Southland Saturday: Nov. 7
This week's matchups are highlighted by Texas State at No. 19/20 Central Arkansas game, which is the Toyota Game of the Week on the Southland Conference Television Network. The Bobcats were the Southland Conference champion last season though it was the Bears who finished with the best overall and league records. Central Arkansas was ineligible for the championship and cannot be the Southland's automatic qualifier into the NCAA playoffs during its transition from Division II. That will change next year when Central Arkansas is expected to become a full Division I member. Last year, Central Arkansas finished 10-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play while Texas State was 8-5 overall and 5-2. This year, Texas State and Central Arkansas enter their meeting with identical 5-3 records though the Bobcats are 3-1 and tied for first in the standings. The Bears sits just one game back at 2-2 in league play. Other games Saturday pit Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State at 2 p.m., Nicholls at No. 18/15 Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m. and Sam Houston State at No. 11/12 McNeese State at 7 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana (5-3, 3-1 Southland)
at Northwestern State (0-8, 0-4 Southland)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; 2 p.m., CST
Turpin Stadium; Natchitoches, La.
Series: Northwestern leads 27-25 Last Meeting: 2008, Southeastern 26-24
Southeastern Louisiana Game Notes | Southeastern Louisiana Twitter
Northwestern State Game Notes | Northwestern State Twitter | Streaming | Live Stats
Southeastern Louisiana Notes: Playing without injured QB Brian Babin and the team's top two receivers, Southeastern beat Central Arkansas 25-21 last week ... WR Chris Wilson's fourth quarter 16-yard TD grab proved to be the game winner ... SLU won for the fourth time at home this season and matched last year's win total (5) ... the win over a ranked UCA team was the first by the Lions since beating McNeese State in 2005 ... Tyler Beatty stepped in at QB and completed 23-of-35 throws for 297 yards and three TDs ... Wilson caught six passes for a career-high 169 yards ... SLU ranks eighth nationally in scoring (34.6), ninth in passing (288.1), 13th in passing efficiency (148.33) and 16th in total offense (414.8) ... Simmie Yarborough ranks ninth with 94.7 receiving yards per game on 6.9 receptions per game and is averaging 9.7 PPG to tie for seventh ... Babin ranks 17th in total offense (264.9) and 17th in pass efficiency (148.61).
Northwestern State Notes: Another game got away from the Demons in the fourth quarter as Northwestern dropped a 34-30 decision at Sam Houston State for its eighth loss this season ... QB Paul Harris tied a school record with four TD passes and ran for 144 yards while throwing for 263 to post 407 total yards ... but the true freshman fumbled and threw an interception to foil comeback bids in the fourth quarter ... Northwestern took a 30-27 lead when Harris hit William Griffin for an 8-yard scoring strike with 1:35 to play in the third and did not give up the go-ahead score until 5:37 in the fourth ... Northwestern is still looking for its first win under first-year head coach Bradley Dale Peveto ... this is the worst start in school history since 1974, when the team lost its first 10 before winning the season finale ... the Demons are averaging 15.9 points and 330.0 yards per game, while allowing 40.9 points and 445.4 yards.
Texas State (5-3, 3-1 Southland)
at No. 19/20 Central Arkansas (5-3, 2-2 Southland)
Southland Conference Television Network
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; 6 p.m., CST
Estes Stadium; Conway, Ark.
Series: Central Arkansas leads 2-0 Last Meeting: 2008, Central Arkansas 31-24
Texas State Game Notes | Texas State Twitter
Central Arkansas Game Notes | Central Arkansas Twitter | Live Stats
Southland Conference Twitter | Southland TV Twitter | Free Streaming on SLC NOW
Texas State Notes: The Bobcats won their third consecutive game and handed Stephen F. Austin its first conference loss to create a four-way tie atop the league standings ... QB Bradley George threw for 324 yards and a season-best four TDs ... George broke his own school record for completions as he completed 31-of-42 passes for 324 yards ... Texas State held the nation's top scoring offense to a season-low seven points as the Bobcats forced three turnovers ... Texas State ranks ninth in total offense (437.0), 10th in passing (283.2), 12th in scoring offense (33.6) and 25th in passing efficiency (140.06) ... Griggs averages 7.6 receptions per game to tie for sixth in the FCS and his 86.5 receiving yards tie him for 15th ... Bradley George is averaging 281.0 total yards to tie for 12th nationally and his 140.43 pass efficiency rating is ranked 30th ... limits opponents to only 1.3 sacks per game, which is tied for 23rd.
Central Arkansas Notes: The Bears could not overcome their largest halftime deficit of the season in a 25-21 loss at Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday ... UCA trailed 17-9 at the half and had just 180 yards of offense at intermission and had only three Eddie Carmona field goals of 33, 34 and 40 yards ... Central Arkansas scored the only third quarter points to take a 19-17 lead, but the Lions intercepted UCA three times in the fourth quarter and added the winning touchdown and two-point conversion with 8:18 to play ... UCA took a safety with 18 seconds left ... RB Brent Grimes' TD with 11:36 in the third quarter was the 53rd rushing score of his career, tying the school's scoring record ... UCA leads the Southland in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 15.4 points per game ... the Bears also lead the conference in kick returns (24.8) ... Carmona leads the conference on PAT kick percentage, having converted all 29 tries in eight games.
