, and it's been a perfect half for the Texans. The team is a spotless 6-0, 3-0 at home and 3-0 on the road. The Texans have won a pair of nationally televised games (42-0 at Portland State on ESPN2 during Week 0, 30-27 OT at Army on CBS Sports Network during Week 1), have set record crowds at Memorial Stadium, and are ranked No. 3 in the national polls for the fifth straight week. The Texans have now started 6-0 for the third time under head coach Todd Whitten (2025, 2019, 2018) and for the ninth time in program history (also 2007, 1990, 1978, 1935, 1925, 1919). Between 2018-19, the previous two times Tarleton State started 6-0 (and 7-0), the Texans finished a combined 23-2 (.920). Tarleton State is one of two FCS programs to start 6-0 (Lehigh) and one of three across all of D1 football (Memphis).
 
Offensively, the Texans are one of the best teams in the nation, ranked No. 4 in scoring (48.5 points per game), No. 5 in team passing efficiency (183.2), No. 9 in rushing offense (226.3 yards per game), No. 11 in sacks allowed (0.83 per game), and No. 12 in total offense (472.0 YPG). The Texans have just one turnover on the year, a lost fumble that occurred during their first drive of the first game. That makes 78 straight drives without a turnover for Tarleton State, 243 straight carries without a lost fumble, and 153 pass attempts without an interception. Just two other FCS programs have just a single turnover, and they've both played fewer games; Florida A&M (four games played) and North Dakota State (five games played). Tarleton State is one of four teams that has not thrown an interception this season, joined by San Diego (six games), Dayton (five games) and Alabama State (five games).
 
Defensively, Tarleton State has been elite, especially in getting the football. The Texans have 18 takeaways this season, the most in the country by far, with the next closest teams at 13 (Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV). The Texans are best in the country in average turnover margin at +2.83, and are best in total turnover margin at +17 (next closest is +9, Dayton). The Texan defense has scored four touchdowns themselves, No. 1 in the nation in number of defensive touchdowns. The Texans have allowed just two passing touchdowns on the year across six games. Tarleton State is No. 8 in scoring defense this season, allowing just 17.7 points per game. The Texans are also No. 31 in total defense, allowing 342.7 yards per game, second best in the conference. It's been a full effort by the Texans on defense, with seven players recording a fumble recovery, seven players with an interception, six players at 3.0+ TFL on the year, five with a sack on the season, five with a forced fumble and four with a defensive touchdown. Kasyus Kurns and Ty Rawls have the tied-fifth-most interceptions in the nation at three. Last week despite allowing 42 points, the Texans made the adjustment at halftime, allowing just seven points in the second half, including three three-and-outs and an interception over Southern Utah's final four drives.
 
MODERN GREEK
Tarleton State quarterback Daniel Greek started for an injured Victor Gabalis, and picked up where Gabalis left off, completing 16-of-21 (.762) for 282 yards and three touchdowns, plus no turnovers. Greek set new career-highs in passing yards and completions, surpassing his 214 yards vs. Chattanooga (Sept. 20, 2025) and 15 completions at Houston Christian (Sept. 7, 2024), while matching the number of pass touchdowns from that HCU game. This marked Greek's 15th game played in his third season at Tarleton State, and his second career start, in addition to that Sept. 7, 2024, game at Houston Christian. In Greek's two starts at Tarleton State, he's combined to throw for 458 yards on 31-of-43 (.721) passing and six touchdowns, with the Texans going 2-0.
 
Greek arrived at Tarleton State in 2023 after playing two seasons at Mississippi State from 2021-22. He was recruited by the Bulldogs as a three-star prospect per ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. He was the Division 1 District 1 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2018 playing for Liberty Christian School. Across his career there, he threw for 5,245 yards and 47 touchdowns. Maybe more impressively, he had a 4.2 GPA.
 
NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Tre Page III has burst onto the scene this season as a redshirt freshman, and he shined again this past Saturday against Southern Utah. On Monday, Page was named the Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week.
 
Page recorded 198 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries (10.4 YPC) in Tarleton State's 52-42 home conference win over Southern Utah. This was a career-night for the redshirt freshman, who set a new career-high in rushing yards (198), plus tied his career-high in rushing touchdowns (two, also Aug. 23 at Portland State this season). Page's 198 rushing yards mark the tied-10th most in a single game across the FCS this season, and were the fifth most in a single-game across the FCS this week. He is now fifth in the nation in rush yards this season (673), and tied-12th in rushing touchdowns (six). He's fourth in yards per carry at 7.83.
 
