And Then There Were Three
Three teams are still in the hunt for the Southland Conference championship and automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I Football Championship. Texas State and McNeese State are both 4-2, while Northwestern State, at 3-3, remains in the hunt for a championship, but only if McNeese State and Texas State both lose Saturday. Nicholls State, Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin have been eliminated from the championship picture. Central Arkansas, now 5-1, is ineligible for the conference championship and cannot participate in the playoffs because of its NCAA Championships ineligibility during its reclassifying transition into Division I.
McNeese State plays at Central Arkansas on Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on the Southland Conference Television Network at 4 p.m., CST. Also, Texas State travels to Sam Houston State for a 2 p.m. contest and Northwestern State is at Stephen F. Austin for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The other league game between Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State is set for a 1 p.m. start and will play a big role if a three-way tie for the championship occurs.
In order to win an outright championship at 5-2, Texas State needs a win and a McNeese State loss, while McNeese State needs a win and a Texas State loss. Should both the Bobcats and Cowboys win, the two teams share a co-championship at 5-2, but Texas State holds the tie-breaker for the NCAA automatic qualifier (AQ), having beaten McNeese State in Lake Charles the opening weekend of conference play. Thus, Texas State is the only team that controls its NCAA destiny this weekend.
Should both McNeese State and Texas State falter and Northwestern State win on Saturday, a three-way tie for the championship at 4-3 will be declared. To determine the NCAA AQ tie-breaker, a head-to-head comparison of the tied teams shows each squad is 1-1 against the other two teams, so the tie remains unbroken. The next tie-breaker is a comparison among the tied teams against the rest of the league in order of finish. Against UCA, all teams would be 0-1; so again, the tie remains unbroken.
The next comparison would come against two teams tied at 3-4, Sam Houston State and the winner of the Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls State game. Should Southeastern win and tie Sam Houston at 3-4, McNeese will be the automatic qualifier since the Cowboys swept the two tied teams, and Texas State and Northwestern split contests against Southeastern and Sam Houston. If Nicholls wins and ties Sam Houston at 3-4, Northwestern will be the AQ recipient because of its 2-0 record against Nicholls and Sam Houston (McNeese and Texas State would have split games against Nicholls and Sam Houston). There is no scenario for Texas State to represent the league in the NCAA Championship if a three-way tie occurs.
Finally, if only Texas State and McNeese State finish at 4-3, a co-championship is declared, but Texas State again has the head-to-head tie-breaker advantage and will receive the NCAA automatic bid.
Championships Announcement is Sunday at 6 p.m., Central
The NCAA will announce the 16 teams selected for the NCAA Division I Football Championship on ESPNU Sunday at 6 p.m., CST.
The Southland is one of eight conferences with an automatic qualifier for the tournament. The other conferences with automatic qualifiers include the Big Sky, Missouri Valley, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Ohio Valley and Southern conferences as well as the Colonial Athletic Association and the Patriot League. The other eight teams are selected as at-large participants.
First-round games will be played Saturday, Nov. 29. Quarterfinals will be played Saturday, Dec. 6. The first semifinal game will be played Friday, Dec. 12 and the other will be played Saturday, Dec. 13 with the winners advancing to Chattanooga, Tenn. for the championship game on Friday, Dec. 19.
Crucial League Game Gets Southland TV Audience
McNeese State is making back-to-back appearances on the Southland Conference Television Network after winning at Northwestern State in front of a Southland TV audience last Saturday. It had been announced going into that game that the winner would be get the “wildcard” slot on the network’s broadcast schedule.
Doug Anderson will handle play-by-play duties and LaDarrin McLane will be the color analyst. Dave Knobler, the host of “Inside the Southland Conference,” also serves as the sideline reporter during game telecasts. SLC NOW will over live video and audio streaming of all Southland TV Network telecasts for subscribers on southland.org. For more information about the network, including a complete listing of network affiliates, please visit southland.org.