Nicholls (1-7, 0-4 Southland)
at No. 18/15 Stephen F. Austin (6-2, 3-1 Southland)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; 6 p.m., CST
Homer Bryce Stadium; Nacogdoches, Texas
Series: Stephen F. Austin leads 18-7 Last Meeting: 2008, Stephen F. Austin 50-39
Nicholls Game Notes
Stephen F. Austin Game Notes | Stephen F. Austin Twitter | Streaming | Live Stats
Nicholls Notes: The Colonels lost for the sixth consecutive time in a 38-17 defeat to McNeese State last Saturday ... it is the longest losing streak since dropping 13 consecutive games in 2000-01 ... Nicholls limited McNeese to just 305 yards of total offense, but allowed the Cowboys to start seven of their 11 drives in Colonel territory and five of those seven resulted in 31 points ... the Colonels rung up a total of 294 yards of total offense with 248 of it coming on the ground ... FB Marlin Meeks turned in career highs of 25 carries and 143 yards, adding a score ... Yashua Willis and Garrick Spain each recorded nine tackles ... Colonels are eighth in the FCS in net punting, averaging 38.02 net yards per punt ... P Patrick Dolan is seventh in punting with his 43.05 yards per punt ... Nicholls averages 10.6 yards per punt return to rank 30th nationally ... Nicholls averages 174.5 rushing yards per game to rank 21st in the FCS.
Stephen F. Austin Notes: The Lumberjacks were the last Southland team to lose a conference game this season, sustaining a 28-7 loss at Texas State, 2008 champion, last Saturday ... the loss snapped a six-game win streak dating back to Sept. 12 ... SFA outgained Texas State 416-376 in total yards, including a 151-52 advantage on the ground, but the Lumberjacks struggled in the red zone ... they entered the game 28-of-30 inside the red zone, but were only 1-of-4 at Texas State ... QB Jeremy Moses completed 29-of-43 passes for 244 yards and one TD ... SFA continues to lead the nation in scoring (39.8) and passing (348.4) and is third in total offense (480.6) and fifth in passing efficiency (156.56) ... defense is ranked 15th against the run (91.1) ... Moses ranks fourth in total offense (315.1) and 15th in passing efficiency (149.80) ... Tim Knicky is second in the nation in sacks, averaging 1.29 per game and is tied for 21st in tackles for loss, averaging 1.5 per game.
Sam Houston State (4-4, 2-2 Southland)
at No. 11/12 McNeese State (6-2, 3-1 Southland)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009; 7 p.m., CST
Cowboy Stadium; Lake Charles, La.
Series: McNeese State leads 22-7-1 Last Meeting: 2008, McNeese State 28-17
Sam Houston State Game Notes | Sam Houston State Twitter
McNeese State Game Notes | McNeese State Twitter | Streaming | Live Stats
Sam Houston State Notes: The Bearkats snapped a two-game losing streak with a 34-30 victory over Northwestern State last Saturday ... QB Blake Joseph passed for 332 yards and two TDs, including a 39-yard scoring strike to Jason Madkins for the winning score with 5:37 to play ... Madkins caught seven passes for 147 yards, while Chris Poullard added 22 carries for 89 yards including a TD ... the lead changed hands eight times in the contest ... Sam Houston totaled 520 yards of offense, 188 on the ground and 332 in the air ... Aston's average of 162.9 all-purpose yards ranks 10th in the FCS ... he ranks 22nd, averaging 25.1 yards per kick return ... Madkins is averaging 93.5 receiving yards per game to rank 10th ... Joseph's 282.7 yards of total offense per game ranks 11th ... Bearkats rank 10th in net punting (37.7) and 19th in punt returns (12.0) ... Brandon Closner ranks 17th averaging 11.8 yards per punt return ... P Michael Capparelli ranks 21st in punting (40.4).
McNeese State Notes: The Cowboys won for the third consecutive game thanks to sharp passing by QB Derrick Fourroux, who completed 19-for-26 passes for 155 yards and three TDs ... the Cowboys totaled 305 offensive yards and started seven of 11 drives on the opponent's side of the field ... Fourroux is getting closer ito taking over the school's passing and total offense records ... he has 9,307 yards of total offense (school record is 9,676 by Kerry Joseph) and has 7,539 career passing yards (record is 7,874) ... nationally, the Cowboys rank foruth in scoring offense (36.6), seventh in total offense (438.4), 10th in rushing (203.1), eighth in pass efficiency (154.07) and 26th in passing (235.3) ... TB Toddrick Pendland, who has missed all or portions of the last three games, ranks third in scoring (10.0) ... Fourroux ranks 12th in pass efficiency (153.20) and 14th with 273.0 yards of total offense ... Champlain Babin ranks 15th with 11.8 yards per punt return.