This is the second national weekly award that Tarleton State has garnered this season. On Sept. 1, Tarleton State was named the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week following wins at Portland State and Army.
 
UAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
In addition to Page's national recognition, he was also named the UAC Freshman of the Week on Monday. Through just six games, Tarleton State has had six individuals named a United Athletic Conference Player of the Week, two of which were Freshman of the Week honors to Page.
 
After Weeks 0-1, Tarleton State had Kasyus Kurns named the UAC Defensive Player of the Week, kicker Brad Larson the UAC Special Teams Player of the Week, and running back Tre Page III the UAC Freshman of the Week. Kurns recorded two interceptions, a fumble recovery and four total tackles in Tarleton State's 30-27 double overtime win at Army. Kurns' three takeaways were all in the second half to help Tarleton State to one of its best victories in program history. Kurns earned a takeaway on three straight Army drives. Larson made the game-winning field goal in double overtime at Army. He went 3-of-3 on field goals, making a 30-yard field goal to give Tarleton State a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, then made a 28-yard field goal in the first overtime to give Tarleton State a 27-24 lead, and finally made a 37-yard field goal to win the game for Tarleton State in double overtime. These were Larson's first field goal attempts in his Tarleton State career. Page stole the show in the first half against Portland State on Aug. 23, racing for a 28-yard touchdown in the first quarter, then an 89-yard scamper for a score in the second quarter. Page had 160 rushing yards in the first half alone, finishing with 170 for the game and his two scores on 15 carries (11.3 yards per rush). Page had the most rushing yards in a season opener in Tarleton State Football NCAA Division I history, and the most since Daniel McCants had 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 20.
 
After Week 3, linebacker Yasir Holmes was named the UAC Defensive Player of the Week, his first career honor in his first season at Tarleton State. Holmes recorded a team-high three tackles for loss, a sack and a team-high seven total tackles in Tarleton State's 56-10 road win in its conference opener at Central Arkansas. Holmes became the first Texan with three tackles for loss in a game since Blaine Hoover had 3.0 TFL on Nov. 19, 2022, against Houston Christian. 
 
After Week 4, kicker Corbin Poston was named the Special Teams Player of the Week, his first career honor. Poston nailed a pair of long field goals, drilling one from 50 yards and the other from 49 yards, plus had 10 kickoffs cover 608 yards with seven touchbacks in Tarleton State's win. Poston is the only kicker across all of the FCS to make two field goals from 49-plus yards in a single game this season. His 50-yarder is the tied-14th longest field goal make in the FCS this season. Poston is one of five kickers with multiple field goal makes of 49 yards or longer (New Hampshire's Nick Reed, Idaho State's Trajan Sinatra, Mercer's Reice Griffith, Stony Brook's Michael Mannino). Over the past 15 years, Poston is one of two Texans to make a 50-yard field goal.
 
HIGHLY RESPECTED
At the tail-end of its NCAA Division II era, Tarleton State had the respect and reputation for being an elite program amongst its peers. It hasn't taken long in the Texans' D1 era to reach that same level. Last year, the Texans were No. 12 in the final AFCA FCS Coaches Poll of the season, and No. 13 in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll of the season. They were ranked in both polls every single week of the 2024 campaign, from the preseason through the postseason, one of 11 teams nationwide to never leave the polls. This season, Tarleton State is now ranked No. 3 in both the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll. These are the highest rankings in Tarleton State Football's NCAA Division I era.
 
Amongst its conference peers, Tarleton State is the heavy favorite to win the UAC, picked by eight of the nine teams to finish No. 1. This is the first time the Texans have been picked in the preseason to win the conference since Tarleton State joined the D1 ranks. Since 2021, the Texans have quickly elevated their positioning in the conference standings, going from fourth in 2021 and fifth in 2022 in the standings, to tied-second in each 2023 and 2024.
 
