← Matchups

Stephen F. Austin

· 3-0 (2-0) · power +12.7 · #71
Our numberSFA -17.5 no book has priced this game

Nicholls

· 2-1 (1-0) · power -4.6 · #236
Our side
MoneylineSFA to win ours 14%
Projected score 36–19 SFA – NICH
2026-10-17 · 4:00 PM John L. Guidry Stadium · Thibodaux, LA Conference game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Stephen F. Austin lead 12–6 · 18 meetings since 2003
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 210 ranks
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks #39 rush offense Nicholls Colonels #249 run defense
Pass game even 3 ranks apart
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks #65 pass offense Nicholls Colonels #62 pass defense
Run game edge Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 190 ranks
Nicholls Colonels #198 rush offense Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks #8 run defense
Pass game edge Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 184 ranks
Nicholls Colonels #212 pass offense Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks #28 pass defense
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Balanced · 49% run Ball-control Nicholls Colonels Run-heavy · 59% run Ball-control

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
DB Makai Frisby 8 tkl · 3 INT #48 DB
K Carlos Alvarado 6 FG · 12 XP · 30 pts #9 K
DB Jaiydyn Johnson 13 tkl · 3 PD #66 DB
WR Bugs Mortimer 8 rec · 161 yds · 2 TD #84 WR
Nicholls Colonels
DB Skylar Husband 20 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #71 DB
DL Alex Villavaso 9 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #102 DL
LB Kennon Loftin 24 tkl #96 LB
WR Jackson Dufrene 6 rec · 105 yds · 3 TD #101 WR

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks +12.7 +6.0 +6.7 #71
Nicholls Colonels -4.6 -2.7 -1.9 #236

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Stephen F. Austin offense vs Nicholls defense+7.9 pts
Nicholls offense vs Stephen F. Austin defense-9.4 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness-2.4 pts
Power projection before adjustment-15.1

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).