Four Southland Teams Play at Home in Week Two
FRISCO, Texas - Four Southland Conference teams will open the home portion of their schedules Saturday. Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, No. 12/10 Stephen F. Austin and Texas State all play at home a week after playing road games against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A). Samford visits Northwestern State, Tennessee-Martin visits Southeastern Louisiana, Albany visits Stephen F. Austin while Texas State welcomes Southern Arkansas.
With only seven Southland teams playing this week, three teams play away from home. Nicholls stays on the road visiting Western Michigan. A week after its home opener, No. 10/13 McNeese State visits Missouri, while Central Arkansas travels to No. 22/23 Eastern Illinois. Sam Houston State has an open date this week before visiting Western Illinois Sept. 18.
Central Arkansas, McNeese State Open with Wins
Central Arkansas opened its season with a 47-20 home victory over Elizabeth City State Sept. 2. McNeese State renewed its rivalry with Lamar with a 30-27 victory in Lake Charles on Saturday.
Bears' quarterback Nathan Dick completed 26-of-35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in his first start at UCA. He added 32 yards rushing. Kenneth Robey caught nine passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears totaled 585 yards of total offense.
McNeese State game vs. Lamar marked a renewal of a rivalry that had its last game 21 years ago, the year that Lamar dropped the sport. The Cardinals are playing their first season in 2011 and will rejoin the Southland Conference next year. Cowboy quarterback Jacob Bower, a transfer from Tulsa, completed 18-of-31 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, while freshman Marcus Wiltz rushed for 160 yards.
The league was 2-6 the opening week of the season with all six losses coming against the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Five More Games Against FBS in 2010
The Southland Conference was 0-6 against the Football Bowl Subdivision in the opening week of the season, dropping games to Tulane and Houston out of Conference USA, Baylor and Texas A&M out of the Big 12 and Air Force and San Diego State out of the Mountain West. Southland teams will play a total of 11 games against the FBS. This week, McNeese State visits Missouri (Big 12) and Nicholls visits Western Michigan (Mid-American). Other games against FBS schools this season include Central Arkansas at Tulsa (Sept. 25), Southeastern Louisiana at Louisiana-Monroe (Sept. 25) and McNeese State at LSU (Oct. 16),
Last year, Central Arkansas beat Western Kentucky for the Southland's 14th win against the FBS sicne 2000. Since 2000, Southland teams have played to within 14 points of FBS teams a total of 18 times.
Stephen F. Austin, McNeese State Among Ranked Teams
Stephen F. Austin slipped in this week's polls, falling to No. 12 in the FCS Coaches poll and No. 10 in the Sports Network poll. The Lumberjacks entered the season ranked eighth in both polls, but fell after the 48-7 defeat at Texas A&M, of the Football Bowl Subdivision, last week. After beating Lamar in its season opener, McNeese State had mixed results. It climbed one spot to No. 10 in the FCS Coaches poll, but dropped one spot to No. 13 in the Sports Network poll. Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State also are receiving votes in the polls, as is Lamar, which returns to the Southland Conference in 2011.
Key Performances of Week One
- There was only one 100-yard rusher in the opening week of play. That was McNeese State tailback Marcus Wiltz, the conference's offensive player of the week, who, in his debut for the Cowboys, carried the ball 26 times for 160 yards in a 30-27 victory over Lamar.
- There were two receivers who notched 100-yard games in week one. Central Arkansas' Kenneth Robey caught nine passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears' 47-20 victory over Elizabeth City State Sept. 2. Northwestern State's Bradley Brown caught six passes for 111 yards in the Demons' loss at Air Force.
- Central Arkansas' Nathan Dick was the Southland's only quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in the opening week of the season. Dick, who transfered from Arkansas, completed 26-of-35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns, all to Robey.
- There were two defenders with double-digit tackles totals. Stephen F. Austin's Jabara Williams had 10 tackles at Texas A&M and Southeastern Louisiana's Mark Newbill registered 10 tackles at Tulane.
- SFA's Kenneth Charles was the only Southland player with multiple sacks in week. He had the only two sacks of Texas A&M signal caller Jerrod Johnson. He also had another tackle for loss.
- Texas State intercepted Houston quarterback Case Keenum, a Heisman cadndidate, twice. Brian Lilly and T.P. Miller each had a pick against the Cougars. Malcolm Bronson and Brandon Robinson each had picks in McNeese's home game vs. Lamar. Southeastern Louisiana's Re'Keem Wilson also had an interception against Tulane.
