Week 9 Southland Football Preview

Week 8 across the Southland Conference gave us two clear-cut favorites (at least for now), a two-horse race for third place, and a slew of teams at 2-3, hoping the third-place teams falter along the way. No more non-conference play as the final weeks will decide who can take bids for the playoff picture as the scenarios continue to play themselves out.

Northwestern State (0-8, 0-5 SLC) at UIW (4-4, 3-2 SLC) 1 PM

The Demons and Cardinals have faced each other nine times, with the advantage going to UIW with six wins.

Back in 2023, the Demons and Cardinals were supposed to play each other in San Antonio, but the game was recorded as a forfeit/cancellation due to the death of a member of Northwestern State. In 2021, it was the Demons who took a narrow victory in the Alamo City, leaving 49-47 victors. The last UIW victory in San Antonio over Northwestern State was in 2015 with a final score of 45-31. The Cardinals have won the last four games in this series.

So close, yet so far, as the Demons suffered another one-possession loss in their last outing versus Nicholls.

Down by four in the closing seconds, Northwestern State had an opportunity to walk away with a win; instead, an intercepted pass in the end zone sealed their fate as their winless streak in conference continued. “We have to stop inventing ways to lose ball games. “Our offense has found some rhythm, and defensively we are coming around the corner.” Demons head coach Blaine McCorkle said when recapping the loss against Nicholls. “This time around it was special teams; we missed a field goal, and then we followed it up with a bad snap on an extra point, which cost us a total of four points.” On facing UIW on the road, “It is a place we have not been to in a little while; we lose a day of practice because of travel, but they do a really good job of spreading the ball around in different ways.”

UIW has enjoyed an undefeated start to their home schedule this season as they defeated McNeese 38-6.

Defensively for the Cardinals, Jeremiah “JY” Young had three sacks, which put him in a tie for the program record. Should Young record one sack against the Demons, he will become the program leader. Offensively, it became the Emmett Brown show as he totaled 355 yards of offense and produced 5 touchdowns for the Cardinals. “Our offense at home has been really good. Emmett (Brown) has been finding passing lanes and the offensive line has given time with spaces for the running game.” Cardinals head coach Clint Killough said during a recent interview. “Jeremiah (JY) has been anchoring our defense, and he is close to breaking a record with us, an unbelievable young man.

The Demons have been improving the last few weeks, and they’ve been in some close games, and we need to jump-start it early.”

Nicholls (3-5, 2-3 SLC) at McNeese (3-5, 2-3 SLC) 2 PM

Colonels and Cowboys meet for the 51st time overall, but as conference rivals, it will be the 34th time. The Cowboys lead the overall series 32-18, but in conference it is a 22-11 advantage. Nicholls has won the last five in a row in this series regardless of location. To find the last Cowboys win in Lake Charles, it was during the COVID season in April 2020, when McNeese came out with a 43-31 win.

The Colonels needed a defensive stop against Northwestern State to seal their 31-27 victory. It was Skylar Husband who intercepted a pass in the red zone to seal the win. Offensively for the Colonels, it was quarterback Chase Richardson who had a career day with 302 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. The win for Nicholls snapped a four-game losing streak. “It was a team effort out there. We had some stages of difficulty, but we were able to overcome and be able to walk away with a win.” Colonels head coach Tommy Rybacki said after the win over the Demons. “We have another tough one coming up on the road, and we need our guys to continue finishing plays on both sides. We have been progressing well, and our practices showed this week.”

It was a weekend to forget for McNeese as they struggled to find any rhythm on offense as they were held to six points, their lowest output this season. “It was not our day at the office; we gave them too many opportunities and credit to Coach Killough and their entire staff. They played a complete game.” Cowboys head coach Matt Viator said during his weekly press conference. “We need to be more aware of our assignments this week because Nicholls is a good team with a dual-threat quarterback, so we need to account for him.”

HCU (4-4, 3-2 SLC) at 7 SFA (8-0, 5-0 SLC) 2 PM

Huskies and Lumberjacks have played each other seven times overall, with SFA winning six and taking the last four in a row. To find an HCU victory, that came in 2016 in Houston, where the Huskies walked out with a 31-24 win.

