Playoff Football in Stephenville: No. 4 Tarleton State hosts North Dakota in 2nd Round Saturday

Tarleton State Athletic Communications

Football | 12/5/2025 9:22:45 PM

**Courtesy of Tarleton State Athletic Communications**

TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
There is playoff football in Stephenville on Saturday, as the 4-seed Tarleton State is set to take on North Dakota in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at Memorial Stadium at noon.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Jack Benjamin and Doc Holliday on the call. The game can be heard on Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas, with Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens and Ty Walker leading the broadcast.
 
GAME DAY FESTIVITIES
There is plenty happening on Tarleton State's campus for the playoff game, starting Friday night. On Friday will be Texan Alley After Dark, starting at 7 p.m. in Texan Alley, with a live concert featuring Giovannie and the Hired Guns playing. There will be food trucks and lots of fun on the eve of the playoff game, with Texan Alley rolling through midnight.
 
Texan Alley Tailgate will then open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and last until game time, with a postgame tailgate scheduled as well that will last through midnight. The Pointe-du-Hoc rally will be at 8:40 a.m. at Rudder Way Statue. Memorial Stadium gates will open at 10 a.m.
 
The Sound and the Fury will perform at 11:42 a.m., followed by the national anthem at 11:48 a.m. The Texan Rider will lead the Texans onto the field at 11:55 a.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:02 p.m.
 
Single-game tickets can be purchased and claimed at TarletonSports.com/Tickets. Fans should add their tickets to their mobile wallet before arriving on campus. Texan students should now use the Corq app to attend Tarleton State Athletics' games and events for free.
 
Parking for this game will be free in all lots except for Lots A, B, C and F. So the lots around the EECU Center (P22, P23, P29), Lot D south of Traditions South, Lot E in front of Wisdom Gym and the parking garage are all free.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
  • This is the first all-time meeting, and Tarleton State's first game against a team from the state of North Dakota.
  • This is UND's sixth playoff appearance, now 2-5 in playoff games.
  • UND's five losses have all been one-score games, including 38-35 at No. 17 Kansas State and 15-10 at No. 1 North Dakota State.
  • TSU (36) and UND (26) are Nos. 1 and 2 in the FCS in takeaways.
  • The Fighting Hawks are elite in the run game on both sides of the ball, No. 6 in rush defense (99.5 YPG allowed) and No. 16 in rush offense (199.4 YPG). They are No. 16 in both scoring offense (34.5 PPG) and scoring defense (19.0 PPG allowed).
 
QUICK HITS
  • The Texans have reached the second round of the FCS Playoffs in back-to-back years, their first two years of postseason eligibility since completing reclassification to NCAA Division I. Not including bowl games, this is their seventh playoff appearance in their NCAA era, owning a 5-6 NCAA playoff record. Including bowl games, Tarleton State has played in 22 postseason games, sitting at 10-12 overall (8-10 in playoffs, 2-2 in bowl games).
  • Tarleton State has hosted four playoff games in its NCAA era (3-1). Last year, the 13-seed Texans won 43-29 against Drake in the first round. They fell to 4-seed South Dakota on the road in the second round 42-31.
  • Tarleton State has reached 11 wins on the year for the third time in program history (2019, 2018, 1990). With a win on Saturday, the Texans will match their 2018 12-win mark, the most wins in a single-season in team history.
  • The Texans are undefeated at home this season at 6-0, with eight straight home wins. This is Tarleton State's longest home winning streak since rattling off 13 straight wins at Memorial Stadium from 2018-19.
  • Last time in action, the Texans clinched a share of the UAC championship with a walk-off win in overtime against Austin Peay at home 45-44 on Nov. 22. It marks Tarleton State Football's first conference championship in its D1 era, and Tarleton State Athletics' second regular season conference championship (Tennis in 2022).
 
PLAYOFF MATCHUP
The 4-seed Tarleton State will host North Dakota on Saturday, the first meeting between the two. Both teams are among the nation's best across all categories, but on paper, it appears Tarleton State may try to get it done through the air and North Dakota on the ground.
 
