Lamar Beat No. 2 Stephen F. Austin 45-28, Ending the Lumberjacks' 19-Game Winning Streak

Lamar beat Stephen F. Austin 45-28 at Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas, on Saturday, November 7, 2026, in the biggest result of the FCS weekend. The Cardinals, ranked No. 12 in the Stats Perform FCS Poll, handed the No. 2 Lumberjacks their first loss of the season and ended a 19-game regular-season winning streak, the longest active regular-season streak across the FBS and FCS. The final score was recorded by the FloFootball report of the game and by NCAA.com in its live updates for the week.

McCown and Jenkins lead the upset

Quarterback Aiden McCown threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns for Lamar. Running back Parker Jenkins rushed for 138 yards and three scores. Between them, the pair accounted for six touchdowns, and Lamar put 45 points on a Stephen F. Austin team that arrived in Beaumont with a 9-0 record and one win away from a playoff berth.

The Lumberjacks had not lost a regular-season game in 19 tries. They had also won their last four meetings with Lamar. Both streaks ended on the same night, on the road, against a conference rival that is now level with them in the standings.

Level at the top of the Southland

The win moved Lamar to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southland Conference. Stephen F. Austin fell to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play. The two teams now sit even at the top of the Southland, and Lamar holds the head-to-head tiebreaker for the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs after winning the meeting between them.

That tiebreaker is the practical prize from Saturday. A playoff berth that Stephen F. Austin could have sealed with a win is now in Lamar's hands, with the head-to-head result deciding the automatic bid if the two finish level.

What the numbers say

The final was 45-28. McCown finished with 307 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Jenkins finished with 138 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Stephen F. Austin's loss was its first of the 2026 season, and its 19-game regular-season winning streak, the longest active streak of its kind in Division I, is over.

Lamar's win also flipped the recent history of the matchup. Stephen F. Austin had won four straight against the Cardinals before Saturday. Lamar ended that run and the national streak in the same game, at home, in front of its own crowd in Beaumont.