RIO GRANDE VALLEY – For the 10
th time this season and ninth poll in a row, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) football program is receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl.
The Vaqueros earned 20 points after previously receiving 31 points in week 13, 15 points in week 12, nine points in week 11, 10 points in week 10, 25 points in the week 9, seven in week 8, 10 in week 7, four in week 6, and five in week 4.
UTRGV is receiving votes totaling three points in the
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll.
At 9-3, UTRGV is the first of the 11 football programs to start from scratch at the NCAA DI-AA (1978-2005)/FCS (2006-Present) level since Division I college football split into two levels in 1978 to win nine games. No other team had ever won more than seven games or six while playing a schedule including NCAA Division I competition.
UTRGV is the first inaugural team to win six games against NCAA DI-AA /FCS competition, breaking the record of five set by Florida International in 2002.
UTRGV is the only inaugural to go undefeated at home, as the Vaqueros finished 7-0.
UTRGV is one of two programs to receive votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll at any point during its inaugural season, along with Kennesaw State, which received two points in the 2015 Week 7 poll. UTRGV is the only program to earn more than two points or receive votes in multiple weeks, receiving votes nine times.
UTRGV is the first inaugural program to score at least 17 points in all its Division I games and the only one to score at least 17 points in all games while playing a schedule that includes NCAA Division I competition. UTRGV is also the only team to score 60+ points three times and 50+ points four times.
UTRGV's only losses were on the road against teams in the FCS Playoffs, including No. 7 seed Stephen F. Austin, No. 6 seed Southeastern, and Lamar. UTRGV also had a road win over Prairie View A&M, which received 16 points this week.
AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl – January 6, 2026
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Rec. |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Postseason |
Head Coach |
| 1 |
Montana St. (21) |
14-2 |
525 |
2 |
D. No. 17 Illinois St., 35-34 OT, in national championship |
Brent Vigen |
| 2 |
Illinois St. |
12-5 |
504 |
17 |
Lost to No. 2 Montana St., 35-34 OT, in national championship |
Brock Spack |
| 3 |
Montana |
13-2 |
472 |
4 |
Lost to No. 2 Montana St., 48-23, in semifinals |
Bobby Hauck |
| 4 |
Villanova |
12-3 |
427 |
6 |
Lost to No. 17 Illinois St., 30-14, in semifinals |
Mark Ferrante |
| 5 |
North Dakota St. |
12-1 |
426 |
1 |
Lost to No. 17 Illinois St., 29-28, in second round |
Tim Polasek |
| 6 |
Tarleton St. |
12-2 |
419 |
5 |
Lost to No. 6 Villanova, 26-21, in quarterfinals |
Todd Whitten |
| 7 |
Stephen F. Austin |
11-3 |
369 |
10 |
Lost to No. 2 Montana St., 44-28, in quarterfinals |
Colby Carthel |
| 8 |
UC Davis |
9-4 |
359 |
11 |
Lost to No. 17 Illinois St., 42-31, in quarterfinals |
Tim Plough |
| 9 |
Lehigh |
12-1 |
358 |
3 |
Lost to No. 6 Villanova, 14-7, in second round |
Kevin Cahill |
| 10 |
Rhode Island |
11-3 |
304 |
9 |
Lost to No. 11 UC Davis, 47-26, in second round |
Jim Fleming |
| 11 |
South Dakota |
10-5 |
295 |
20 |
Lost to No. 4 Montana, 52-22, in quarterfinals |
Travis Johansen |
| 12 |
ACU |
9-5 |
257 |
14 |
Lost to No. 10 Stephen F. Austin, 41-34, in second round |
Keith Patterson |
| 13 |
Yale |
9-3 |
235 |
21 |
Lost to No. 2 Montana St., 21-13, in second round |
