As of late the push for an FCS title has felt like no more than a two or three horse race and such seems to be the case this fall. Most every media pundit is attaching the name Montana State, Montana or South Dakota State to this year’s trophy and it’s only June. The Bobcats are fresh off their first championship in over 40 years and return essentially the whole kit and caboodle. Their in-state rivals were on the doorstep and always seem to be right in the mix. And then of course there’s an SDSU
team that’s already won two this decade. Some combination of those schools is rightfully expected to represent in Nashville.
The tier immediately behind that trio, however, is comprised of teams that have every reason to believe that they too can be standing on the final stage with the confetti in January. UC Davis, Illinois State, Rhode Island and Youngstown State are a few among that class. Tarleton State, however, may sit firmly atop the bunch and, while it may not appear as so to much of the country, at least down in Stephenville, there is a tangible, almost desperate feeling that this has to be the year. The Texans have one goal in mind: Music City or bust.
On a surface level, it seems like a silly sentiment. TSU has done nothing but win since joining the FCS and in the two seasons it’s been postseason eligible has reached the second round and the quarterfinals. They have not had a losing record since 2016 and have a combined 30 victories over the last three years. Tarleton State is good, has been good and… despite how this upcoming season turns out… will very likely be good in the years to come. It’s not like the talent hasn’t been flowing in for a while now and that this is a magical, one-hit wonder sort of team they’re building. So why is there such a predominant feeling that it’s now or never for this particular squad?
The future of Tarleton State football in the FCS is muddied to say the least. Every year that creeps by seems as though it’s one year closer to the eventuality of the Texans bouncing for the FBS. It’s the way of the world in college football right now. James Madison did it. North Dakota State did it. Delaware did it. And those are just a few in recent years that have put their chips all in and moved up. With the continual facility upgrades and winning that is going at Tarleton, it’s probably a “when” and not an “if”. So in the here and now… however long it lasts… they want to hang a banner while they have the chance.
The realistic chance to compete for a national title goes out the window if the move up happens, at least for a good long time. Even with the FBS expanding its playoff tournament to 24 teams in the near future, it is far from a guarantee that a team like Tarleton State, likely playing in Conference USA or the American, would find itself in one of those spots for a while. Even if they do have a run that ends in a spot in the College Football Playoff, the task of knocking off multiple power conference teams to the top is virtually impossible. The clearest road to the school’s first football national championship is lain out before them right now and once that FBS announcement comes, that road gets a hell of a lot more treacherous.
It isn’t just the future that has Tarleton State and its fans chomping at the bit for a ring now, though. The past… specifically the very recent past… looms heavy on the minds of those in purple and white. While 2024 was a great first step that saw the program reach the FCS playoffs for the first time and win a game in the tournament, last fall feels a lot more empty especially based on how it began. After turning in an 11-1 regular season record and pulling off the premier FCS-over-FBS upset in a wild win at Army, Tarleton State had real aspirations of winning it all; aspirations that were only amped up after NDSU fell on their side of the bracket.
As the 4-seed, the Texans had homefield advantage under their belt after the Bison shockingly bowed out in the second round. It seemed like 2025 would be the year it came together and a dominant 31-13 win over North Dakota in the second round had TSU faithful really thinking that a trip to Tennessee would be waiting at the end. Instead, though, it all went up in flames when Villanova came in and delivered a gut-wrenching 26-21 loss in the quarterfinals. Despite leading 14-0 in front of their own fans, Tarleton State could not get it done and had to watch as Illinois State went on its incredible run, eventually taking what they felt should have been their spot in the big game.
As is the case for many FCS teams these days, the Texans will be leaning heavily on the transfer portal to make it happen this year. After losing some of their top offensive talent like quarterback Victor Gabalis, running back Tre Page III and receiver Cody Jackson, TSU has a lot to replenish on that side of the ball but it appears they’ve done just that. Ex-North Dakota receiver B.J. Fleming is perhaps the biggest name to come in this offseason and he’ll be an immediate impact player. Fleming caught 48 passes for over 800 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago with the Hawks.
Quarterbacks Braedyn Locke (Arizona), Kaden Anderson (Wyoming) and Jackson Gilkey (Weber State) all come in as well looking to fill Gabalis’s shoes; making it undoubtedly the most significant position battle on the team heading into the summer. As far as running back goes, though, there was no incoming activity via the portal largely because Tylan Hines stuck around. Hines only played in five games last year but still ran for 510 yards and three scores. If he can stay healthy this time around he could be in for a special season.
Defensively, Tarleton State also said goodbye to some notable playmakers and reloaded in the portal, specifically on the defensive line. In fact Todd Whitten and his staff inked five defensive lineman, several of whom saw significant time at their previous school.
The unfortunate reality is that when you’re a top FCS program, especially in a football hotbed like Texas, your roster is likely going to get plundered every offseason. Tarleton State has shown it knows how to withstand that in years past, though, and on paper it looks they’ve been able to again. Several of their new guys showed out during the Spring game.
With all that in the rear view and football fast approaching, however, the pressure is really beginning to mount. They don’t want any more early playoff exits at Tarleton and, despite having to navigate what is a really tough UAC and more personnel changes, the expectation is to win right now. No excuses. If this team is not at least in the semifinals in seven months, 2026 will go down as a failure.
The Texans will have an interesting test to begin their season as they host defending SWAC champion Prairie View A&M under the ESPN lights on August 29.
