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FCS Week 0 Game of the Week - Prairie View A&M Panthers @ Tarleton State Texans: How to Watch, Preview, Predictions It’s time to kick off the 2026 season. Time: 9:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN2 The Quick Hits One of the biggest non-conference FCS matchups will hit the table right off the bat in Week 0 to get the 2026 season underway. Tarleton State opens its gates to last year’s SWAC champion Prairie View A&M in what shapes up to be a hugely important game for both schools. The Panthers nearly ascended to the highest peak of HBCU football last fall when they reached the Celebration Bowl for the first time in program history. Four overtimes and one heartbreak later, they saw their historic run end just shy of a championship. Now PV is out to prove that 2025’s success was no fluke. Amidst a good amount of roster change, the Panthers begin their SWAC title defense on Saturday night and do so against one of the top teams in the entire subdivision. Tarleton State is battling its own expectations as well. The Texans, too, set a program mark last fall when they won 12 games and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history. A close loss there, however, has left a sour taste with both the fanbase and the team because the path to Nashville did run right through Stephenville. To get back won’t be easy in a UAC that gets more competitive by the year. TSU checks in at #5 in the preseason polls in spite of some big changes and, once again, the bar is a lofty one. The Coaches It’s pretty safe to say the Tremaine Jackson experiment has been a success. Prairie View A&M hired Jackson out of Division II powerhouse Valdosta State last offseason and all he did in his first year was win ten games and take the Panthers to their first SWAC title in 16 years and was oh so close to winning the Celebration Bowl. From roster building to developing to winning on the field, few have done it better faster than Jackson. Now with a full season under his belt the standard has bet set. He and his staff expect their team to be right there at the end again and… as is evident by the scheduling of this game (and SFA next week), Jackson is not one to shy away from a challenge. On the home sideline will be a head coach who, likewise, has established high expectations in Todd Whitten. Like Jackson, Whitten cut his teeth at the DI level but he moved up with Tarleton State in his second stint and has not missed much of a beat. Between his time with the Texans and Sam Houston, Whitten has compiled an impressive 126-59 overall record and has guided his teams to the postseason seven times including each of the last two years. He got his first UAC championship in 2025 and has not had a losing record with TSU since moving up to the FCS in 2020. Prairie View A&M Offense vs. Tarleton State Defense Prairie View A&M’s offense had some real superstar talent last season with big names like receiver Jyzaiah Rockwell and signal caller Cameron Peters. Both Rockwell and Peters, though, have moved on and it’s time for a passing of the torch. The biggest question all offseason has been about who will command the Panthers offense from under center and it appears that it will be senior Preston Brown, though no official announcement of a starter has been made yet. Brown transferred in from Catawba College after throwing for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns. Brown is one of 16 players that joined the team from the Division II ranks over the offseason. Prairie View, especially while having a new quarterback get his feet under him, will want to run the ball just as much as they pass and that is an area where they won’t have to turn to a new face. Running back Chase Bingmon is back after leading the Panthers with 873 yards and eight scores on the ground last year. He had far and above the most touches on the team last fall, toting it 160 times. Bingmon is a feature part of the offense and slowing him down will need to be one of Tarleton State’s top defensive priorities. The Texans made some big additions on their D line, most notably adding former SFA standout Xavier Potts and he should make an immediate impact up front. Potts was solid for the Lumberjacks, tallying 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 31 stops last year. Now he should spearhead the effort in the trenches for TSU and will play a big role in stopping Bingmon on Saturday night. He will have to contend with one of the SWAC’s best offensive lineman in Calvin McMillan, though. McMillan weighs in at 328 pounds and stands at 6’5” and was a first-team all-conference selection this preseason. Tarleton State’s defense will also lean on guys like linebacker Omar Emmons who returns for his fifth and final season of eligibility. Emmons was responsible for 39 tackles last year but was also great in pass protection, knocking away four passes and picking off three more. Brown will need be wary