Tony Reno |
| 14 |
South Dakota St. |
9-5 |
209 |
18 |
Lost to No. 4 Montana, 50-29, in second round |
Dan Jackson |
| 15 |
Tennessee Tech |
11-2 |
206 |
7 |
Lost to No. 23 North Dakota, 31-6, in first round |
Bobby Wilder |
| 16 |
North Dakota |
8-6 |
192 |
23 |
Lost to No. 5 Tarleton St., 31-13, in second round |
Eric Schmidt= |
| 17 |
Youngstown St. |
8-5 |
190 |
13 |
Lost to No. 21 Yale, 43-42, in first round |
Doug Phillips |
| 18 |
Mercer |
9-3 |
186 |
8 |
Lost to No. 20 South Dakota, 47-0, in second round |
Mike Jacobs |
| 19 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
9-4 |
172 |
15 |
Lost to No. 17 Illinois St., 21-3, in first round |
Frank Scelfo |
| 20 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
9-3 |
112 |
16 |
DNQ Playoffs |
Kevin Callahan |
| 21 |
Lamar |
8-5 |
105 |
24 |
Lost to No. 14 ACU, 38-20, in first round |
Pete Rossomando |
| 22 |
Jackson St. |
9-3 |
103 |
12 |
Lost to Prairie View A&M, 23-21, in SWAC title game |
T.C. Taylor |
| 23 |
Harvard |
9-2 |
78 |
19 |
Lost to No. 6 Villanova, 52-7, in first round |
Andrew Aurich |
| 24 |
West Georgia |
8-3 |
68 |
22 |
DNQ Playoffs |
Joel Taylor |
| 25 |
South Carolina St. |
10-3 |
59 |
NR |
D. Prairie View A&M, 40-38 4OT, in Celebration Bowl |
Chennis Berry |
Dropped Out: Southern Illinois (25)
Others Receiving Votes: New Hampshire, 35; Lafayette, 30; Southern Illinois, 29; Drake, 20;
UT Rio Grande Valley, 20; Prairie View A&M, 16; Central Connecticut St., 15; Richmond, 15; Alabama St., 10; Presbyterian, 10; Southern Utah, 5; Austin Peay, 2.
In the National Rankings
The Vaqueros ranked in the top 40 in the FCS in 36 statistical categories and led the Southland Conference in 15 statistical categories.
| Category |
Value |
FCS Rank |
SLC Rank |
| Blocked Kicks Allowed |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Blocked Punts Allowed |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Fumbles Recovered |
13 |
2 |
1 |
| Turnover Margin |
1.33 |
3 |
1 |
| Turnovers Lost |
9 |
5 |
1 |
| Defensive Touchdowns |
4 |
6 |
1 |
| Points Per Game |
39.6 |
6 |
1 |
| Turnovers Gained |
25 |
7 |
1 |
| Team Passing Efficiency |
165.52 |
8 |
1 |
| Team Passing Efficiency Defense |
116.93 |
9 |
1 |
| Points Allowed Per Game |
18.8 |
13 |
3 |
| Winning Percentage |
.750 |
14 |
2 |
| Passing Yards Per Completion |
13.72 |
15 |
1 |
| Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game |
119.3 |
16 |
3 |
| Total Yards Per Game |
435.2 |
17 |
1 |
| Total Yards Allowed Per Game |
328.4 |
18 |
4 |
| Punt Return Defense |
5.05 |
19 |
2 |
| Net Punting |
39.41 |
20 |
3 |
| Rushing Yards Per Game |
188.3 |
21 |
2 |
| Passes Intercepted |
12 |
22 |
4 |
| Tackles for Loss Per Game |
6.5 |
22 |
5 |
| Fewest Penalties |
61 |
23 |
1 |
| Fewest Penalties Per Game |
5.08 |
23 |
1 |
| Passing Yards Per Game |
246.9 |
24 |
2 |
| Third Down Conversion Pct. |
45.0% |
24 |
2 |
| Kickoff Return Defense |
18.19 |
24 |
4 |
| Sacks Allowed Per Game |
1.50 |
28 |
1 |
| Red Zone Offense |
86.5% |
28 |
4 |
| Tackles for Loss Allowed Per Game |
4.67 |
29 |
2 |
| Fewest Penalty Yards |
555 |
31 |
3 |
| Completion Percentage |
64.1% |
32 |
3 |
| Fewest First Downs Allowed |
221 |
32 |
3 |
| Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game |
46.25 |
33 |
3 |
| Sacks Per Game |
2.25 |
34 |
4 |
| Red Zone Defense |
79.3% |
40 |
3 |
UTRGV also had 22 student-athletes ranking among the national leaders:
| Player |
Stat |
Total |
FCS Rank |
SLC Rank |
| Eddie Lee Marburger |
Passing Efficiency |
170.8 |
4 |
1 |
|
Passing Touchdowns |
31 |
6 |
