2020 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team

2020 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football
2020 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	6–4 (1–0 Southland)
Head coach	Colby Carthel (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Matt Storm (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Scott Power (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Homer Bryce Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

The 2020 Stephen F. Austin football team represented Stephen F. Austin State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Lumberjacks were led by second-year head coach Colby Carthel and played their home games at Homer Bryce Stadium. The team finished 6–4 for the program's first winning season since 2014. All four losses were against NCAA Division I FBS teams.

2020 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Sam Houston State $^	6	–	0	10	–	0
No. 20 Southeastern Louisiana	4	–	2	4	–	3
No. 23 Nicholls	3	–	3	4	–	3
Incarnate Word	3	–	3	3	–	3
Lamar	2	–	4	2	–	4
McNeese State*	2	–	4	3	–	4
Northwestern State	1	–	5	1	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Note: Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, and Stephen F. Austin played only in the fall and opted out of the spring season. Rankings from STATS Poll

2020 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Stephen F. Austin		–		6	–	4
Tarleton State†		–		5	–	3
Central Arkansas		–		5	–	4
Presbyterian†		–		4	–	3
Eastern Kentucky		–		3	–	6
Dixie State†		–		2	–	3
Houston Baptist		–		1	–	3
Abilene Christian		–		1	–	5
Campbell		–		0	–	4
North Alabama		–		0	–	4

Note: † – Dixie State, Presbyterian, and Tarleton State played only in the spring. All other teams listed played only in the fall. Presbyterian was in a scheduling agreement with the Pioneer Football League, which it fully joined in July 2021.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their original preseason poll in July 2020. The Lumberjacks were picked to finish eighth in the conference, prior to their schedule split from the rest of the league.^[1] In addition, one Lumberjack was chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Central Arkansas*	190 (12)
2	Sam Houston State	170 (4)
3	Nicholls	169 (6)
4	Southeastern Louisiana	157
5	McNeese State	113
6	Incarnate Word	104
7	Abilene Christian*	101
8	Stephen F. Austin*	60
9	Houston Baptist*	59
10	Northwestern State	49
11	Lamar	38

(*) These teams opted out of playing in the revised spring 2021 Southland schedule, and instead played as Independent in the fall of 2020.

Preseason All–Southland Teams

Offense

2nd Team

Xavier Gipson – Wide Receiver, SO

Defense

2nd Team

Xavier Gipson – Kick Returner, SO

Schedule

Stephen F. Austin had a game scheduled against Alabama A&M, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	8:00 p.m.	at UTEP*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN3	L 14–24	6,047
September 19	2:00 p.m.	at UTSA*	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN2	L 10–24	6,611
September 26	6:00 p.m.	at SMU*	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN+	L 7–50	7,898
October 3	4:00 p.m.	West Texas A&M*	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 34–6	5,035
October 17	5:00 p.m.	Angelo State*	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 31–12	4,376
October 24		vs. Abilene Christian	Globe Life Field Arlington, TX	FloSports	W 35–32 ^OT	5,211
October 31	2:00 p.m.	Western Colorado*	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 64–7	3,165
November 7	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky*	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN+	W 24–6	2,569
November 14		Pittsburg State*	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 26–7	5,126
November 21		at Memphis*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN+	L 14–56	9,684
*Non-conference game All times are in Central time

^[4]

Game summaries

At UTEP

Pregame line	Over/under
UTEP –4	54^[5]

Game One – Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at UTEP Miners

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	7	7	0	0	14
Miners	3	14	0	7	24

at Sun Bowl • El Paso, Texas

Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020
Game time: 8:05 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Wind: E 15 mph
Game attendance: 6,047
Referee: Rodney Burnette • Umpire: Stephen Marshal • Linesman: Lea Bailey • Line judge: Joshua Fath • Back judge: Brandon Spencer • Field judge: Parker Anderson • Side judge: Adrian Carson • Center judge: Nathan Jastram
TV announcers (ESPN3): Erik Elken, Trevor Vittatoe

Game information

First quarter

(12:01) SFA – Lawton Rikel 17-yard pass from Trae Self, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:59; Stephen F. Austin 7–0)
(3:25) UTEP – Gavin Baechle 22-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 4:22; Stephen F. Austin 7–3)

