Week 2 Southland Football Preview

Week 1 showed why Stephen F. Austin remains the class of the Southland Conference. McNeese earned its first win of the season, while plenty of teams faced FBS competition with results that were... well, not good.

Week 2 will offer plenty of good action, from non-conference matchups to in-conference battles, as the Southland begins to take shape.

No. 14/17 Lamar (1-1) at Idaho (0-2, 0-1 Big Sky)

Saturday, 3 p.m.

What could be a very tricky test for the Cardinals this season is a trip to Moscow, Idaho, which will put a nice wrinkle in the schedule.

Lamar will face Idaho for the second time since 2023. The Vandals earned a 42-17 win in Texas in what marked the beginning of the Pete Rossomando era for Lamar.

The Cardinals are playing their final non-conference game before turning their attention to the remainder of the Southland schedule.

“They are a team that will make you earn it. The O and D lines are big; they will pressure you from the outside looking in,” Rossomando said during his weekly press conference. “Coach Ford does a terrific job despite their record not indicating it. They had a close one and played Utah as well.”

For the Vandals, it will serve as their home opener after a close call against Cal Poly and a difficult matchup against the Utah Utes.

The Vandals usually have a surprise result or two every season, and not long ago they had several Top 25 upsets.

Could the Cardinals be on upset watch this week?

“We need to be better on our base defense, but this week will be nice to us because we are at home and we have some extra time to prepare those details,” Idaho head coach Thomas Ford Jr. said while addressing the local media ahead of the Vandals’ first home game.

RV/- UIW (1-0) at No. 24/23 Northern Arizona (1-1, 1-0 Big Sky)

Saturday, 4 p.m.

The Cardinals enjoyed an early bye week, but the schedule will ramp up again as they head to Flagstaff, Arizona, to face the Lumberjacks.

The last time these two sides met, the Lumberjacks survived a late Incarnate Word push to come away with a 31-23 win in Arizona.

The Cardinals racked up a program-record 76 points against Oklahoma Panhandle State, but fresh off the bye week, head coach Clint Killough knows this road trip presents a much different challenge.

“We learned from the experience last year, and we are telling the guys to sleep a little earlier and be properly hydrated because we felt all the elements affected us during the game, so our preparation needs to change just a bit,” Killough said.

The Lumberjacks look to bounce back after a loss to Arizona last week as they return to the friendly confines of the Walkup Skydome to host UIW.

Northern Arizona already has a home win on its schedule after defeating Big Sky rival Eastern Washington earlier in the season.

“We had some good moments, some not-so-good moments, and some ugly moments last week,” Northern Arizona head coach Brian Wright said. “There’s a lot of work today and things to improve on this week. There were good things that happened, some individual effort that stood out. We’ve got a really good opponent coming to the Dome on Saturday, and we need to have a great week of practice.”

North Alabama (1-1) at Southeastern Louisiana (0-2, 0-1 SLC)

Saturday, 6 p.m.

The North Alabama Lions are wrapping up a three-game road swing in Hammond, Louisiana, where they’ll face another group of Lions from Southeastern Louisiana.

North Alabama earned a win over Samford in Week 0 before taking a loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“We felt that we were very competitive in Arkansas last week, and I feel that if we pay attention to the small details, we should be okay,” North Alabama head coach Brent Dearmon said during his weekly press conference. “Hammond is a tough environment, but we feel that we can overcome that and be successful out there.”

Southeastern Louisiana has endured a troubling start to the season as it looks to bounce back from an 0-2 opening, including an upset home loss to Houston Christian.

Frank Scelfo talked to the media about the matchup against North Alabama and knows his team has plenty to clean up.

“We are concerned on both sides of the ball at the moment. We had a difficult start at FBS South Alabama, but we grew as a team,” Scelfo said. “On the other hand, they played an SEC side toe-to-toe, and they have some skilled, talented players to be aware of.”

No. 4/5 Tarleton (2-0) at McNeese (1-1, 0-1 SLC)

Saturday, 6 p.m.

The Texans are in the middle of their non-conference schedule as they travel to Lake Charles to take on McNeese.

Tarleton is the favorite to win the United Athletic Conference, and its credentials have lived up to that standard so far, with a road win over FBS opponent Bowling Green and a home victory over Prairie View A&M.

“The morale is pretty high right now, but this isn’t a moment for complacency,” Tarleton head coach Todd Whitten said during media availability. “There is a difficult challenge ahead of us, and we cannot lose focus on that. The Cowboys have been battle-tested, but they will want a home win.”

As for the Cowboys, they earned their first victory of the season with a dominant 52-0 home win over NAIA opponent Texas Wesleyan.

McNeese now prepares to wrap up a three-game homestand by hosting nationally ranked Tarleton.

This isn’t the first time the Cowboys have hosted a nationally ranked opponent this season, as they opened the campaign against conference rival Stephen F. Austin in Week 0.