1 |
|
Points Responsible For Per Game |
17.5 |
7 |
1 |
|
Passing Yards Per Completion |
13.97 |
9 |
1 |
|
Points Responsible For |
210 |
9 |
1 |
|
Yards Per Pass Attempt |
9.11 |
9 |
1 |
|
Total Yards Per Game |
257.3 |
17 |
1 |
|
Passing Yards Per Game |
231.7 |
19 |
1 |
|
Passing Yards |
2,780 |
23 |
1 |
|
Completion Percentage |
65.2% |
26 |
3 |
|
Completions Per Game |
16.58 |
41 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Tony Diaz |
Receiving Touchdowns |
11 |
6 |
1 |
|
Receptions Per Game |
5.67 |
14 |
3 |
|
Receiving Yards |
875 |
32 |
2 |
|
Receiving Yards Per Game |
72.9 |
34 |
3 |
|
Total Touchdowns |
11 |
44 |
2 |
|
Total Points Scored |
66 |
102 |
8 |
|
Scoring |
5.5 |
103 |
8 |
|
All Purpose Yards Per Game |
72.83 |
146 |
10 |
|
Yards Per Reception |
12.87 |
180 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Xayvion Noland |
Yards Per Reception |
22.46 |
4 |
1 |
|
Receiving Touchdowns |
7 |
39 |
5 |
|
Receiving Yards |
831 |
43 |
5 |
|
Receiving Yards Per Game |
69.3 |
46 |
4 |
|
All Purpose Yards Per Game |
82.67 |
101 |
6 |
|
Total Touchdowns |
7 |
137 |
10 |
|
Kick Return Yards |
161 |
165 |
14 |
|
Receptions Per Game |
3.08 |
174 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Brysen Gardner |
Field Goals Per Game |
1.08 |
30 |
1 |
|
Scoring |
7.3 |
31 |
1 |
|
Total Points Scored |
87 |
41 |
2 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
.765 |
42 |
4 |
|
Points Responsible For Per Game |
7.3 |
115 |
6 |
|
Points Responsible For |
87 |
118 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Nathan Denney |
Rushing Yards Per Game |
73.8 |
36 |
2 |
|
All Purpose Yards Per Game |
101.89 |
44 |
2 |
|
Rushing Yards Per Carry |
4.68 |
74 |
5 |
| |
Rushing Yards |
664 |
87 |
3 |
|
Total Yards Per Game |
73.8 |
159 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Ian Box |
Sacks Per Game |
0.46 |
80 |
5 |
|
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Elijah Graham |
Fumble Recoveries |
2 |
13 |
3 |
|
Interceptions Per Game |
0.25 |
53 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Jaiden Haygood |
Total Tackles Per Game |
8.5 |
36 |
5 |
|
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Logic Hudgens |
Interceptions Per Game |
0.25 |
53 |
7 |
|
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Spencer Rich |
Fumble Recoveries |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
Total Tackles Per Game |
8.2 |
58 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Tavian Cord |
Receiving Touchdowns |
4 |
140 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
| TJ Dement |
Rushing Touchdowns |
5 |
145 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Hank Filamar |
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Carter Hewitt |
Kick Return Yards |
147 |
175 |
15 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Jayden House |
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Percy Jackson III |
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Abdon Mata |
Sacks Per Game |
0.38 |
127 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
| TJ Neal |
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Amari Pouncy |
Fumble Recoveries |
1 |
98 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Alijah Prosser |
Interceptions Per Game |
0.17 |
144 |
16 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Ismael Smith Flores |
Receiving Touchdowns |
6 |
61 |
7 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Nathaniel Wallce-Dilling |
Punting Average |
43.7 |
15 |
2 |
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