of throwing if #4 is anywhere near. When Prairie View A&M does opt to pass, it will likely be pass catchers Rodny Ojo or Braylon Finney getting the looks. Ojo is back after playing the shadow of Jyzaiah Rockwell last year but now that Rockwell is no longer around, he and others should see a lot more action. Ojo hauled in 30 catches in 2025 for 427 yards and three touchdowns; not meager stats by any means. Finney is a new pickup from Houston Christian. They also added three FBS transfer receivers in Akim Lanieux (Arizona), Lonnie Adkism (Sam Houston) and Toric Goins Jr. (UTEP). Brown will have plenty of options when taking to the air. Tarleton State Offense vs. Prairie View A&M Defense Tarleton State’s offense will feature a blend of familiar faces and new names, a combination that the Texans are banking on hitting to make up for some of the production they lost from last year. Gone is quarterback Victor Gabalis and running back Tre Page III. But in comes B.J. Fleming and Braedyn Locke. Locke, who transferred in from Arizona, is in competition for the starting job with Kaden Anderson from Wyoming. Both bring in FBS experience and there’s a good chance both see some action early on in the season. Locke served as a backup for the Wildcats last year while Anderson was the started for the Cowboys, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025. Whoever the quarterback is will have an explosive set of receivers to throw to. Fifth-year Marquis Willis is back for one last go with TSU after hauling in four touchdowns last year. The aforementioned Fleming, however, might be the biggest name to know in the receiver room. The North Dakota transfer is coming off an impressive campaign that saw him snag 48 passes for 817 yards and seven scores. Fleming was a feature piece of the UND offense and started against Tarleton State in last year’s second-round playoff game. He and Willis make for a dangerous one-two punch on the outside. Prairie View A&M made its impressive run last season on the back of a stifling defense that allowed just 17.9 points per contest and that standard hasn’t changed. The Panthers will contend with the likes of Fleming and Willis with a ball-hawking secondary. Eric Zachery headlines the DB group. As a sophomore last year he led the team with 13 pass breakups and came down two interceptions. He and Skylon Jean-Louis will be tasked with limiting the damage by the Tarleton State passing attack. Just as those guys will have a tall order, so too will the Prairie View front because Tarleton State has some bruisers at running back. Tylan Hines is back for his final season after an injury sidelined him for most of last year. In his five games of action, though, Hines was terrific, rushing for 510 yards and three scores. He is joined in the backfield by senior James Paige. Paige got his first real action last year, running for 520 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. The Panthers will need to have an answer for those two as well. That will be a job for defensive lineman Malik Gucake. He is a preseason First-Team All-SWAC selection and, if last year is any indication, he might be the one most equip to give the Texans offensive line fits. Gucake was responsible for 10.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and 42 total stops last year. It wasn’t often that ball carriers found success against the 6’3”, 250-pound senior. He will lead the effort on the ground and, hopefully for the Panthers, fluster whoever is taking snaps. Prediction As good as Prairie View A&M is and is expected to be this year, there’s a whole lot working against them in this game, namely the overall quality of opponent they’ll be lining up against. Tarleton State is a Top 5 team for a reason and they should be able to flex that muscle early especially at home in what is sure to be a rabid environment. Tremaine Jackson does not shy away from anyone or anything, though, and that trait is reflected in his team. The Panthers will put up more of a fight than some (including the oddsmakers) give them credit for. Both teams will be feeling out new players at key positions meaning that things could be tight through the first half. Tarleton State should settle in during the late stages, though, and make enough plays to come out with a season-opening win. The Panthers have the talent and tenacity to keep it within striking distance well into the third quarter but in the end the Texans just have too much. Score Prediction: Prairie View A&M: 20 - Tarleton State: 32 Most Popular - Mississippi State cancels future road games at Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane - FCS Week 0 Game of the Week - Prairie View A&M Panthers @ Tarleton State Texans: How to Watch, Preview, Predictions - There is always room for a fullback: Matt Adcock brings old-school muscle to Arkansas - 2026 Week 0 Preview: Jacksonville State Gamecocks @ North Dakota State Bison - 2026 Week 0 Preview: Memphis Tigers @ UNLV Rebels