The Texans have a Walter Payton Award finalist at quarterback who ranks No. 4 in pass yards per completion (15.0), No. 8 in pass touchdowns (25), No. 8 in passing efficiency (162.5), and No. 14 in pass yards per game (239.4). As a team, the Texans are No. 13 in pass offense (265.8 YPG), and North Dakota allows 200.7 pass yards per game, No. 38 in the FCS. Of course, the Texans' rushing offense is as elite as their pass offense, averaging the 10th most rush yards per game at 209.5. But, North Dakota has a stout rush defense, No. 6 in the country at allowing just 99.5 yards per game. North Dakota has forced teams under 100 rushing yards seven times this season, going 5-2 in those games. The Texans have been held under 100 rush yards just a single time this season, corresponding with their single loss on the year, at Abilene Christian.
 
On the flip side, North Dakota has a much better rushing offense (No. 16, 199.4 YPG) than passing offense (No. 75, 198.6 YPG). The same can be said about Tarleton State's rush defense and pass defense, with the Texans No. 8 in pass defense (164.6 YPG) and No. 71 in rush defense (165.9 YPG). Tarleton State has allowed more 200-yard rushing performances (five) than 200-yard passing performances (three).
 
In a college football world that is typically familiar, Saturday's matchup is not. The Texans have never played a team from North Dakota, and have no players from the state, while North Dakota last played a Texas team in 2022 (Abilene Christian), last played in the state of Texas in 2018 (at Sam Houston), and have just three players on roster who list a hometown from Texas (WR B.J. Fleming from Aledo, Edge Myles Terry from Conroe, DT Tyler Henry from Houston).
 
HISTORIC SEASON
It's been a historic season for the Texans. The team is the 4-seed in the FCS Playoffs, conference co-champs and 11-1 overall, including a spotless 6-0 mark at home. They have won a pair of nationally televised games (42-0 at Portland State on ESPN2 during Week 0, 30-27 OT at Army on CBS Sports Network during Week 1), have set record crowds at Memorial Stadium, and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls.
 
Offensively, the Texans are one of the best teams in the nation, ranked No. 1 in scoring (45.2 points per game), No. 4 in team passing efficiency (169.1), No. 5 in total offense (475.3 YPG), No. 10 in rushing offense (209.5 YPG), and No. 13 in passing offense (265.8 YPG).
 
Turnovers and takeaways have been a major reason for Tarleton State's historic campaign. On offense, the Texans have turned the ball over just seven times, the tied-fourth fewest amount of turnovers lost across the FCS. On the flip side, Tarleton State has earned 36 takeaways, by far the most in the FCS with the next closest team at 26, the very team the Texans face on Saturday, North Dakota. The Texans' 36 takeaways are the most by an FCS team since 2019 (Alcorn with 36), and if the Texans get another on Saturday, it will be the most since 2017 (James Madison with 44). Tarleton State averages a turnover margin of +2.42, nearly double the margin that the No. 2 team averages (UTRGV at 1.33). Tarleton State currently has the third highest average turnover margin in FCS history.
 
Furthermore defensively, Tarleton State has been elite, No. 8 in pass defense (164.6 YPG allowed), No. 12 in scoring defense (18.4 PPG allowed) and No. 23 in total defense (330.5 YPG allowed). The Texan defense has scored four touchdowns themselves, tied-fifth most in the nation (Jadan Aubert, Omar Emmons, AJ Owens, Ty Rawls). It's been a full effort by the Texans on defense, with 13 players recording a fumble recovery, 12 players with an interception, nine with a forced fumble, eight with a sack, six players at 5.0+ TFL, and four with a defensive touchdown. Kasyus Kurns has the tied-second most interceptions in the nation at five, and has the second highest interception rate per game at 0.5. Angelo Anderson is second in the nation in forced fumbles per game (0.5) and is ninth in the nation in sacks per game at 0.95.