A trio of Texas-based FCS programs headlined an exciting weekend of college football in the Non-FBS ranks. Unfortunately for the teams in the Lone Star State, the group went 0-3 as SFA lost on Friday night and Tarleton State and Prairie View A&M fell in heartbreakers on Saturday afternoon. SFA and Tarleton were knocked out of the FCS playoffs while PVAMU fell short of winning a Black college national championship for the first time since 1964. 

Tarleton State upset at home 

The Texans were the highest-seeded team left on their side of the FCS playoffs entering the quarterfinal matchup with Villanova and early in the first quarter, it looked like Tarleton would overwhelm the Wildcats to advance to the semifinals. Instead, Tarleton’s 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter was cut to 14-12 by halftime. Villanova took its first lead at 26-21 with 12:49 left in the fourth quarter, and that proved the difference in the game. 

Tarleton scored on its first play from scrimmage when quarterback Victor Gabalis hit Peyton Kramer on an 80-yard touchdown pass. The Texans stretched that lead to 14-0 a few minutes later after a blocked punt set up a short scoring drive that ended with a Daniel Greek rushing touchdown. But the offense bogged down and that allowed Villanova to claw back into the contest. Tarleton gained 92 yards and scored 14 points on the first six snaps of the game. The offense only managed 37 yards on 16 plays during the rest of the first half. 

Tarleton regained momentum early in the third quarter when a 15-yard touchdown throw from Gabalis to Trevon West capped a 5-play, 68-yard drive to start the second half and grow the lead back to two possessions at 21-12 with 12:35 left in the third quarter. It was the last time the Texans scored in the game. The Wildcats answered right back with a touchdown drive of their own and then took the lead after a 12-play, 78-yard drive that ended with 12:49 left in the fourth quarter. 

Tarleton did have a chance late to steal the win but a potential touchdown pass from Gabalis was ruled incomplete after review because West’s foot never touched in bounds in the corner of the end zone. That caused a turnover on downs and Villanova picked up a first down to run out the clock and advance to the semifinals. 

The loss will be tough to digest in Tarleton because the Texans held legitimate national championship hopes in 2025. They began the year with nine straight wins, including a Week 2 victory over Army, but a three-point loss to Abilene Christian cost them UAC crown and an overtime win over Austin Peay in the season finale revealed some cracks heading into the playoffs.

Turnovers doom Lumberjacks 

SFA turned the ball over three times and trailed 24-0 at one point late in the first half in a 44-28 loss to Montana State in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Jacks, who finished the season with a 12-3 record and the Southland Conference championship. Montana State (13-2) will face the winner of Montana vs. South Dakota next week in the semifinals. 

SFA turned the ball over on both of its first quarter drives, the first on a strip sack on third down while in field goal position, and the second on a dropped pass that turned into a Montana State interception. The Bobcats took advantage both times and held a 14-0 lead with 14:04 left in the 1st quarter. That lead grew to 17-0 with 1:50 left in the 2nd quarter and then to 24-0 only 17 seconds later after another SFA fumble set up Montana State with great field position. 

The Lumberjacks did respond with a six-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sam Vidlak to Clayton Wayland with 11 seconds left in the first half. A successful two-point conversion cut the Montana State lead to 24-8 at half with SFA receiving to start the third quarter. The Jacks stormed out of halftime with a 14-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a Jaylen Jenkins touchdown run to move within 10 points early in the third quarter. 

That was as close as SFA could get, however, as Montana State scored the next 10 points and led 41-21 by the 14:36 mark of the fourth quarter. SFA pulled within 13 with just over 10 minutes left in the final frame bout could never close the gap. Montana State gained 473 yards, including 227 on the ground. Vidlak threw for 242 yards and a touchdown for the Jacks. SFA only ran for 92 yards on 29 carries. 

The SFA loss means Tarleton State is the lone Texas program remaining in the FCS playoffs. The Texans face Villanova on Saturday on the other side of the bracket. The winner of that game will face the winner of Illinois State and UC Davis in the semifinal. 

Prairie View falls in heartbreaker 

First-year head coach Tremaine Jackson had his Panthers on the doorstep of history. Prairie View A&M hadn’t won a Black college national championship since 1964 and there they were with a 21-0 lead at halftime over South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta. The Bulldogs didn’t blink, however, and stormed back to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter. What happened after that can only be described as an instant classic. 

The two teams battled back-and-forth and needed four overtimes to decide the game with SC State eventually winning in the fourth overtime period after converting the two-point conversion on a play that was reviewed and controversially upheld. The Panthers missed a field goal in the second overtime period to win it. 

Backup quarterback Ryan Stubblefield, a Richmond Foster product who began his college career at Incarnate Word, accounted for three touchdowns in relief to lead the Bulldogs to victory. PVAMU QB Cameron Peters threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns in the loss, adding 35 yards and a score on the ground. The Panthers gained 491 yards in the game and the two offenses combined for 43 first downs and over 700 passing yards. 

The loss will sting, but the 2025 season will be remembered for a long time at Prairie View. The Panthers won the SWAC and established themselves as a real player in the SWAC. They won the West Division for the second time in three seasons and knocked off Jackson State on the road to win a conference championship for the first time since 2009.