HCU had an opportunity to shake up the Southland standings and give the rest of the FCS a wake-up call as they traveled to Beaumont to face Lamar. But reality set in as the Huskies could not keep the pace with the Cardinals. HCU trailed 14-10 at the break as they had the momentum thanks to a pick-6 by Javon Bejarano.

“We got a little bit off script in the second half, and we could not capitalize on the momentum we had. But give credit to them (Lamar); they are a great team.” Huskies head coach Jason Bachtel said. “SFA is the class of the league at the moment, and we need to be disciplined enough to make it a ball because they punish mistakes.”

The Lumberjacks continue to show why they are nearly worthy of a first-round bye team as they keep stacking wins, including their latest over Southeastern. The win for SFA also meant that it was the first time they have ever started the season 8-0 plus it also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Lions. “We still had mistakes out there, but we remained poised out there, and the home crowd really brought the energy in the fourth quarter,” said Lumberjacks head coach Colby Carthel, who recently penned an extension that keeps him in the East Texas region until 2031. “They (Lions) gave us a good run for our money, but now we must focus on Houston Christian. They have turned a few heads around with their performance inside the conference, and they run their offense similar to what we do, but they have some skilled players on defense that can hurt you even if they play a three-man system.”

22 Southeastern (4-4, 2-3 SLC) at East Texas A&M (2-6, 2-3 SLC) 3 PM

The battle of the Lions will take place in Commerce, Texas, this week (winner keeps the mascot name - I kid here). In all seriousness, these two teams have played each other 13 times, with seven wins going to Southeastern and one tie in the process. As conference rivals, they have faced each other only four times, with Southeastern winning three of them. The only East Texas A&M win among conference opponents came in 2022 in Hammond as they won 31-28. The last victory in Commerce for East Texas A&M over Southeastern was in 1964.

The Lions continue floundering between being a top 25 for the last few weeks. In their most recent game against SFA, Southeastern were able to hang around and keep it a single-possession game. It was until midway past the third quarter when the Lumberjacks pulled away. “There were some things that got away from us during the end of the third quarter and the end of the game, and that is on me as a head coach,”

Southeastern head coach Frank Schelfo said during his weekly press conference. “I know that East Texas A&M has played four quarterbacks this season, but they do have some weapons on the perimeter that can cause some issues, plus their running backs can do some damage.

Their defensive interior has been really good; they have 40-plus tackles for loss, and they have been playing well.”

East Texas A&M closed out their non-conference schedule with a home loss to Prairie View A&M 30-19. “It was not good for us because we did not finish drives, and that's not a formula for success.” Lions head coach Clint Dozel said during his weekly coaches show. “Southeastern is a good ball club that can hurt you in so many ways with their QB Lowe out there. Defensively, they can wreak havoc and flip the game in a hurry.”

15 Lamar (6-2, 4-1 SLC) at UTRGV (4-4, 2-3 SLC) 7 PM

The last time these two teams met was in Beaumont last season, when the Cardinals needed a last-second field goal to avoid an upset against UTRGV and walk away with a 23-21 win on October 18, 2025.

Lamar used an early second-half offensive blitz and timely turnovers to defeat upset-minded HCU 35-10 last Saturday on Homecoming Day. “Our defense did some work for us during the second half, holding the Huskies scoreless. We made a few adjustments as far as reading the game, and it propelled us to get a nice homecoming win.” Cardinals head coach Pete Rossomando said when recapping the game against HCU.

When asked about playing in the southernmost part of Texas, specifically in Edinburg, Rossomando responded, “Maybe they will put you in the booth instead of being out in the general crowd like they did with you in Idaho.

Coach Bush has done a very good job with that team and recently went on the road and defeated a good UCA team.”

UTRGV responded to some doubts that the fan base had with an overtime win over UCA 30-27. Garrett Rangel returned from an injury he sustained during the McNeese game earlier in the season, having 258 yards of total offense and two touchdowns to lead the Vaqueros. “It was great to see Rangel take control of the reins again.

He understood the game plan and there were some miscues, but he was able bail us out in a few third and long situations that gave the offense some confidence.” Vaqueros head coach Travis Bush said during his weekly media availability. “Now we prepare for a very explosive team in Lamar, a team I expect in the playoff field when it is said and done, but we also need to continue focusing on ourselves and be the best version we can be.”