The Teams: No. 5 Tarleton State Texans (9-1, 5-1 UAC) vs. North Alabama Lions (2-8, 1-5 UAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (Kyle Youmans, Hek'ma Harrison, Laura Sadler, Blaine Tamez)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens, Ty Walker)
Game Sponsor: Smile Doctors
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton State Football is back home, this time with a chance to clinch at least a share of the United Athletic Conference championship. With a Tarleton State win and an Abilene Christian loss earlier in the day, the Texans will clinch at least a share.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Kyle Youmans, Hek'ma Harrison and Laura Sadler 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, RJ Choppy, Keltin Wiens and Ty Walker leading the broadcast.
 
GAME DAY FESTIVITIES
It's Military Appreciation at Tarleton State, with several military vehicles set to be around campus and Memorial Stadium. 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. Memorial Stadium gates will open at 4 p.m.
 
There will be a mini-cheer performance at 5:42 p.m., followed by the Sound and the Fury performance at 5:46 p.m., then the national anthem. The Texan Rider will lead the Texans onto the field at 5:58 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:02 p.m.
 
Single-game tickets can be purchased and claimed at TarletonSports.com/Tickets. Fans should add their tickets to their mobile wallet before arriving on campus.
 
Texan students should now use the Corq app to attend Tarleton State Athletics' games and events for free.
 
For maps of the area and complete tailgating policies, visit TarletonSports.com/TexanAlley. General Admission ticket holders and students should enter at the north and east sides, and reserved ticket holders should enter at the west side. Fans with GA tickets in the north end zone can enter through right lane at the north and east gates, while students with the Corq app should enter through the left lane at the north and east gates.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• This is the sixth meeting, with the Texans leading 4-1. Head coach Todd Whitten is 3-0 against North Alabama, with three wins from 2022-24, an average margin of victory of 16.7.
• Last year, Kayvon Britten broke a program rushing record in yards with 273 at UNA, adding four rushing TD. Tarleton State won 28-14.
• These teams squared off in Tarleton State's home opener in 2023, with the Texans winning 52-31. TSU outscored UNA 35-3 in the second half.
• North Alabama is 0-6 on the road, with nine straight road losses.
• UNA allows the fifth most yards per game in the nation at 463.4, and allows the 11th most points at 37.3 points per game.

 
QUICK HITS

• With a loss by Abilene Christian and a win by Tarleton State on Saturday, the Texans will clinch at least a share of the UAC championship. This would mark Tarleton State Football's first conference championship in its D1 era, and Tarleton State Athletics' second regular season conference championship (Tennis in 2022). Baseball ('24) and Women's Golf ('25) won WAC Tournaments. ACU plays at EKU at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday.
• The Texans are undefeated at home this season at 4-0, with six straight home wins. This is Tarleton State's longest home winning streak since rattling off 13 straight wins at Memorial Stadium from 2018-19.
• The Texans just had their NCAA Division I era record winning streak snapped at nine games. It marked their first loss of the season, and snapped a 10-game winning streak of regular season games for Tarleton State.
• The Texans were No. 5 in the final midseason FCS Top 10 release of the season. Despite a loss, TSU only dropped two spots in the rankings. They are No. 5 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, No. 6 in the Stats Perform FCS Poll.
• The Texans are best in the conference in both scoring offense (43.6 PPG) and scoring defense (17.7 PPG). They are second in the country in scoring offense and 12th in scoring defense. The Texans are first in total turnover margin by 10 (+24, Dayton at +14), with the most takeaways by nine (29, Nicholls and UTRGV at 20).

 
CHANCE AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
If Abilene Christian loses at Eastern Kentucky and then Tarleton State beats North Alabama on Saturday, the Texans will have clinched at least a share of the conference championship. The Texans would improve to 6-1 in UAC play with one game remaining, with no other undefeated or one-loss conference teams. The only other possible two-loss teams remaining would be ACU and Southern Utah, who hosts Central Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
 
If ACU loses and Tarleton State wins Saturday, the Texans would simply need a win against Austin Peay on Nov. 22 to win an outright UAC championship and the FCS Playoffs automatic qualifying bid. Tarleton State would claim its third conference championship in the past eight seasons. It would mark Tarleton State's sixth conference championship as an NCAA institution. The Texans won five during their NCAA Division II days in 2019, 2018, 2013, 2009 and 2001. They played in the NCAA Division II Playoffs five times, (2019, 2018, 2009, 2003 and 2001), not including their two bowl invitations during the D2 days in 2017 and 2013.
 
