THIS WEEK IN THE SOUTHLAND
Saturday, September 7
RV McNeese at Texas A&M 11:45 a.m.
Southeastern at Southern Miss 6 p.m.
Prairie View A&M at Northwestern State 6 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State at Lamar 6 p.m.

20/21 Tarleton at HCU 6 p.m.

12/11 UIW at #1/1 South Dakota State 6 p.m.

23/25 Nicholls at (18/19) LSU 6:30 p.m.

RV SFA at North Texas 6:30 p.m.
Texas A&M-Commerce at #18/18 UC Davis 9 p.m.
All Times Central

LAST WEEK IN THE SOUTHLAND
Thursday, August 29
Tulsa 62, Northwestern State 28
Tulane 52, Southeastern 0
SFA 77, North American 0
Saturday, August 31

14/15 UIW 28, Northern Colorado 7

SMU 59, HCU 7
Texas State 34, Lamar 27
McNeese 21, Southern 7
Louisiana Tech 25, Nicholls 17
San Diego State 45, Texas A&M-Commerce 14

THE OPENING DRIVE

Taking Notice
Two Southland teams remain ranked in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Polls, while
three teams have began to receive votes. UIW saw upward movement, moving two spots
to 12 in Stats Perform and four spots to 11 in AFCA. Nicholls checked in at 23 and 25,
respectively. In the Stats Perform Poll, Lamar has began to receive votes in the Stats
Perform Poll, while SFA and McNeese are both receiving votes in the AFCA Poll.

National Audience
For the third straight week, the Southland Conference will feature nationally televised
game as McNeese will make their second appearance in three weeks, taking on Texas
A&M on the SEC Network. The Cowboys opened the season in Week 0 taking on nationally-ranked Tarleton on ESPN2, nearly pulled off an incredible comeback. Texas A&M Commerce took a 6-3 lead into halftime over San Diego State last week on TruTV before
the Aztecs pulled away in the second half. The biggest FCS game of the weekend features
No. 12/11 UIW traveling to Brookings to take on the No. 1 team and back-to-back national
champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

I’ll Take That
The defenses of Nicholls and UIW put together an incredible Week 1, checking in at No.
1 and No. 2 in turnover margin. The Colonels came away with five takeaways and blocked
a kick in their narrow defeat to FBS Louisiana Tech, while UIW came away with four
takeaways in the win over Northern Colorado. Four schools are in the Top 20 in FCS in
turnovers gained in Nicholls (2nd), UIW (4th), McNeese (7th), and Lamar (18th).

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 final NFL rosters in 2024.

2024 SOUTHLAND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JALEN WALTHALL • WR • R-JR • MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS

• In his first game as a Cardinal, Jalen Walthall led the UIW receiving core with 103 yards on five catches. His biggest play came in the second quarter as he broke a 7-7 tie with a 46-yardd touchdown to give UIW a lead they would never relinquish. Walthall averaged 20.6 yards per reception as he helped the 14th-ranked Cardinals to a 28-7 victory over Northern Colorado to open the season.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ELI ENNIS • LB • JR • OHATCHEE, ALABAMA

• Eli Ennis led a strong performance by the Colonel defense against FBS Louisiana Tech, totaling 10 tackles to go along with an interception and a fumble recovery. Both turnovers were firsts for the 2022 Freshman of the Year as he made his debut at inside linebacker. The defending champion Colonels finished with five takeaways for the game and limited the Bulldogs to 2.7 yards per rush.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STEPHEN JOHNSON, McNEESE • DL • R-FR • FAYETTEVILLE, GEORGIA

• Stephen Johnson came up with a play that turned the momentum McNeese’s way when he blocked a Southern field goal early in the fourth quarter with McNeese trailing 7-0. The block was returned inside the five and set up the first of three fourth quarter touchdowns for the Cowboys in a 21-7 come-from-behind over the Jaguars in their home opener.