Look Back at Last Week
In a battle of two of the three second-place teams in the Southland Conference, McNeese State walked away with a 24-17 victory at Northwestern State. The Cowboys head to Conway, Ark., next week for a 4 p.m. game at Central Arkansas, which assured itself no less than a first-place tie in the league standings with a 49-41 win at Stephen F. Austin. Texas State kept itself alive in the race for the Southland championship and automatic playoff berth by turning back Nicholls State 34-10 in San Marcos. Southeastern Louisiana pulled off a shocker in Huntsville, upending Sam Houston State 30-27 in overtime. Three teams, McNeese State, Texas State and Northwestern State remain in the championship race, while Southeastern, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls have all been eliminated from championship contention.
In the National Rankings
Both Central Arkansas and McNeese State continued to be the only Southland teams to appear in the top 25 of either the FCS Coaches or the Sports Network polls. This week, each team moved up one spot in the coaches poll and jumped two places in the Sports Network poll. Texas State received four votes in the coaches poll and 107 votes in the Sports Network poll, where it was joined by Northwestern State, which garnered two votes.
Players of the Week Announced
Southeastern Louisiana defensive back Tommy Connors was named the Southland Conference defensive player of the week, while his teammate, punter Cody Samples was named the conference special teams player of the week, the league office announced Monday. Central Arkansas running back Brent Grimes was the conference offensive player of the week. It is the first player of the week award this season for both Samples and Grimes, but was the second weekly award in 2008 for Connors.
Central Arkansas Cannot be Recognized as Champion
The Southland Conference announced Nov. 11 it had been notified by the NCAA that the league cannot award its 2008 championship to its reclassifying member Central Arkansas as planned, should the Bears finish the season in the top position of the league’s standings. By awarding a championship to UCA, or any declaration or reference by the Southland that the institution is the conference champion, the NCAA will revoke the league’s automatic qualification into the Division I Football Championship. The complete news release is available on page 12 of the Southland football weekly release.
Pendland Sets McNeese Rushing Record
McNeese State tailback Toddrick Pendland set a school single-season rushing record in the Cowboys’ 24-17 victory over Northwestern State last Saturday. Pendland ran the ball 24 times for 105 yards against the Demons to give him 1,321 yards for the season, breaking the mark of 1,313 yards that had been set in the 1952 season by Jules DeRouen. The game was the sixth time this season for Pendland to rush for more than 100 yards in a game.
Grimes Runs for Five Touchdowns
Central Arkansas’ Brent Grimes tied a school record with five rushing touchdowns in the 49-41 win at Stephen F. Austin. He finished with a career-high 145 rushing yards on 26 carries and also caught eight passes for 74 yards, accounting for 219 of the Bears’ 524 yards. Grimes, who was named the Southland’s offensive player of the week, is now third in career touchdowns at Central Arkansas with 38.
Bomar’s Career Day, Again
A week after throwing for 394 yards at Nicholls State, Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar completed 35-of-69 passes for 506 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In doing so, the senior signal caller became the Bearkats’ all-time leading passer, upping his career total to 5,227 yards. He moved past Arthur Louis, who threw for 4,902 yards from 1977-80. Bomar also became only the second quarterback in school history to pass for more than 500 yards in one game. The first was Dustin Long, who tossed for 577 yards vs. McNeese State in 2004. It was the sixth best single-game performance in the history of the Southland Conference and the most since last season when Stephen F. Austin’s Jeremy Moses, then a freshman, threw for 508 yards vs. Texas State.
Brown Tops 10,000 Career Yards
Central Arkansas quarterback Nathan Brown needed just 30 yards last week vs. Stephen F. Austin to get to 10,000 career yards. The 2007 Southland Offensive Player of the Year, ran for 46 and completed 31-of-40 passes for 335 yards, giving him 381 yards in the game and 10,351 yards in his career with one game remaining. He is the career leader among Arkansas college quarterbacks in both yardage and touchdown passes. He needs two touchdown passes to reach 100 for his career.
