PENSACOLA, Fla. — Tarleton State Football went back-to-back.
The No. 1 Texans (11-0, 6-0 UAC) beat West Florida (4-5, 1-5 UAC) 31-17 on Saturday at PenAir Field in Pensacola, Florida, to clinch at least a share of the United Athletic Conference championship. That makes consecutive UAC championships for the Texans, who shared the title last season. With one regular season game remaining, the Texans just need a win at North Alabama next weekend to win the UAC championship outright.
Also on Saturday, the Texans secured the conference's FCS Playoffs automatic qualifying bid, their first AQ berth in their third straight time making the postseason.
Saturday's game in Pensacola was never in doubt for Tarleton State, who scored on its opening drive and never looked back. The Texans scored four touchdowns in the first half to lead 28-10 at the break, and held off the Argonauts late to win by two possessions.
Running back
James Paige scored a pair of second quarter touchdowns out of the wildcat formation, finishing with the two scores and 17 yards rushing. Quarterback
Kaden Anderson passed for a pair of touchdowns, completing 22-of-37 passes for 259 yards, with an interception and 62 rush yards. Wide receiver
Marquis Willis made a sweet one-handed touchdown grab in the first quarter, finishing with seven catches for 110 yards and the score. Tight end
Danny Joiner caught the first touchdown on a 25-yard connection with Anderson.
Tarleton State also had a pair of 100+ yard rushers in the same game for the first time in two years.
Miequle Brock had 113 yards on 11 carries, averaging 10.3 yards per rush.
Tylan Hines ran for 108 yards on 16 carries, 6.8 yards per rush.
Defensively, defensive back
Fredd Adams recorded two interceptions to go with two pass breakups, a tackles for loss and three total tackles. He earned his first pick of the season to end the first half, then got his second shortly into the second half.
Lance Carson had a pair of sacks, with three total tackles.
Gerard Culotta had a team-high six tackles and a TFL.
For the game, Tarleton State outgained West Florida on the ground 300-121. The teams were nearly identical in pass yards, with the Texans outgaining the Argos in total yardage 559-382. The Texans led in time of possession for just the second time this season, holding the ball for 36 minutes to 24 minutes by UWF.
This is the fourth time in program history the Texans have started 11-0 (2019, 2018, 1990). Since 2025, the Texans are 22-1 in the regular season with an active winning streak at 13. The Texans have the second longest active regular season winning streak across D1 (Utah at 14 entering its game Saturday night). Tarleton State is 14-1 over its past 15 regular season games on the road, dating back to 2024.
It was a 2 p.m. kick time in Pensacola, just Tarleton State's third day game of the year. West Florida opened the scoring with a field goal on its opening drive, a 23-yard boot. Tarleton State needed just six plays on offense to answer back, a 25-yard Joiner catch from Anderson after Anderson rushed for 32 yards on the drive. The Texans forced an Argos' three-and-out, then found paydirt quickly again, this time a 50-yard Willis reception from Anderson. Again, Tarleton State forced a three-and-out, but the Argos stood tall defensively for the first time by forcing a turnover on downs to end the first quarter with the Purple and White ahead 14-3.
The Argos scored early in the second quarter, a Ty-Ray Davis 1-yard touchdown rush, to cut their deficit down to 14-10. Hines broke free for a 40-yard rush on Tarleton State's next drive, then Paige scored his first of two second quarter touchdowns, a 3-yard scamper, to make it 21-10. Later in the quarter, with 37 seconds remaining, Paige scored again from two yards out to give Tarleton State a 28-10 lead at the break.
It was a scoreless third quarter that featured just three drives, two interceptions and a punt.
Midway through the fourth quarter, West Florida scored a 48-yard touchdown on fourth down on a hook-and-ladder (or lateral, whatever your preference) to get West Florida in the game, 28-17. Tarleton State scored a 19-yard field goal by
Alejandro De La Poza on its next drive, thanks to a monstrous 48-yard run by Brock, who refused to go down. Trailing 31-17, West Florida made its last gasp with two minutes to play, trying another trick play on fourth down near the end zone, but the Texans were ready to get the turnover on downs and secure the win.
The Texans will play their regular season finale on the road at North Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. CT. A win for the Purple and White will secure their first outright United Athletic Conference championship and put them in the FCS Playoffs with the nation's lone undefeated record.