BIRTHDAY WISH GRANTED
On Sept. 20, WR Peyton Kramer, on his birthday, recorded seven receptions for 190 yards and three touchdowns in Tarleton State's 52-24 home win over Chattanooga. Kramer is one of just four players across all of the FCS with three receiving touchdowns and 150+ receiving yards in a game this season (Bucknell's Sam Milligan, Monmouth's Gavin Nelson, Davidson's Ivan Hoyt). Kramer recorded the fourth most receiving yards in a single game at the FCS level this season, and the most by a UAC player in a single-game this season. Since starting his collegiate career at Oklahoma State in 2021, Tarleton State's game on Sept. 20 marked the first time Kramer has scored a touchdown – and he scored three times.
 
BEST IN TEXAS
Since the start of the 2018 season, Tarleton State has been one of the best scholarship football programs in the entire state of Texas. The Texans enter Saturday's game with a .744 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state. Tarleton State is the only Texas D1 or D2 institution with all seven winning seasons since 2018. They have 64 wins since the start of 2018, the second most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II programs. The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Tarleton State	UAC	.744
2.	Angelo State	LSC	.728
3.	Texas	SEC	.680
4.	SMU	American	.667
	Incarnate Word	SLC	.667
6.	Texas A&M	SEC	.648
7.	Sam Houston	C-USA	.619
8.	TCU	Big 12	.587
9.	UTSA	C-USA	.579
10.	Baylor	Big 12	.564

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Texas	SEC	66
2.	Tarleton State	UAC	64
3.	SMU	American	62
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	59
	Angelo State	LSC	59
6.	Incarnate Word	SLC	58
7.	UTSA	American	55
8.	TCU	Big 12	54
9.	Baylor	Big 12	53
10.	Sam Houston	C-USA	52

 
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing at halftime, Tarleton State Football was unfazed and outscored Southern Utah 24-7 in the second half to remain unbeaten in 2025 with a 52-42 victory. The Texans' offense was once again clicking, totaling 581 yards of offense and scoring 50+ points for the fourth straight game. The Texans have four games with 50+ points for the first time in the Division I era, good for the second most all-time in a single season.
 
Daniel Greek completed 16-of-21 passes and threw a career-high 281 yards and three touchdowns. Greek went turnover-free in his first start of the season, with the Texans now having 18 straight TD passes without an INT. Tre Page III rushed for a career-high 198 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns, averaging 10.4 YPC. Trevon West hauled in 120 yards off six receptions and a touchdown. 
 
With the series having a combined margin of victory of nine points, the matchup between Tarleton State and Southern Utah once again proved to be another classic. This year's matchup proved to be adding to the narrative of a back and forth battle, with both teams scoring within the first four minutes of play.
 
Southern Utah struck first with a 48-yard run to the house on its opening drive, but the Texans quickly responded, with Caleb Lewis scoring on a 10-yard run. On the next drive, Greek found West for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Texans their first lead of the game. The Thunderbirds continued to claw, tying the game on their next offensive possession. Southern Utah took off for a 67-yard touchdown and made it a 14-14 game after one.
 
A successful fourth down conversion from James Paige resulted in another score for the Texans. Lewis found the end zone for the second time two plays later, allowing Tarleton State to retake the lead. Southern Utah answered with another touchdown before another Texan running back burst onto the scene. Page took off for a 46-yard touchdown to give the Texans a 28-21 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. The Thunderbirds closed the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns to take a 35-28 lead going into the locker room.
 
Tarleton State's offense hit the ground running, scoring on its first possession of the second half. Greek capped off a 10-play opening drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kramer to tie the game. Southern Utah once again took the punch and delivered one back, gaining the advantage off a 59-yard run to the end zone.
 
The Texans thrived in the battle of big plays, coming up with another one when Greek found West for a 44-yard catch that put Tarleton State four yards away from a score. Page made the catch worth it on his next run, walking his way to the end zone to knot the score up once again. Brad Larson gave the Texans the lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter, drilling a 32-yard field goal to put Tarleton State ahead 45-42 entering the final 15 minutes.
 
Ja'Voni Melidor came down with the biggest play for the Texan defense to start the fourth, collecting his first INT. Greek then found junior wide receiver Cody Jackson for a 30-yard touchdown grab to make it a 10-point contest. The defense prevented Southern Utah's offense from completing a comeback in the fourth quarter.
 