If ACU wins and Tarleton State wins Saturday, then the conference championship would come down to the final day on Nov. 22. If ACU wins and Tarleton State loses Saturday, then ACU would clinch at least a share of the UAC championship.
 
FOURTH QUARTER MAGIC
Tarleton State trailed 28-10 entering the fourth quarter in its last game at Abilene Christian on Nov. 1. The Texans then rattled off 18 straight points to tie the game with 56 seconds left, nearly pulling off an incredible come-from-behind victory before No. 24 Abilene Christian made a 47-yard field goal as time expired. Even with a loss, it shows the Texans can come back to win, something they've rarely had to do this season. Entering that Nov. 1 game, the Texans had trailed for just 49:19 of game time in their first nine games, covering 540 minutes. So of their first nine games, the Texans trailed for just 9.1 percent, and in FCS games, they trailed for just 3.8 percent of the time (17:58 of the 480 minutes). Tarleton State's 18 fourth quarter points in the last game are the most the Texans have scored in the final frame all season. That may be more because they've taken their foot off the gas with such a big lead in all other games -- in their eight previous FCS games, the Texans entered the fourth quarter with a lead in all eight, including a multiple possession lead seven times.
 
HISTORIC SEASON
It's been a historic season for the Texans. The team is 9-1 overall including a spotless 4-0 mark at home. They 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 were ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls.
 
Offensively, the Texans are one of the best teams in the nation, ranked No. 2 in scoring (43.6 points per game), No. 6 in total offense (465.4 YPG), No. 9 in rushing offense (214.4 yards per game), No. 11 in team passing efficiency (165.0) and No. 24 in passing offense (251.0 YPG). The Texans have just five turnovers on the year, tied-fourth fewest in the FCS. Tarleton State has thrown just three interceptions this season, tied-fifth fewest.
 
Defensively, Tarleton State has been elite, especially in getting the football. The Texans have 29 takeaways this season, the most in the country by far, with the next closest team at 20 (Nicholls and UTRGV). The Texans are best in the country in average turnover margin at +2.40, and are best in total turnover margin at +24 (next closest is +14, Dayton). The Texan defense has scored four touchdowns themselves, tied-third most in the nation. Tarleton State is No. 12 in scoring defense this season, allowing just 17.7 points per game. The Texans are also No. 25 in total defense, allowing 324.6 yards per game, best in the conference. It's been a full effort by the Texans on defense, with 10 players recording a fumble recovery, eight players with an interception, seven with a sack, six with a forced fumble, five players at 5.0+ TFL, and four with a defensive touchdown. Kasyus Kurns has the tied-most interceptions in the nation at five, and has the highest interception rate per game at 0.63.
 
OFFIICALLY TOP-FIVE
In the ranking that determines every team's playoff fate Tarleton State was last named No. 5 across all of the FCS on Nov. 5. Tarleton State Football's first loss of the season didn't affect its ranking much according to the Division I Football Championship Committee, dropping from No. 3 to No. 5 in the second and final midseason FCS Top 10 release of the season.
 
In the initial FCS Top 10 ranking midseason release on Oct. 15, the Texans were slotted No. 3. Since then, the Texans have gone 2-1, with a dominant ranked win over No. 23 West Georgia 45-10, a blowout road win at Eastern Kentucky 31-7, and a ranked road loss as time expired at No. 24 Abilene Christian 31-28.
 
Live on ESPN2 Wednesday during College Football Live, the committee released its second of two "snapshots" of how teams stack up at this point of the season. Tarleton State Football was announced as the No. 5 team in the Top 10, behind North Dakota State, Montana State, Montana and Lehigh. The rest of the Top 10 is No. 6 South Dakota State, No. 7 Tennessee Tech, No. 8 Monmouth, No. 9 Harvard and No. 10 UC Davis.
 
The Division I Football Championship Committee decides the 24-team field for the FCS Playoffs. The 2025 championship field will consist of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large selections. The FCS Selection Show will air November 23 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
 
This year in selecting at-large teams, the FCS championship committee considers each team's won-lost record, their strength of schedule, Regional Advisory Committee rankings/feedback and games reviewed by the committee on video. A secondary tool are four metrics that may be considered, all including only games from the current season (KPI, Massey Ratings and ESPN's two Football Power Indexes).
 