Second quarter

(12:03) SFA – Da'leon Ward 1-yard run, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 6:17; Stephen F. Austin 14–3)
(2:08) UTEP – Justin Garrett 4-yard pass from Gavin Hardison, Gavin Baechle kick (Drive: 16 plays, 83 yards, 9:51; Stephen F. Austin 14–10)
(0:20) UTEP – Deion Hankins 10-yard run, Gavin Baechle kick (Drive: 2 plays, 9 yards, 0:52; UTEP 17–14)

Third quarter: No scoring
Fourth quarter

(3:51) UTEP – Deion Hankins 10-yard run, Gavin Baechle kick (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:18; UTEP 24–14)

Statistics	SFA	UTEP
First downs	14	19
Plays–yards	44–230	65–364
Rushes–yards	97	152
Passing yards	133	212
Passing: comp–att–int	14–21–1	17–28–1
Time of possession	23:13	36:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Stephen F. Austin	Passing	Trae Self	14–21–1–133
	Rushing	Da'Leon Ward	14–51
	Receiving	Quenty Borders	2–41
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	17–28–1–212
	Rushing	Deion Hankins	17–133
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	7–116

At UTSA

Pregame line	Over/under
UTSA –17	54.5^[6]

Game Two – Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at UTSA Roadrunners

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	7	3	0	10
Roadrunners	3	14	0	7	24

at Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Game time: 2:42 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Indoors • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C)
Game attendance: 6,611
Referee: Chris Bynum • Umpire: Joe Nanus • Linesman: Tony Sands • Line judge: Nicholas Therio • Back judge: Sean Woodson • Field judge: Lark Jones • Side judge: Dustin Drawhorn
TV announcers (ESPN2): Lincoln Rose, LaDarrin McLane

Game information

First quarter

(11:34) UTSA – Hunter Duplessis 28-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 3:26; UTSA 3–0)

Second quarter

(13:01) UTSA – Frank Harris 3-yard run, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 15 plays, 75 yards, 5:10; UTSA 10–0)
(0:35) UTSA – Joshua Cephus 4-yard pass from Frank Harris, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 1:50; UTSA 17–0)
(0:02) SFA – Xavier Gipson 10-yard pass from Trae Self, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 0:33; UTSA 17–7)

Third quarter

(6:06) SFA – Chris Campos 32-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 3:58; UTSA 17–10)

Fourth quarter

(7:08) UTSA – Frank Harris 23-yard run, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 7 plays, 90 yards, 2:31; UTSA 24–10)

Statistics	SFA	UTSA
First downs	15	25
Plays–yards	61–344	84–498
Rushes–yards	59	229
Passing yards	285	269
Passing: comp–att–int	21–33–0	23–36–1
Time of possession	27:34	32:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Stephen F. Austin	Passing	Trae Self	21–33–1–285, 1 TD
	Rushing	Da'Leon Ward	12–42
	Receiving	Xavier Gipson	6–94, 1 TD
UTSA	Passing	Frank Harris	23–36–1–269, 1 TD
	Rushing	Frank Harris	17–110, 2 TD's
	Receiving	Joshua Cephus	8–89, 1 TD

At SMU

Pregame line	Over/under
SMU −31.5	58.5^[7]

Game Three – Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at SMU Mustangs

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	0	7	0	7
Mustangs	22	7	7	14	50

at Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2020
Game time: 6:05 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: SE 12 mph
Game attendance: 7,898
Referee: Nate Black • Umpire: Michael Powell • Linesman: Adam Loudin • Line judge: Lance Thompson • Back judge: Victor Firth • Field judge: Glen Wilson • Side judge: Ryan Robinson
TV announcers (ESPN+): David Saltzman, LaDarrin McLane

Game information

First quarter

(12:34) SMU – Ulysses Bentley IV 33-yard run, Chris Naggar kick blocked (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:26; SMU 6–0)
(6:52) SMU – Danny Gray 11-yard pass from Shane Buechele, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 3:36; SMU 13–0)
(4:49) SMU – Team Safety, 14 yards (SMU 15–0)
(2:23) SMU – Kylen Granson 9-yard pass from Shane Buechele, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 5 plays, 44 yards, 2:12; SMU 22–0)

