THE WORD

Southland Conference play heats up in Week 5 as No. 8 Stephen F. Austin hosts UIW in a key early conference matchup, while Lamar looks to build on its statement road win and McNeese heads to LSU.

Week 4 brings another loaded Southland slate as No. 15 Lamar opens conference play at Nicholls, UIW visits Texas State, No. 10 SFA looks to stay perfect and Southeastern Louisiana returns to league play after an FBS win.

Stephen F. Austin has established itself as the early team to beat, but Week 2 brings ranked road tests, conference openers and opportunities for the rest of the Southland to make a statement.

Week 1 brought a little bit of everything in the Southland: SFA stayed perfect, McNeese exploded offensively and several programs got an early reality check against FBS competition. Here’s everything that happened around the league.