“When you look at a team like the Texans, they’ve won ball games in different ways, which is an indication of how good that team is,” McNeese head coach Matt Viator said. “They are a good RPO team, and their running back is quick and has good balance after contact.”

RV/RV UTRGV (1-1) at Nicholls (1-1)

Saturday, 6 p.m.

This is the Southland opener for both teams, and each will be looking for a bounce-back result to jump-start its conference season.

For UTRGV, the questions at QB1 continue to linger. But if the game against UTSA showed anything, it’s that Garrett Rangel looks to be the more primed candidate to start because of his ability to limit mistakes.

For the Vaqueros, another priority will be limiting big plays on defense.

“We saw some things that exposed us, especially playing an FBS for the first time,” UTRGV head coach Travis Bush said during media availability. “We did a lot of silent-count things, and we will adapt a little more to them.”

The trip to Nicholls will also be something of a homecoming for Bush.

“The last time I ever played in Nicholls Stadium, I was a member of the Texas State team back when they were in the Southland, and I threw a touchdown pass,” Bush said. “So it is going to be nice to return there, as their environment is very similar to what we have here.”

For the Colonels, the goal is simple: earn a home victory and, more importantly, start 1-0 in conference play.

“They have a balanced playbook with a two-quarterback system, which is a bit worrisome,” Nicholls head coach Tommy Rybacki said. “Coach Bush has done a tremendous job and last season took the league by storm, and they are a well-prepared team.”

Rybacki knows the Vaqueros will force his defense to cover every inch of the field.

“They will also spread the ball around, which will force us to cover the entire field, and their staff does a great job,” Rybacki said. “We will need to be on all cylinders come Saturday evening.”

Northwestern State (0-2) at East Texas A&M (0-2, 0-1 SLC)

Saturday, 6 p.m.

In a matchup where both teams desperately need a result, the Demons and Lions meet for a conference tussle to see who can jump-start their season.

East Texas A&M put together a pretty good first quarter against nationally ranked Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, but once the Lumberjacks took the lead, they never looked back.

“We got away from our game plan a little bit and took a few knocks,” East Texas A&M head coach Clint Dolezel said during his press conference. “We played our second QB, and we will continue to play him to get him some meaningful snaps.”

The Lions will look to get back to the basics this week.

“This week we will get back to working on a few basic things that we got outside of, but we will be ready for a tough environment,” Dolezel said.

Northwestern State has endured a difficult start to the season, but a conference win could quickly turn the morale around for a young team that wants to continue to flourish.

“No doubt we have taken some punishment, but we are keeping our guys in the moment, and hearing the guys talk about the Lions game in Commerce, we want to keep pushing forward,” Northwestern State head coach Blaine McCorkle said during his weekly press conference.

“Now the guys know it’s a new start for the conference, and they are excited for that because it is an opportunity.”

For two winless teams, this one suddenly carries plenty of weight.

Arkansas Baptist (1-1, 1-0 NAIA SAC) at RV/RV HCU (1-1, 1-0 SLC)

Saturday, 6 p.m.

Arkansas Baptist is coming off its first win of the season after defeating conference rival Texas College on the road, 30-19.

The Buffaloes are led by head coach Richard Wilson and are members of the Sooner Athletic Conference at the NAIA level.

The Huskies endured a tough loss across town to Rice last weekend but return home to host Arkansas Baptist.

“We did some things well. I feel we got out of system for a bit, and that hurt us,” HCU head coach Jason Bachtel said. “Now we get focused on our next opponent, who is riding a high note. We must be aware, and we have to be detail-oriented to earn a home result.”

HCU will look to take care of business at home before turning its attention back toward Southland competition.

No. 13/9 Stephen F. Austin (2-0, 2-0 SLC) at No. 23/25 Abilene Christian (0-2)

Saturday, 7 p.m.

The Lumberjacks showed why they continue to be the class of the Southland last week, dispatching East Texas A&M, 44-7, and continuing to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the nation.

“I expect a good football game between us and ACU,” SFA head coach Colby Carthel said during his weekly press conference. “Their record may not indicate what it is, but they are playing at home for the first time this season, and that stadium will be rocking.”

Carthel also knows the familiarity between these two programs adds another layer to the matchup.

“Coach Keith Patterson does a great job in that program, plus it’s been a good rivalry for us in recent seasons,” Carthel said.

As for the Wildcats, they are in the middle of their non-conference schedule, but this will be the first time they play at home this season, and they’ll do so against nationally ranked Stephen F. Austin.

“We saw things that we are encouraged by, and at the end of the day, we take that progress as a good sign,” Abilene Christian head coach Keith Patterson said. “We are happy to be back at home, and it will give us that extra boost because we need to string victories together.”

And what better way to get things turned around than by knocking off one of the best teams in the country?

“What better way than to scalp one of the best teams in the nation,” Patterson said.

For SFA, it’s another opportunity to prove that the Lumberjacks remain the team to beat in the Southland.

For Abilene Christian, it’s a chance to completely change the direction of an 0-2 start with one statement win.

Week 2 should tell us plenty about both.