GABALLER
Before his injury, Texans quarterback Victor Gabalis was proving why he was selected as the unanimous UAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Through five games, Gabalis completed 69-of-111 (.622) passes for 966 yards, 12 touchdowns, and zero turnovers. In Tarleton State's home opener, Gabalis completed 20-of-27 (.741) passes for 295 yards, five touchdowns and zero turnovers in Tarleton State's 59-3 win against Mississippi Valley State. His five passing touchdowns are the most in a game by a Tarleton State quarterback in 10 years, since Zed Woerner had five against Oklahoma Panhandle on Oct. 24, 2015. The five touchdowns mark Gabalis' most in his three seasons at Tarleton State, surpassing four four-touchdown performances, two in 2024 and two in 2023. His five touchdown passes are his most since throwing five against Southern Utah while with Utah Tech on Oct. 29, 2022.
 
This is Gabalis' sixth season at the collegiate level, having played two seasons at Washington State (2020-21), one season at Utah Tech (2022) and now in his third season at Tarleton State (2023-25). He's played in 42 career collegiate games, sitting at 8,488 passing yards and 72 passing touchdowns. In games Gabalis has started in his career, his teams have gone 25-8 (.756). At Tarleton State, Gabalis is 22-6 (.786) as a starter with 6,341 passing yards on 426-of-721 (.591) passing, 53 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Gabalis has surpassed Steve Kelly (51) on Tarleton's State's career passing touchdown list at No. 4, and he's four short of tying Scott Grantham at 57 (2007-09) at No. 3. Gabalis has surpassed Ben Holmes (5,997) at No. 5 on Tarleton State's all-time career passing yards leaderboard and is 920 short of Chad Cole (7,267, 1995-98) at No. 4.
 
During the preseason, Gabalis was named the unanimous UAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-UAC Team. He was also named to the 2025 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List, one of 30 players named to the list for an award that is equivalent to the Heisman Trophy at the FBS level.
 
Last season, Gabalis was named UAC Second Team All-Conference after leading the Texans to a 9-3 overall record as the starting quarterback, 6-2 in UAC play. He completed 193-of-309 (.625) for 2,883 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 12 games.
 
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
Tarleton State Football is one of the best stories in the nation to start the 2025 campaign, and that was further proven recently, as the Texans were named the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week following wins at Portland State and Army. On Aug. 29, Tarleton State won its first road game against an FBS program in its fourth try, and second win against an FBS program in five total matchups, having also defeated New Mexico State in El Paso in 2021. Army, meanwhile, won the American Conference championship last year and finished 12-2 overall. This was the Black Knights' first loss to an FCS program since 2015.
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 10 NCAA Division I teams (seven FBS, three FCS) have a better win percentage than Tarleton State since 2018 (Ohio State, North Dakota State, Georgia, Alabama, South Dakota State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Oregon, James Madison and Montana State). So among some other elite programs, Tarleton State has a higher W% than the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, USC, LSU, etc.
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Ohio State	Big 10	.885
2.	North Dakota State	MVFC	.879
3.	Georgia	SEC	.871
4.	Alabama	SEC	.861
5.	South Dakota State	MVFC	.822
6.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.816
7.	Clemson	ACC	.802
8.	Oregon	Big 10	.798
9.	James Madison	SBC	.796
10.	Montana State	MVFC	.769
11.	Tarleton State	UAC	.744
12.	Oklahoma	SEC	.740
13.	Montana	Big Sky	.733
14.	Jackson State	SWAC	.730
	Dartmouth	Ivy	.730

 
7: Tarleton State is the only NCAA Division I program in Texas with seven straight winning seasons. Among head coach Todd Whitten's 15 completed seasons at Tarleton State, his team has finished .500 or better 14 times, the only losing record at 5-6 in 2016.
 
50: The Texans have scored 50+ points in four consecutive games after not reaching the 50-point plateau a single time last year. This is the first time in program history the Texans have scored 50+ in four straight games.
 
8: With its next win, Tarleton State will have guaranteed another winning season for the program, making it eight straight years of a winning season and nine straight years of .500+ football (went .500 in 2017 after a bowl loss).
 
2: Tarleton State has started 2-0 in conference play for the second time in its NCAA Division I history (2024). Last season the Texans started 4-0 before dropping their first UAC game.
 
1: Whitten is the only coach at any NCAA level actively coaching in his third stint at his current school. He is one of 37 coaches at any NCAA level to have three non-consecutive tenures at one school and the second coach with three stints at Tarleton State (W.J. Wisdom, 1920-22, 1924-28, 1930-35).
 
UP NEXT
It's Homecoming at Tarleton State, and the Texans will host West Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.