College football’s opening night usually follows a predictable script, but Thursday delivered pure chaos on the FCS stage. Houston Christian pulled off a stunning 34-28 upset over No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, while the West Florida Argonauts kicked off their new Division I chapter by shocking No. 16 Southern Illinois 34-31 in Pensacola.
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Southeastern Louisiana entered the season as the Southland Conference favorite after going 13-2 in league play over the past two seasons. The Lions had also beaten Houston Christian 38-14 last year, making the Huskies’ victory an early surprise.
“Not much went well for us today, but I can’t fault the effort,” Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said, according to Lion Sports. “We played hard, but the execution wasn’t where it needed to be.”
That execution problem showed up early for Houston Christian too, as the Huskies were held without a first down in the opening quarter. But redshirt junior quarterback Cutter Stewart helped the offense put 17 points on the board in the second quarter. His 66-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamaal Hall Jr. in the third quarter pushed the lead to 31-14.
The Southeastern Louisiana Lions tried to rally late, with quarterback Kyle Lowe finding wide receiver Lawson Dixon for two touchdown passes. Dixon’s second score cut the Huskies’ lead to 34-28 with about three and a half minutes left. But the Huskies managed the clock on their final possession and held on for the underdog win.
Meanwhile, down in Pensacola, the West Florida Argonauts were writing their own history, as the program had only reached Division I status this season. The program, founded in the 2010s, won a Division II national championship in 2019. Though the No. 16 Southern Illinois Salukis entered as three-touchdown favorites, the rankings and expectations proved meaningless once the game began.
The Argonauts quarterback Ty’ray Davis put on a show with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score that made the program’s Division I debut worth remembering. The defense helped swing the game too, as defensive back A’Khoury Lyde returned an interception for a touchdown. Those plays helped West Florida build a 27-9 lead by the third quarter, putting the No. 16 Salukis in an early bind.
Southern Illinois found a way back into the game after falling behind, especially after starting quarterback D.J. Williams left with an injury. Backup QB Jake Curry threw two touchdown passes and added a rushing score, helping the Salukis cut West Florida’s lead to 27-24 in the fourth quarter.
West Florida answered with a late touchdown to make it 34-24, but Southern Illinois quickly cut it back to 34-31. With the Salukis still threatening, safety David Law-Mortimer intercepted Curry with 58 seconds left, ending the comeback attempt of Illinois and sealing the Argonauts’ first Division I win.
“I’ve Never Seen So Much Energy”: West Florida Begins Division I Era With Historic Win
The atmosphere at PenAir Field matched the historic moment. Student body president Eli Schatz described the sold-out crowd as “a sea of white” and did not hold back on what the August 27 victory meant.
“I’ve never seen so much energy,” Schatz said, according to Copeland Welch of Wear News on August 27. “And I’ve never seen people so excited to be Argos. So this Division I season means everything to me. And it means everything to the people in the stands behind us.”
“I know we’re gonna have some pretty big games,” Schatz said. “We’re gonna start playing some big Division I schools, eventually on those money games. And so, you know, I give it five years until UWF [University of West Florida] does a major upset in football, basketball, or baseball or any other sport that really put on the map.”
For Houston Christian and West Florida, the opening night showed how quickly preseason expectations can disappear once the games begin. Two ranked teams went down, while West Florida marked its Division I debut with a win that could set the tone for the Argonauts’ new era.