THIS WEEK IN THE SOUTHLAND
Thursday, August 29
Northwestern State at Tulsa 7 p.m.
Southeastern at Tulane 7 p.m.
North American at SFA 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 31
Northern Colorado at #14 UIW 6 p.m.
HCU at SMU 7 p.m.
Lamar at Texas State 7 p.m.
Southern at McNeese 7 p.m.

23 Nicholls at Louisiana Tech 7 p.m.

Texas A&M-Commerce at San Diego State 7 p.m.
All Times Central

THE OPENING DRIVE

New Kids on the Block
After a three year hiatus with stints in the WAC and the UAC, Stephen F. Austin has
returned to the Southland Conference as they kick off their 2023 football season against
North American on Thursday night. The Lumberjacks are four time SLC champion (1989,
1999, 2009, 2010) and won one title in the WAC. In addition, UTRGV also joined the
Southland Conference and will bring football to The Valley in 2025, opening the season
against Sul Ross.

Two Teams in the Top 25
he UIW football team was ranked No. 14 while defending Southland Champion Nicholls
was ranked No. 23 in the 2024 FCS Preseason Top 25. The Word has now been active in
the Stats Perform rankings for 39-straight weeks, the fifth longest behind North Dakota
State, South Dakota State, Montana, and Montana State. Meanwhile the preseason
favorite Colonels are coming off its third SLC title in the last six years and fourth playoff
appearance under Tim Rebowe. It was their first-ever undefeated season in conference
play, putting together a tremendous season that included a road wins over 2022
champions UIW and rival Southeastern.

National Audience
The McNeese Cowboys opened the season in Week 0 taking on nationally-ranked Tarleton
on ESPN2. The Cowboys nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, trailing by 16 in the
fourth quarter, but a missed field goal in the final second just missed to give McNeese a
narrow 26-23 to the 22nd-ranked Texans. A Southland school will be nationally televised
again this week as Texas A&M-Commerce will battle San Diego State on TruTV.

Two Draft Picks
Early in April at the 2024 NFL Draft, two Southland alum heard their names called in Jaylx
Hunt of HCU and Levi Drake Rodriguez of Texas A&M-Commerce. Hunt was selected in
the third round with Pick 94 by the Philadelphia Eagles, while Rodriguez was selected in
the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings. Both Hunt and Rodriguez made the 53-man
rosters during training camp. They are two of six SLC alums on NFL final rosters in 2024