The Other Side of the Wall: Stephen F. Austin
Let the title defense begin! The defending Sun Belt Champions (that feels so good to say) take the field on Saturday for the first game of the season.
Okay, all the pleasantries are done. Who’s on deck?
| Team | Stephen F. Austin |
|---|---|
| Time, Network | 6 pm, ESPN+ |
| 2022 Record | 6-5 (3-1) |
| Troy’s Record | 3-3 |
| Last Matchup | W, 6-0 (2000) |
| Preseason Conf. Rank | 1st WAC |
| FPI Rank | N/A |
| FPI Win% (Troy) | 97.4% |
| Spread | N/A |
I popped this list out last year before Bama A&M. Troy has now hosted a dozen FCS teams as the home opener since moving up to FBS in 2001… and the Trojans have never lost.
- 2001 Appalachian State – cancelled
- 2001 Nicholls State W 26-0
- 2002 Southern Utah 40-15
- 2003 SE Louisiana W 28-0
- 2005 Cal Poly W 27-10
- 2006 Alabama State W 38-0
- 2008 Alcorn State W 66-0
- 2015 Charleston Southern W 44-16
- 2016 Austin Peay W 57-17
- 2017 Alabama State W 34-7
- 2019 Campbell W 43-14
- 2021 Southern W 55-3
- 2022 Alabama A&M W 38-17
No offense to the Lumberjacks, but I don’t see that changing this year.
Before we get to the current stats, I must point out that SFA used to be a conference opponent for Troy, back in the glorious Southland days. The series is actually even… even though the two teams haven’t played since the first year of the second Bush presidency.
The legendary 1993 undefeated team was independent, but the other five games were in-conference. Troy won the Southland title in 1996 despite losing to SFA, and SFA won a share of the 1999 title despite losing to Troy… who split the title with them.
2000 was the last time the two teams met as defending conference champions. Troy won… and won the Southland again that year. So it bodes well for Troy.
The other takeaway here is: score more than two touchdowns and Troy wins. The problem is it’s all 20-year-old data at least.
Let’s get something more current.
It’s not entirely fair to judge a team based on the last season’s success, but we can still get an idea of what this team might look like. Here’s how last year’s Lumberjacks compared to last year’s Sun Belt teams.
| 2022 YPG | Hypothetical Sun Belt Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Rushing Offense | 158.1 | 6th |
| Passing Offense | 264.4 | 4th |
| Rushing Defense | 180.9 | 12th |
| Passing Yards Allowed | 230.5 | 7th |
That’s honestly impressive. A mid-level defense with a good offense… at least in the FCS.
The offense looked very similar to that team in Mobile. The Jacks’ rushing attack was slightly better, but the bad guys had a better passing attack.
Fortunately, SFA’s defensive stats are nearly identical to another three-letter opponent: ULM. We know what Troy did against the Warhawks.
The problem is that these stats still lack the context of coming against mostly FCS opponents. As far as FBS goes, SFA was blasted by this year’s CUSA teams… last year. They didn’t score more than 17 points.
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Jax State | 17-42 |
| Louisiana Tech | 17-52 |
| Sam Houston State | 16-17 |
Now, we all know what Coach Sumrall would say about these stats, and he’s right. Troy can’t afford to look past the purple team in front of it to next week’s purple team.
The question is… what do the Lumberjacks think about this game? I found kindred spirits over at The Sawmill, so I asked them to answer a few questions about the team for us.
1. What does the warning label for this team say?
Warning: Lumberjacks will remain dangerous until the final whistle. It’s no secret that before Coach Carthel took over at SFA the Jacks had a bad habit of shutting down when things got bad, and it resulted in some pretty one sided affairs (see 2014 playoffs vs UNI). But since Carthel, the Jacks have shown a fire that doesn’t seem to go out regardless of the score or the opponent, they’ll keep fighting hard for every yard as if the game was on the line. Texas Tech saw that in 2021 when the Jacks came one play short of upsetting the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
For those of you playing at home, Coach Colby Carthel was the Texas A&M Commerce head coach. He led them to the 2017 Division II Championship, beating West Florida in the process.
Regardless, this just goes back to Coach Sumrall’s mentality. Don’t overlook anyone. Focus on the game in front of you. SFA has the same approach as Troy does.
2. What Taylor Swift song title best describes the (team’s) expectations this year? Why?
Look What You Made Me Do – I think is a good choice. Last year at this time SFA was on top of the FCS world. Ranked #9 in the preseason and many people predicted a national title and our season was…well a disappointment to say the least. The loss of a lot of starters to the transfer portal and a lot of defensive coaches leaving left us in shambles, and what was supposed to be potentially an undefeated season ended with a lot of “headscratching” losses and poor defensive play. This off-season the staff has worked tirelessly to fix many of those problems and, despite SFA going into the season as underdogs, the expectation and hype is still there. The Jacks silently reloaded the team, and are looking to get back to the top of the FCS. Being the underdog this season will be the chip on the shoulder SFA needs.
Jacks starting their Reputation era. I love it. Troy is used to falling short, but the main reason for that is thankfully behind us. Honestly I hope SFA goes 30-1… or however many games it would take.