Conque Ties for UCA Coaching Milestone
With a win against Elizabeth City State to open the season, Central Arkansas coach Clint Conque tied the school record with 74 coach victories. He is tied with UCA Sports Hall of Famer Harold Horton, who was 74-12-5. A win this week at Eastern Illinois would put Conque, who is in his 11th season, alone atop that list.
SFA Quarterback Tops Southland Chart
Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses became the Southland Conference's all-time leader in completions last Saturday against Texas A&M. On his ninth completion of the game, a 17-yard strike to Cordell Roberson, he moved ahead of Central Arkansas' Nathan Brown. Moses now has completed 867 passes after finishing the game with 19-of-37 accuracy for 171 yards and a score. The touchdown to Roberson was Moses' 88th career touchdown pass.
Moses Headlines Walter Payton Award Watch List
Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses headlines the initial watch list for the 2010 Walter Payton Award. Moses was the 2009 Southland Conference Co-Player of the Year and is already SFA's all-time leader in completions, touchdown passes, passing yards and total offense. He is on pace to become the conference's all-time leader in all four of those categories. The senior from Baytown, Texas (Lee), has recorded 18 300-yard passing games, four 400-yard passing games and one 500-yard effort during his career. Moses was the highest vote-getter among the returning players, finishing in seventh place in balloting last year.
SFA's Williams on Buchanan List
Stephen F. Austin linebacker Jabara Williams has been named to the watch list for the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award. Williams is one of 20 players to appear on the watch list for the Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. The award is sponsored by Fathead.com. The Lumberjack senior was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection and a second-team Sports Network All-American in 2009. A native of Garrison, Texas (Garrison), Williams finished third in the conference with 113 total tackles, averaging 8.7 per game. He registered 9.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks, and was credited with seven pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Seven Southland Players Named TSN Preseason All-Americans
Seven Southland Conference football players, including Texas State guard D.J. Hall and Stephen F. Austin linebacker Jabara Williams who both earned first-team recognition, have been named preseason All-Americans by the Sports Network.
Hall, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound native of Palestine, Texas, was also named a first-team preseason All-America selection by Phil Steele and a second-team selection by Lindy's. Last season, he was a first-team All-Southland Conference performer as an offensive lineman after being named a second-team selection in 2008. Hall started 11 games and helped the Bobcats hold their opponents to an average of 1.36 sacks per game. He and the Bobcat offensive line paved the way for the offense to gain an average of 422 yards and score 32 points per game. He has started 24 straight games for Texas State entering the 2010 campaign.
One of the Southland Conference's leading tacklers, Williams recorded another outstanding season for the Lumberjacks in 2009. He finished second on the team with 87 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for losses and one sack. A two-time All-American, Williams helped lead a resurgent SFA defense that was one of the toughest in the nation. Williams, who led the conference in tackles following his sophomore season, led a defense that was one of the most improved in the country. The Lumberjacks finished the season ranked sixth in the country in sacks, and 18th in tackles for a losses.
The Southland landed three players on the second-team, including SFA quarterback Jeremy Moses and Southeastern Louisiana receiver Simmie Yarborough on offense. Central Arkansas defensive end Markell Carter also earned second-team laurels.
Stephen F. Austin Favored to Repeat in Southland
Stephen F. Austin, coming off its third Southland Conference regular-season title and first since 1999, is favored by both the coaches and sports information directors to repeat as conference champions in 2010. The Lumberjacks, which shared the 2009 title with McNeese State, received seven out of a possible eight first-place votes and 49 points in each of the coaches' and SID polls. Voters could not vote for their own teams. Southland coach of the year J.C. Harper and the Lumberjacks return 16 starters and 40 letterwinners, including senior quarterback Jeremy Moses, the 2009 Southland co-player of the year and senior defensive back Andre Banks, last year's newcomer of the year. Stephen F. Austin, which finished 10-3 overall and 6-1 in Southland play, will look to record its first two consecutive conference titles in school history and a return trip to the FCS playoffs.
UCA Has Completed Transition
The Bears have completed their four-year transition to NCAA Division I and are fully eligible for postseason play this fall. Central Arkansas finished with a league-best 6-1 football mark in 2008 but was ineligible to win the conference title or participate in the NCAA playoffs during its transition. In three years as a member of the Southland Conference, UCA is 21-14 overall and 13-8 in league play. The Bears return 10 starters and 40 letterwinners in 2010.
Lamar Rejoins the Southland in 2011
After a 20-year absence, Lamar is fielding a football team in 2010. The Cardinals will play as an unclassified team this season when it plays an 11-game schedule that includes four Southland Conference teams: McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State. Lamar rejoins the Southland next season for a full slate of conference games.