Moses Sets Conference TD Record
Stephen F. Austin sophomore quarterback Jeremy Moses threw three touchdown passes in the loss to Central Arkansas last week to give him 40 scores for the season, a Southland Conference record. Sam Houston State’s Dustin Long threw 39 touchdown passes in 2004. No other Southland quarterback has thrown more than 29 TD passes this season. Against the Bears, Moses completed 28-of-47 passes for 421 yards.
Moses Chasing Records
Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses is in hot pursuit of a couple of season records in the Football Championship Subdivision. Moses has completed 330-of-554 passes this season. The attempts record is within reach Saturday when he plays his last game of the season. The attempts record is 592 set by Southeastern Louisiana’s Martin Hankins in 2003. Moses is averaging 50.4 pass attempts per game. The completions record is 385, held by Villanova’s Brett Gordon (2002). If Moses could match the game he had Nov. 1 at Sam Houston State, he could tie the record. He completed 57-of-85 attempts in that game. Could he do it again?
Moses Leads Nation in Passing Yards
Moses has thrown for 3,785 yards, which is the third best season in the Southland record book. Sam Houston State’s Dustin Long threw for a conference-best 4,588 yards (333-of-531) in 2004 and Stephen F. Austin’s Todd Hammel, who threw for 3,915 yards (238-of-401) in 1989. Moses needs just 130 yards to match Hammel. No quarterback in the nation has attempted or completed more passes or has thrown for as many yards as Moses this season. Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph is second in passing yards with 3,522. Moses, a sophomore from Baytown, Texas, leads the nation with his 23.09 points responsible for per game.
Hello, Offense
Four Southland Conference teams are among the national leaders in total offense. McNeese State ranks fifth in the nation, averaging 464.70 total yards per game, just in front of Texas State, which is sixth with its 463.27 average per game. Sam Houston State is ninth with an average of 446.67 and Stephen F. Austin is 12th, averaging 421.36. Central Arkansas, which is not eligible for NCAA statistical rankings during its transition from Division II, is fourth in the Southland in total offense, averaging 439.6 yards per game.
Same Four Among Scoring Leaders
McNeese State is scoring 38.3 points per game this season to rank third among Football Championship Subdivision teams. Only Cal Poly (46.4) and Appalachian State (38.3) average more points per game. Texas State is sixth (37.5) while Stephen F. Austin (36.0) is 11th and Sam Houston State (34.2) is 17th. Five Southland teams rank in the top 50.
SFA, Sam Houston State among Leaders in Passing Offense
Stephen F. Austin is averaging 355.27 yards passing per game and that is the second-best figure in the FCS. The Lumberjacks trail only Portland State, which is averaging 375.10 yards per game. Sam Houston State ranks fourth in the FCS with its 338.11 yards through the air each game. Texas State is 17th (264.00) and Southeastern Louisiana is 21st (257.36).
McNeese State 11th in Pass Efficiency
With a pass efficiency rating of 149.71, McNeese State ranks 11th in the FCS. The Cowboys are second in the Southland behind Central Arkansas (163.10) though the Bears are not eligible for NCAA rankings. Texas State ranks 15th with a rating of 147.98.
Five SLC QBs in Top 37 in Efficiency
Five Southland Conference quarterbacks rank in the top 37 in passing efficiency, led by Texas State’s Bradley George, who ranks ninth with a rating of 162.10. Nathan Brown leads the Southland with a rating of 165.5 and would rank seventh. McNeese State’s Derrick Fourroux is 20th with a rating of 144.30, while Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar is 33rd with a 137.19 rating. Southeastern Louisiana’s Brian Babin is 36th with a rating of 135.91. Additionally, SFA’s Jeremy Moses is 37th with a rating of 135.01.