3. Which Avenger is most like Coach Carthel?
It may seem like a cliche but Colby Carthel is 100% Captain America. He is a down to earth, very candid guy who is a leader of men. He previously took over a bad Texas A&M-Commerce team and built them up to be a national power at the D2 level, winning a ring with them in just a few years of building. Then he took over an SFA team that was crumbling, coming off both a controversy with the firing of former head coach Clint Conque and the NCAA sanctions that led to a one year postseason ban for SFA, and was able to build a culture of winning with SFA football. You know the culture is changed when you can win a conference title and people will say it was a “bad year”. He is a natural leader who makes players want to run through a brick wall for him. Which is good because Troy is probably about as sturdy of a wall as we’ve faced in the past decade.
I see what you did there. That’s a solid descriptor, though. I know exactly what kind of guy Coach Carthel is… because Coach Sumrall is that kind of guy.
4. What game from last year stands out most to fans? Why?
I would say both matchups against Abilene Christian (W 41-38) were by far the best games for the Jacks all year, but the season finale against the Wildcats for the outright WAC championship (W 24-21) was special. It was a dogfight the entire game and came down to the wire, just like most of the SFA vs ACU matchups have been over the past decades. Hoisting a trophy last year after that game was the special moment that made the ups and downs of 2022 worth it.
Again, Troy can totally relate. Not only did lifting the Sun Belt trophy change everything, but we also hate Abilene Christian. They ruined Troy’s 2014 season.
5. What game are fans looking forward to most? Why?
Any other year I would say easily the Battle of the Piney Woods, but now that Sam Houston has departed to Conference USA I would say an exciting matchup Jack fans are looking forward to will be Eastern Kentucky. EKU is a very solid team and everyone’s favorite to win the UAC this year. Assuming SFA can take care of business leading into it that could be the game that decides a conference championship. Of course a close second has to be the return of the SFA-NWST rivalry. The game was formerly played for the biggest trophy in college football, Chief Caddo, but that has been retired by NWST this year. Regardless, there is a clear hate between both schools and with only a 2 hour drive separating both schools, I expect a very electric environment on September 16th.
6. What are three names on defense Troy fans should pay attention to? Why?
Jeremiah Walker (5) is a big one to keep an eye on. A safety from Houston who has been a huge part of the Lumberjack defense since he made his debut as a freshman, and seems like he’s all over the field at all times.
Edward Bobino (99) is a giant on the D-Line who uses his large size and tremendous strength to bully his way through the line. He’s the kind of guy who’s in the QBs face a lot, and even if he doesn’t get to the QB he forces a lot of hurried throws.
And I’m gonna throw in Zach Nwachukwu (3) in there too. He’s a junior DB who has amazing quickness and is really good at getting into position to make life hard for receivers trying to get open.
It’s obvious where that passing defense rank came from. I’m interested to see how Bobino tests this new-look offensive line.
7. When SFA snaps the ball, what is most likely to happen?
I think when the ball is snapped expect SFA to try some “trench warfare”. Our offensive line is probably our biggest strength this year, with 5 seniors up front who myself and many others believe are easily FBS caliber. We also have a very deep RB room and some young, very talented backs. I think SFA tries to wear down the Troy defense and maybe slow down the pass rush to open up the passing game. Tendencies with SFA are kind of hard to pick up though, as Matt Storm, the SFA OC is all about balance and not prioritizing one style of play against any opponent.
Interestingly, Troy’s defensive line is its biggest strength. Trench warfare indeed.
8. If we wake up Sunday and the underdog wins, what happened the day before?
Nacogdoches loves upsets. If you’ve followed college basketball over the past decade you’d know SFA has its fair share of big time upsets, and Nacogdoches goes crazy for them. Football hasn’t quite seen the same level of big time wins, but I would bet a number of SFA fans will wake up late Sunday morning/early afternoon with their head spinning if we get to turn on the Purple Lights over Steen Tower.
Nah, my head would be spinning too.
9. What chicken joint is most associated with the team, college, fanbase or city?
Gotta be Raising Canes. There’s one right across the street from the main entrance to the University and it stays busy with purple shirts. Can’t go wrong with that Texas toast and sauce. Don’t need a big menu if you’re doing it right. Now if you want to talk about the food in Nacogdoches associated with SFA, I can direct you to a BBQ joint that’ll change your life.
Can’t go wrong with Cane’s. But tell me more about this BBQ joint.
Brendyn’s BBQ is a spot everyone needs to stop at if they visit Nac.
Oh goodness. Here’s the menu if you’re drooling like I am.
10. What’s one question you have for us about Troy, if you have one (we’ll answer in the article)?
What is one game Troy has on its schedule that you’d encourage any college football fan to stop what they’re doing and mark on their calendar? Why?
The Battle for the Belt (S*uth A*abama) is the easy, honest and quick answer. This game will determine the Sun Belt West, and even though Troy has won the last six, this might be That Team in Mobile’s best squad ever. The best rivalry in college football with the two best Group of 5 teams in the country. What more do I need to say?
All of a sudden, I’m concerned. Stephen F. Austin has a talented team with energetic, passionate coaches and even though it’s likely to defend its conference championship it’s in a rebuilding phase.
It sounds a lot like Troy will be looking in the mirror, but if you look at the stats, that’s likely not the case. Then again, the players shouldn’t overlook any team, especially week one.
We all know what Coach Sumrall says about this, but honestly… pass the arsenic.
Troy wins, 42-17.
Special thanks to the guys over at The Sawmill. Give them a follow on Twitter because I refuse to call it X.