Rutherford, Stephen F. Austin beat Incarnate Word 28-26 for 16th straight regular-season win

Gavin Rutherford threw three touchdown passes to help Stephen FByThe Associated PressOctober 3, 2026, 10:04 PMNACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Gavin Rutherford threw three touchdown passes Saturday night to help Stephen F. Austin beat Incarnate Word 28-26, the Lumberjacks' 16th consecutive win in the regular season and 11th straight in Southland Conference play. The Lumberjacks (6-0, 3-0 Southland Conference), ranked No. 7 in the Stats Perform poll, are off to their best start since they started the 1995 season with a program-record seven straight wins. Stephen F. Austin, which also extended its home win streak to 11 games, hasn’t lost a conference game since UIW beat the Lumberjacks 27-20 on Nov. 16, 2024 to claim the Southland title.Emmett Brown was 27-of-52 passing for 373 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Incarnate Word (2-3, 1-1). Jeremiah Young had a career-high three sacks. Brown threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Emmers with 22 seconds left. After an offensive pass interference penalty took away his pass to Price Morgan for the 2-point conversion, Brown’s pass to Jayden Hibbler fell incomplete and the Lumberjacks held on. David Rasor rushed for a 1-yard touchdown that capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive and gave Incarnate Word its first lead at 20-14 about 6 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. Rutherford connected with Preston Alford for an 8-yard TD catch-and-run 4 1/2 minutes later and hit Clayton Wayland for an 8-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter that made it 28-20. Lumberjacks kicker Carlos Alvarado missed field-goal attempts from 29, 56 (blocked by Young) and 43 yards, the last of which came with 48 seconds left. Popular ReadsSophomore Makai Frisby, a Norfolk State transfer, had his fourth interception this season for the Lumberjacks.Incarnate Word: Visits Lamar next Saturday. Stephen F. Austin: Play Oct. 17 at Nicholls. ___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.Sponsored Content by Taboola