The 2026 FCS Championship game will be held January 5, 2026 at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt.
 
LOOK AROUND THE FCS
There are just five undefeated teams remaining and two others with a single loss, including Tarleton State. North Dakota State, Montana, Lehigh and Tennessee Tech all sit at 10-0, Harvard at 8-0, Tarleton State at 9-1 and Mercer at 8-1. In terms of rankings in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll:
1. North Dakota State faces Northern Iowa on Saturday
2. Montana plays at Portland State
3. Montana State hosts No. 10 UC Davis
4. Lehigh plays at Colgate
5. Tarleton State hosts North Alabama
6. Tennessee Tech plays at Kentucky
7. Villanova hosts Stony Brook
8. Mercer hosts Chattanooga
9. Rhode Island plays at Maine
10. UC Davis plays at No. 3 Montana State
11. Harvard hosts Penn
Among the top-11 ranked teams, four already have two losses (Montana State, Villanova, Rhode Island and UC Davis).
 
GABALLER
Through his eight games played, Texan quarterback Victor Gabalis has completed 125-of-208 (.601) passes for 1,802 yards, 18 touchdowns, and two interceptions.
 
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 45 career collegiate games, sitting at 9,324 passing yards and 78 passing touchdowns. In games Gabalis has started in his career, his teams have gone 27-9 (.750). At Tarleton State, Gabalis is 24-7 (.774) as a starter with 7,177 passing yards on 482-of-818 (.589) passing, 59 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Gabalis has surpassed Scott Grantham (57, 2007-09) at No. 3 and is now just three short of matching Ben Holmes (62, 2018-19) for second on the Tarleton State career touchdown pass leaders list. Gabalis has surpassed Ben Holmes (5,997) at No. 5 on Tarleton State's all-time career passing yards leaderboard and is 90 short of Chad Cole (7,267, 1995-98) at No. 4.
 
Gabalis just threw for a season-high 361 yards at ACU. In Tarleton State's home opener, Gabalis completed 20-of-27 (.741) passes for 295 yards, five touchdowns and zero turnovers in TSU's 59-3 win against Mississippi Valley State. His five passing touchdowns are the most in a game by a Tarleton State QB 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.
 
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.
 
WHITTEN THE WINNER
Tarleton State Football head coach Todd Whitten can be described easily with one word -- winner. Whitten is now 123-58 (.680) at Tarleton State across his 16 seasons, already with nine wins on the year, making it his ninth time winning 8+ games. The winningest head coach in team history has more wins than Nos. 2-3 have combined. Among all active NCAA Division I head coaches, Whitten is No. 16 in wins all-time with 148, between Montana's Bobby Hauck and Utah State's Bronco Mendenhall. Over the past seven seasons, the Texans are now .744 (67-23). When the Texans have scored 40+ points under Whitten, they are 68-1, and 42-3 when totaling 500+ yards.
 
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 67 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	.709
3.	Texas	SEC	.693
4.	SMU	American	.673
5.	Texas A&M	SEC	.663
6.	Incarnate Word	SLC	.659
7.	Sam Houston	C-USA	.602
8.	TCU	Big 12	.583
9.	UTSA	C-USA	.576
10.	UTPB	LSC	.561

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Texas	SEC	70
2.	Tarleton State	UAC	67
3.	SMU	American	66
4.	Texas A&M	SEC	63
5.	Angelo State	LSC	61
6.	Incarnate Word	SLC	60
7.	UTSA	American	57
8.	TCU	Big 12	56
9.	Baylor	Big 12	54
10.	Sam Houston	C-USA	53

 
UAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Through 10 games, Tarleton State has won seven weekly UAC awards.
 
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-27th 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.
 
After Week 6, Page was named the UAC Freshman of the Week, along with the Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week. He recorded 198 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries (10.4 YPC) in Tarleton State's 52-42 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). Page's 198 rushing yards mark the tied-13th most in a single game across the FCS this season. He is now sixth in the nation in rush yards this season (765), and tied-14th in rushing touchdowns (seven). He's second in yards per carry at 7.73, just barely behind Jackson State's Ahmad Miller at 7.80 yards per carry.
 
