Week 6 Southland Football Preview

Week 5 gave us a near upset, boosting wins for a couple of schools, others leaving with their heads scratching, and non-conference action is nearing its end. Additionally, plenty of schools are on the bye week this time around, and they include: McNeese, Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin, Nicholls, Houston Christian, and East Texas A&M.

UIW (2-3, 1-1 SLC) at 11 Lamar (4-1, 2-0 SLC) 3:00 p.m.

The battle of the Cardinals in Beaumont, Texas, this week, where both teams wear different tones of red, shares the colors black and white either outline or complement the rest of the uniform. The all-time series against San Antonio’s version of the Cardinals has not favored Lamar. Lamar is 4-8 (.333) all-time against UIW and is just

.500 at home in the series (3-3). The Cardinals enter Saturday’s contest looking to put an end to a six-game slide - a stretch that has seen Lamar held to 20 or fewer points in each of the past six losses. LU’s last win in the series came back in 2018 when Lamar blocked a field goal with seconds remaining and returned it 66 yards for the game- winning score. Last season, UIW pulled an upset by defeating Lamar in San Antonio 24-17. Lamar entered the game last season with a seven-game win streak while being nationally ranked at the time and boasting an undefeated conference record.

As for UIW, they nearly knocked off a nationally ranked SFA on the road, falling on the short end of a 28-26 defeat. The Cardinals were trailing late into the fourth quarter.

Emmett Brown connected on a catch-and-run with Jacob Emmers for 53 yards to make it 28-26 with 22 seconds left. UIW attempted the two-point conversion, which was called incomplete, but an offensive penalty gave them another opportunity, and they were not successful. Brown had 406 yards of total offense and two scores. “We are closing out this three-game run on the road, and I feel that the team's mental fortitude is improving because we show no quit and we have been playing our opponents to a full 60 minutes and then some.” Head coach Clint Killough said during his coaches show.

In the last game that Lamar played, it ran away with a 42-14 win over Northwestern State. Lamar University scored 35 first-half points and put up nearly 500 yards of offense. The win for Lamar is their third straight and improves the Cardinals to a 4-1 record for a second straight season. More importantly, Lamar opens Southland

Conference play 2-0. Aiden McCown was near-perfect behind center, leading an offense that recorded 480 total yards, including 250 on the ground. McCown completed 9-of-11 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball four times for 49 yards and a score. Head coach Pete Rossomando commented on the team's defensive efforts: “We have been causing havoc all on defense, and some of it has

transitioned into our offense. We have been seeing great things, but UIW presents a great challenge at home.”

Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 1-1 SLC) at UTRGV (2-3, 1-2 SLC) 7:00 p.m.

The last meeting between these two teams came last season in Hammond, where the Vaqueros were welcomed into the Southland Conference debut. The Lions took the contest 45-31, which made them a playoff football team, and the Vaqueros had one of the best seasons for an FCS debutant.

The Lions are coming off a bye week, but in their most recent game, SLU went on the road and took care of business against Northwestern State 52-21. Additionally, the Lions are closing out a three-game road trip, as they are 2-1 overall on the road, while riding a three-game winning streak. While on this three-game road trip, the Lions have their most recent FBS scalp by defeating ULM. “We are excited to go down and experience a ball game which will have over ten thousand people and a packed stadium. They have been very good to the league, and we want to experience it for ourselves, but also, we have to take care of business.” Frank Schelfo said during his weekly press conference.

As for UTRGV, it seems that they are two different versions of this season's team: the team that plays undefeated at Vackar Stadium and the team that plays very suspect on the road. The version that played on the road last week in a gut-wrenching loss to East Texas A&M. “This week our practices have been very sharp and intense. This will be the first time the valley will get to see a potential playoff team, a team that is ranked, but

we are excited to be at home.” Vaqueros head coach Travis Bush said. “Coach Schelfo has his team running on high cylinders right now; they will be difficult to contain with their stable of running backs, and their QB Kyle Lowe doing some really good things at the moment.”