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Southeastern Louisiana just knocked off one ranked Southland team. Now it gets the best one. No. 22 Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 2-2 Southland) plays at No. 2 Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0) on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas. Ranks are from our Week 7 FCS Top 25.
The Lions beat Lamar 34-31 at home on Oct. 17. Lamar is still No. 16 in our Week 7 poll even after the loss. A win in Nacogdoches would give Southeastern Louisiana back-to-back wins over ranked teams and put a dent in SFA's path to the Southland title.
The Lamar win was Southeastern Louisiana's first over a ranked opponent since a 45-42 win over Idaho in the first round of the FCS playoffs, according to Southeastern Louisiana Athletics. SFA will also be the highest-ranked team the Lions have ever faced in a Southland game.
The Lions started 0-2 with a 34-28 home loss to Houston Christian and a 39-14 loss at South Alabama. They then won three straight, beating North Alabama 30-25, winning 38-35 at UL Monroe of the FBS and winning 52-21 at Northwestern State. They lost 13-3 at UT Rio Grande Valley before the Lamar win.
Southeastern Louisiana scores 28.4 points per game and allows 28.3. The run game leads the way at 172.3 yards per game.
Stephen F. Austin is one of three unbeaten FCS teams. The Lumberjacks won 38-27 at McNeese to open the year, beat East Texas A&M 44-7, won at Abilene Christian 26-7 and at Prairie View A&M 31-10, and beat Northeastern State 63-14. Their closest game was a 28-26 win over Incarnate Word. They won 56-0 at Nicholls last week.
The Lumberjacks score 40.9 points per game and allow 13.0.
SELA QB Kyle Lowe (senior): Lowe has completed 110 of 173 passes for 1,162 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Lowe can hurt teams with his legs, too. He has 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
SELA RB Deantre Jackson (senior) and RB Calvin Smith Jr. (sophomore): Jackson leads the Lions with 303 rushing yards, and Smith has a team-high five rushing touchdowns.
SELA WR Dkhai Joseph (junior): Joseph leads the team with 32 catches for 325 yards. He's also third in the FCS at 22.0 yards per punt return, according to Southeastern Louisiana Athletics.
SELA LB Carter Hanberry (junior): Hanberry leads the Lions with 60 tackles.
SFA QB Gavin Rutherford (redshirt junior): Rutherford has completed 124 of 183 passes for 1,721 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions.
SFA WR Bugs Mortimer (redshirt senior): Mortimer has 29 catches for 467 yards and seven touchdowns.
SFA RB Speedy Jones (sophomore): Jones leads the Lumberjacks with 429 rushing yards.
SFA DL Jaydon Eason (junior): Eason has 5.5 sacks. Redshirt senior LB Eli Ennis leads SFA in tackles.
Stephen F. Austin leads the series 11-10-1, and Saturday is the 23rd meeting. Southeastern Louisiana has won the last three. The Lions won 58-34 in Nacogdoches in 2016, then 47-30 in 2019 and 24-23 in 2024, both in Hammond. SFA's last win came 28-27 in 2015. This is the Lions' first trip to Nacogdoches since that 2016 win.
Stephen F. Austin's offense against Southeastern Louisiana's defense is the mismatch to watch. The Lumberjacks throw for 271.4 yards per game, and the Lions give up 249.3 through the air. Rutherford has 19 touchdown passes in seven games.
Southeastern Louisiana's path is the run game. The Lions run for 172.3 yards per game, and SFA allows 97.1. If the Lions can stay on schedule, they can shorten the game and keep Rutherford on the sideline.
Stephen F. Austin is No. 4 in the FCS playoff committee's first top 10 of 2026. The Lumberjacks are alone atop the Southland at 4-0, with Lamar and Houston Christian at 3-1, and they still play at Lamar on Nov. 7. As far as Redshirt Sports knows, the committee doesn't use our poll, but it can be a good indicator. Southeastern Louisiana was the last team into the field in our Week 7 bracket projection, so a win at SFA would make its at-large case much stronger. A loss would drop the Lions to 2-3 in the league.
Kickoff is 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Homer Bryce Stadium. The game streams on ESPN+. It's homecoming in Nacogdoches. Southeastern Louisiana plays at East Texas A&M on Oct. 31, and SFA hosts Houston Christian.