After Week 8, Courtland Stephens earned Special Teams Player of the Week after earning a blocked punt and a muffed kickoff fumble recovery in Tarleton State's 45-10 home conference win against No. 23 ranked West Georgia. His punt block led to a touchdown to boost Tarleton State ahead 21-0, and his fumble recovery opened the second half, putting the Texans in great field position.
 
LAST TIME AT HOME
In front of a record-breaking homecoming crowd of 24,012 fans, Tarleton State overpowered No. 23 West Georgia 45-10 on Oct. 18.
 
Victor Gabalis threw for 268 passing yards and three touchdowns in his first game back since his Sept. 20 injury. James Paige once again led the Texans' rushing attack, netting 106 yards to go with a score. Tre Page III also made heavy contributions in the run game in his first appearance back from injury, tallying 92 yards and a touchdown.
 
Gabalis wasted no time in picking up right where he left off, connecting with junior wide receiver Cody Jackson on a 37-yard gain on the Texans' opening drive. The drive was finished off by Paige, who rushed in the end zone for his sixth touchdown in two games to give the Texans an early lead. Another Texan bouncing back from injury gave Tarleton State a spark, this time on the defensive side. On West Georgia's second offensive play of the game, senior defensive back Kasyus Kurns came down with the interception to put the ball back in the offense's hands.
The Texans marched down the field on their last drive of the first quarter, putting themselves in the red zone after the first 15 minutes. Tarleton State doubled its advantage on its first play of the second quarter, with Gabalis tossing it to Jackson for a 16-yard score.
 
Special teams made a special play following the Texans' defensive stand, blocking West Georgia's punt that resulted in the ball being placed on the Wolves' 37-yard line. The offense capitalized once again, with Gabalis finding redshirt junior wide receiver Marquis Willis for a 26-yard touchdown. A 33-yard field goal by senior kicker Brad Larson capped off the first half scoring spree and put the Texans ahead 24-0 going into the locker room.
 
In the second halft, the Texans responded to UWG's first score with Page going 39 yards to the house to extend the lead 31-3 entering the final quarter. The Wolves got in the end zone for the first time in the fourth quarter, but the Texans quickly returned the favor with a touchdown of their own. T'iar Young took it 75 yards for his first score. Braelon Bridges capped off a 14-play drive with his first touchdown of the season in the next offensive series for the Texans to make it a 35-point game.
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 11 NCAA Division I teams (seven FBS, four FCS) have a better win percentage than Tarleton State since 2018 (Ohio State, North Dakota State, Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame, James Madison, South Dakota State, Oregon, Clemson, Montana State, and Montana). 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	.890
2.	North Dakota State	MVFC	.884
3.	Georgia	SEC	.876
4.	Alabama	SEC	.867
5.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.824
6.	James Madison	SBC	.804
7.	South Dakota State	MVFC	.802
8.	Oregon	Big 10	.796
9.	Clemson	ACC	.790
10.	Montana State	MVFC	.779
11.	Montana	Big Sky	.747
12.	Tarleton State	UAC	.744
13.	Dartmouth	Ivy	.735
14.	Oklahoma	SEC	.730
15.	Boise State	MWC	.722

 
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.
 
48: Tarleton State already has the fifth most points in a season in program history (436). If the Texans score 48 points on Saturday, they will move into the top-three. Their most points in a season was in 2018 (585), followed by 540 in 2019 and 478 in 2001.
 
11: At 8.5 sacks, Angelo Anderson already has the most sacks by a Texan in 11 years (Anthony Gonzalez had nine in 2014). Next up in recent history is Rufus Johnson's 10-sack season in 2012. Anderson's 2.5-sack night on Oct. 18 tied a program D1 record.
 
4: Angelo Anderson has a team-high four forced fumbles this season, the tied-second most in the country, only behind Charleston Southern's Justin Waters (eight).
 
2: No FCS team has averaged a +2.00 average turnover margin since 2012 (Richmond). The Texans are at +2.40. The FCS record for average turnover margin is +3.18 (Saint Peter's in 2001), with just one more higher than Tarleton State's current mark (+2.73 by Western Kentucky in 2000).
 
UP NEXT
Tarleton State will play its regular season finale at home against Austin Peay on Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.