FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (September 5, 2026) – The University of North Alabama football team did not shy away from the national spotlight Saturday, taking the fight to the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas won 31-14 in a hard-fought game televised nationally on the SEC Network.
The Lions (1-1) battled an SEC opponent for the first time since 1959 and did not make it easy for Arkansas offensively. However, the Razorbacks (1-0) eventually did enough in the second half to pull away despite a pair of scores by UNA to make it interesting.
Redshirt junior quarterback Destin Wade got his team on the board with two rushing touchdowns in the second half, including one that was set up by a long 59-yard pass to Xavier Johnson in the fourth quarter. The other was set up by a fumble forced by redshirt junior Avery Howard and recovered by redshirt sophomore Leo Glover.
The UNA defense kept the game alive virtually the whole way, aided by a win in the turnover battle. The Lions had two fumble recoveries, including a first half strip sack by sophomore Cayden Adkins recovered by redshirt junior Walter Goggins. The Lions also had an interception to end an Arkansas red zone drive at the end of the first half, picked by junior Trevion Butler.
In addition to his recovery, Glover had a career-high 10 tackles. Howard finished with nine with 2.5 tackles for loss and was involved in two sacks, while Butler joined Tae Martin and Kanijal Thomas with eight tackles. Senior Jyheam Ingram added four tackles, a sack, a hurry and a breakup for an impact performance.
Offensively, Wade completed 12-of-23 passes for 113 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Johnson — the reigning UAC Freshman of the Week — was the team's leading receiver for a second straight week with six catches for 82 yards. Redshirt sophomore Jalen Fletcher led the run game for a second straight week with four carries for 24 yards.
The Lions also got assistance in the punt game, as freshman Charles Mulcahy boomed seven for a near-40 yard average, including a long of 56. Redshirt senior Ian Vachon also punted twice with one going for 55 yards. Vachon also made both extra points.
Attendance for today's game was 69,178, which makes this the second-largest attended game UNA has played in school history. The first was in 2023 at Florida State with 76,560 fans. The third-most was a crowd of 25,849 at Memphis while current Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield was head coach.
Today marks UNA's first time playing football on the SEC Network. However, UNA has now played on national television four times in the last four seasons with two games on ESPN and one on The CW against No. 4 Florida State in 2023. UNA has an all-time record of 32-24 in televised games (not including ESPN+) since the first one in 1990.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions will stay on the road next week for a trip to Southeastern Louisiana — a team receiving votes in both major FCS polls. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in Hammond, La.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