Four Teams in Rushing Top 25
McNeese State is the top rushing team in the Southland Conference and is ranked ninth in the nation with an average of 236.70 rushing yards per game. Nicholls State, which features the option offense, is ranked 17th with its 201.25 yards per game. Texas State is 19th, averaging 199.27 and Northwestern State is 31st with an average of 177.36.
Pendland Fifth in All-Purpose Yards
McNeese State’s Todd Pendland is fifth in the nation in all-purpose yards. He is averaging 180 all-purpose yards a game. Texas Southern’s William Osborne leads the nation with 204.20 yards per contest. Texas State’s Karrington Bush is seventh nationally averaging 176.55 yards. McNeese State’s Steven Whitehead is 26th in the nation, averaging 136.10 and Sam Houston State’s Catron Houston is 32nd with a 131.56 average.
Happy (Kickoff) Returns in Southland
Four conference schools rank in the top 23 of the FCS rankings for kickoff returns. Texas State is seventh nationally, averaging 23.70 yards per return. Southeastern Louisiana is 14th, averaging 22.79 yards per return. just behind the Lions, averaging 22.65 yards per return, is Northwestern State, which ranks 18th. Nicholls State is 23rd with an average of 22.11. Colonel Lardarius Webb ranks fourth in the nation in kick returns with an average of 29.50 yards per return. In eight games, the 2007 All-American has 16 returns for 472 yards and one touchdown and is averaging 2.0 returns per game.
Sam Houston State Fifth in Net Punting
Sam Houston State ranks fifth in the nation with a net punting average of 36.53 yards per punt. The Bearkats have punted 40 times for an average of 40.55 yards. Only 20 punts have been returned a total of 141 yards. Nicholls State (35.78) ranks 10th in net punting, while Texas State (34.74) and Stephen F. Austin (34.60) rank 20th and 22nd, respectively. Nicholls State punter Patrick Dolan is 11th in punting with a 42.39 average.
Houston Sixth in Receiving Yards/Game
Sam Houston State’s Catron Houston is sixth in the nation, averaging 106.33 receiving yards per game. In the overtime loss to Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday, Houston had eight catches for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He entered the game ranked 20th, averaging 90.25. Houston took over the Southland lead from Texas State’s Cameron Luke, who is sixth nationally this week with 104.73 receiving yards per game.
Stephen F. Austin’s Duane Brooks (86.67) is 25th and fellow Lumberjack Dominique Edison (86.27) is 26th. A total of five Southland receivers rank in the top 50.
Williams Leads SLC with 111 Tackles
Stephen F. Austin linebacker Jabara Williams recorded 18 tackles last week in the 49-41 loss to Central Arkansas. He was one of five Lumberjacks to have at least 10 stops in the game. Williams moved into the Southland lead with 111 tackles this season, moving in front of a pair of Lions. Tommy Connors, this week’s defensive player of the week, has 102 tackles just two in front of teammate Mark Newbill. Williams’ 10.09 tackles per game is 20th in the nation.
SFA’s Knicky Eighth Nationally in Tackles for Loss and Foruth in Sacks
Stephen F. Austin defensive end Tim Knicky ranks eighth nationally, averaging 1.73 tackles for loss per game. Knicky has made 15 solo tackles behind the line of scrimmage and has assisted on eight others. When it comes to sacks, Knicky ranks fourth nationally with an average of .91 sacks per game. In 11 games, Knicky has made eight sacks and has assisted on four others. Sam Houston State’s Chris Brown ranks 2nd in sacks, averaging .72 per game.
Southeastern’s Mike Lucas Sidelined
Southeastern Louisiana head football coach Mike Lucas will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2008 season, the university announced Oct. 14. Lucas, in his second year as head coach at Southeastern, underwent a successful heart valve procedure Oct. 30 and returned to Hammond the next week and was on the sideline Nov. 8 vs. Texas State to help recognize seniors at the home finale. Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell has served as the acting head coach.