Wow. What a weekend. Let’s talk about the big Southland wins!
On today’s Southland Scoop, the Southland Conference opened up its first in-conference games of the year. And what a wild twist and exciting ride this weekend has been. Three teams secure Southland wins with two grabbing their first of the season. A giant upset, a cohesion that’s been needed since week one and a dominant performance flooded the results. How does this shake up the conference in week four? We break down the most exciting moments.
SLU downs No. 4 UIW 41-35 in last minute showdown
Last time’s Southland Scoop featured UIW with another big win. However, Southeastern Louisiana University grabbed their second win of the season against No. 4 ranked University of Incarnate Word. The upset comes after SLU’s struggling of consistency in their first three games. Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Sawyer threw for 256 yards and placed redshirt senior wide receiver CJ Turner in position to nab 139 reception yards. In the fourth quarter, the scores stalled at 35-35 with SLU receiving the ball. “We started that drive with the run knowing that if Carlos was able to bust one we had two timeouts to play with,” Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said. “Once we had one play left, we knew we were going to take a shot. Eli and CJ made a great play.”
With 12 seconds left, Sawyer passed to Turner for a 59 yard game winning touchdown to secure their win over UIW. Although quarterback Lindsey Scott threw for 333 yards, the Lion defense found its footing late as SLU became victorious. This will leave a lot of questions as to whether or not SLU should be considerable in conference play, but the season is still full steam ahead until November. Look for more sparks and more team play in the upcoming weeks for the Lions.
Northwestern State dominates Lamar 35-27, grabs first win
A first in the Southland Scoop, Northwestern State nabbed their first win of the season against Lamar University in an eventful night at Harry Turpin Stadium. The Demons took control of their Southland Conference and home opener and defeated the Cardinals 35-27. The key for the win: consistency in the quarterback position. Sophomore quarterback Zachary Clement pushed Lamar’s defense to the edge with 28 completions on 48 attempts with 366 passing yards. “You saw some big plays on third down not only with his arm but also with his legs,” fifth-year head coach Brad Laird said. “That prompted us to get some rhythm and momentum late in the first half to lead us to victory.”
In his first start of the season, Clement beat his own career passing record, formerly at 214 passing yards from last week against the University of Southern Mississippi. Overall, a win is a win and Northwestern State did it in style. With NSU’s Family Day and the Inferno Run on the menu earlier in the day, the Natchitoches crowd was able to experience a gameday like no other.
Cohesion propelled McNeese ahead of Mississippi College 32-17
McNeese rushed for a season-high 350 yards behind the legs of D’Angelo Durham and Deonta McMahon as the Cowboys picked up a 32-17 win over Mississippi College and notching the first Division I win for head coach Gary Goff. Durham rushed for a career-high 157 yards while averaging 11.2 yards per carry and McMahon rolled up 138 yards, also a career-high and 11.4 yards per carry. McNeese led 18-7 at the half after Durham opened the scoring on a 49-yard run and a 2-point conversion run by Walker Wood to make it an 8-0 lead in the first 2:31 of the game.
After MC scored to cut the lead to 8-7, Cowboy kicker Garrison Smith nailed a 42-yard field goal and Lewis scooped up a fumble and returned it 46-yards for a touchdown. Knox Kadum completed 10 of 16 for 51 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboy offense recorded 401 total yards. “Knox loves to be challenged,” McNeese first year head coach Gary Goff said. “He is like my son.”
Here are the current Southland standings as week four comes to a close:
Southeastern |
SLC 1-0, OVR 2-2 |
Northwestern State |
SLC 1-0, OVR 1-3 |
Texas A&M Commerce |
SLC 0-0, OVR 2-2 |
HCU |
SLC 0-0, OVR 1-2 |
McNeese |
SLC 0-0, OVR 1-3 |
Nicholls |
SLC 0-0, OVR 0-4 |
UIW |
SLC 0-1, OVR 3-1 |
Lamar |
SLC 0-1, OVR 0-4 |
For More FCS and Southland Conference Content
Follow me on Twitter @v3dros for updates and new Southland Conference updates.