Second quarter

(2:21) SMU – Danny Gray 6-yard run, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 3:19; SMU 29–0)

Third quarter

(9:42) SMU – Ulysses Bentley IV 13-yard run, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 6 plays, 53 yards, 2:14; SMU 36–0)
(1:22) SFA – Trae Self 6-yard run, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 8:20; SMU 36–7)

Fourth quarter

(8:44) SMU – Terrance Gipson 3-yard run, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 5 plays, 54 yards, 2:16; SMU 43–7)
(6:01) SMU – TaMerik Williams 5-yard run, Chris Naggar kick (Drive: 3 plays, 30 yards, 1:30; SMU 50–7)

Statistics	SFA	SMU
First downs	14	24
Plays–yards	67–216	65–432
Rushes–yards	51	260
Passing yards	165	172
Passing: comp–att–int	16–27–1	16–27–0
Time of possession	34:25	25:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Stephen F. Austin	Passing	Trae Self	14–23–1–133
	Rushing	Turner JaQuarion	24–52
	Receiving	Jeremiah Miller	4-41
SMU	Passing	Shane Buechele	14–25–0–141, 2 TD's
	Rushing	Ulysses Bentley IV	6–104, 2 TD's
	Receiving	Kylen Granson	5–38, 1 TD

West Texas A&M

Game Four – West Texas A&M Buffaloes at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	0	0	3	3	6
Lumberjacks	17	0	7	10	34

at Homer Bryce Stadium • Nacogdoches, Texas

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2020
Game time: 4:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: SE 8 mph
Game attendance: 5,035
Referee: Scott Hardin • Umpire: Jeremy Epps • Linesman: Justin Gragg • Line judge: Matt Stellges • Back judge: TJ Riley • Field judge: Chris Bailey • Side judge: Nolan Dumas
TV announcers (ESPN3): Luke Hamilton, John Wilkowski

Game information

First quarter

(13:34) SFA – Da'leon Ward 69-yard run, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:26; SFA 7–0)
(11:25) SFA – Xavier Gipson 28-yard pass from Trae Self, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:14; SFA 14–0)
(0:30) SFA – Chris Campos 22-yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards, 7:00; SFA 17–0)

Second quarter: No scoring
Third quarter

(10:14) WT – Mauricio Gonzales 35-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 4:40; SFA 17–3)
(9:03) SFA – Remi Simmons 63-yard pass from Trae Self, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 3 plays, 78 yards, 1:04; SFA 24–3)

Fourth quarter

(13:39) SFA – Chris Campos 29-yard field goal (Drive: 17 plays, 67 yards, 8:29; SFA 27–3)
(9:05) WT – Mauricio Gonzales 44-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 1:22; SFA 27–6)
(5:25) SFA – Turner JaQuarion 12-yard run, Chris Campos kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:40; SFA 34–6)

Statistics	WT	SFA
First downs	17	21
Plays–yards	70–294	64–498
Rushes–yards	120	234
Passing yards	174	264
Passing: comp–att–int	16–36–1	14–26–1
Time of possession	30:01	29:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
WT	Passing	Nick Gerber	16–36–1–174
	Rushing	Khalil Harris	14–61
	Receiving	Devin Neal	3-61
SFA	Passing	Trae Self	12–24–1–234, 2 TD's
	Rushing	Da'leon Ward	11–114, 1 TD
	Receiving	Xavier Gipson	4–124, 1 TD

References

^ "Nicholls Favored to Win Southland Football Spring Season". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
^ "Southland Announces 2020 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
^ Visser, David (July 21, 2020). "SWAC Suspends Fall Football Season". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
^ "2020 Stephen F. Austin Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
^ "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs UTEP Miners". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
^ "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs UTSA Roadrunners". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
^ "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

[1] "Nicholls Favored to Win Southland Football Spring Season". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

[2] "Southland Announces 2020 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

[3] Visser, David (July 21, 2020). "SWAC Suspends Fall Football Season". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.

[4] "2020 Stephen F. Austin Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[5] "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs UTEP Miners". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 23, 2020.

[6] "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs UTSA Roadrunners". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 6, 2020.

[7] "Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

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