Lamar Has Arrived, SFA Is on Notice and the Southland Playoff Race Is Wide Open

Week 10 across the Southland Conference gave us a pivotal Top 10 showdown that lived up to the billing, which caused a change at the top of the Southland Conference, a third team entering the full conversation after a nice road win, and a game that had two different halves, plus a road team picking up a second win on the bounce as the road team once again.

HCU (4-6, 3-4 SLC) at Northwestern State (0-10, 0-7 SLC) | 1 PM

Both are out of the playoff picture but have plenty to play for as both teams enter this game with losing streaks.

The Huskies enter this contest on a three-game slide, while the Demons look to break a 49-month winless conference streak. In this series, it will be the tenth overall meeting, with Northwestern State winning five times.

The last time HCU and Northwestern State played in Louisiana was in 2023, but that was cancelled due to a death in the Demons program. In 2021, it was the Demons that took a win in Natchitoches, 28-24.

The last three weeks for HCU have not been kind, taking two losses to nationally ranked teams and a home shutout by McNeese last week. The last time the Huskies were held scoreless at home during conference play was back in 2013 when Sam Houston was a part of the conference.

“We have been getting away from our plan, and it has cost us. Offensively, we cannot let drives stall out because of turnovers, bad penalties, and other simple miscues,” Huskies head coach Jason Bachtel said ahead of the game versus Northwestern State. “The Demons have been doing some things that may not be a reflection of what they are, but they will be ready, and my job is to prepare them the best way possible.”

The Demons dropped their most recent game against UTRGV 52-7. Their lone score came off a kickoff return from Antonio Hall from 93 yards out in the second quarter.

"It was a bad day at the office," head coach Blaine McCorkle said. "We came out flat, and I didn't have us ready to play. That's on me. Gave up too many big plays early, got in a big hole fast, and that hole was too big to get out of even when we did start to recover a little bit. Turnovers for the second time in four weeks have really killed us."

Nicholls (4-6, 3-4 SLC) at #21 UIW (6-4, 5-2 SLC) | 2 PM

This will be the 14th overall meeting between the Colonels and Cardinals, with Nicholls leading the series with 7 wins. Last season, it was the Colonels that knocked off UIW when they were ranked nationally. This season's meeting looks to be different, as it is the Cardinals that are on a heater run this time around, while Nicholls looks to salvage what's left of the season. The Colonels are 3-3 when playing in San Antonio. Their last win in the Alamo City came in 2023, with a 45-32 victory. On the other hand, the Cardinals defended home turf in 2024 with a resounding 55-10 win.

The Colonels outlasted East Texas A&M last week 32-31 in a game that could be described as a tale of two halves. After being down 24-7 at the break, Nicholls outscored the Lions 25-7 during the second half to walk away with the win. Quarterback Chase Richardson paced the Colonels with 254 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

“It was a character win by the players who showed their grit and determination,” Colonels head coach Tommy Rybacki said after the win against East Texas A&M.

When asked about facing UIW in a high-stakes conference match, Rybacki said, “They are a complete team that has it figured out at the moment. Their offense has been really good, and their defensive line has been really good in third downs.”

East Texas A&M (3-7, 3-4 SLC) at #6 Lamar (8-2, 6-1 SLC) | 3 PM

East Texas A&M and Lamar will be meeting for the 17th time overall, with each team winning eight times. But as conference rivals, they have only played three times, and the Cardinals have taken all three contests. The Lions dropped a game last week, holding a good lead at the break on the road against Nicholls. The second half versus the Colonels changed the game on the opening drive when a snap sailed over the quarterback, allowing Nicholls a short field to score.

“It was a tale of two halves, but all those miscues in the second half really hurt us in the end,” Lions head coach Clint Dolezel said after the game. “It was not an easy eight-hour trip out here; our guys licked their wounds a little bit. Against Lamar, they are a really good, sound team playing exceptionally well at the moment.”

Lamar produced the result of the season, as they defeated previously undefeated SFA 45-27 in Beaumont.

Aiden McCown and Parker Jenkins each accounted for three touchdowns in the victory. “First of all, I would like to thank Southeast Texas for showing up; it was over 11,000 fans that showed, and the atmosphere was fun and gave us that extra energy to perform well,” said Cardinals head coach Pete Rossomando during his weekly press conference. “The Lions do some unconventional things on defense that will make you think. They have some defensive linemen that can hurt the run game.”

#10 SFA (9-1, 6-1 SLC) at UTRGV (5-5, 3-4 SLC) | 5 PM

The Lumberjacks and Vaqueros will meet for the second time overall, and it was SFA that took the inaugural meeting in Nacogdoches, defeating UTRGV 41-17. This will be the first-ever meeting in Edinburg, Texas, where the Vaqueros are 10-1 all-time at Vackar Stadium.

SFA took a difficult loss on the road as they fell to Lamar 45-27. It was the Lumberjacks' first loss in 19 regular-season games. During the loss, SFA lost starting quarterback Gavin Rutherford in the middle of the second quarter, and he did not return.

“Hats off to Lamar; they played really well. We were minus four on the turnover battle, and when that happens you do not win very often,” Lumberjacks head coach Colby Carthel said in the postgame interview. “It was very uncharacteristic of us to play like this, but great football teams take advantage of miscues, and that's what happened. We get to go on the road again and see what kind of response we can get.”

UTRGV won their second straight road game for the first time in program history as they defeated Northwestern State 52-7. It is also the second road conference win that the Vaqueros earned, as last season they defeated McNeese.

“We have to protect the football and build long drives against SFA. They have different pressure packages that can create short fields for their offense,” Vaqueros head coach Travis Bush said during his weekly press conference. “They create a lot of explosive plays on offense and can be hurtful in so many ways. On special teams, that's the second week in a row we give up a big one, and they have Bugs (Mortimer) as one of the best guys in the country that can do damage as well.”

McNeese (5-5, 4-3 SLC) at Southeastern (4-6, 2-5 SLC) | 6 PM

The Cowboys and Lions will play each other for the 52nd time overall, with the Lions having won 26 times, but as conference rivals, it is the 31st meeting, with Southeastern having won 16 times. McNeese has lost six straight to the Lions, but to find a Cowboys win in Hammond, it was back in 2010, when they took a 13-10 win.

McNeese has won three of its last four, including its most recent shutout on the road, a 10-0 win over HCU.

Omiri Wiggins had a second straight 100-yard rushing game and scored the lone touchdown in the fourth quarter after a 65-yard run. Wiggins finished the game with 135 yards. It was the first time McNeese had a road conference shutout since 2017, when it held SFA scoreless in a 35-0 win.

“It was a really nice win for us to get us back above water in conference play as we now sit at 4-3. It's our second year running we start 0-2, and we bounce back to turn it around,” Cowboys head coach Matt Viator said to the media earlier in the week. “Offensively, we need to do better because we cannot leave points of any kind on the table. Southeastern has been a bit up and down this season; they do have two quality wins in their record this year, so we need to focus on the small things.”

Southeastern dropped their most recent home game against UIW 35-16. The Lions have now lost their last three conference games. “I felt this was a game for us to have, but give credit to the Cardinals for going up in tempo. They were really good on both sides of the ball,” Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said to the media. “We want to honor our seniors in the best way possible here at home, especially against an in-state rival.

McNeese has been good in conference play, holding an HCU team scoreless in their last outing. But we need to put ourselves in a position where we can control the clock.”