WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
Northwestern State at Nicholls 11 a.m.
Lamar at Texas A&M-Commerce 3:30 p.m.
SFA at RV Southeastern 4 p.m.
McNeese at #13/14 UIW 4 p.m.
THE OPENING DRIVE
UIW Avenges Last Season
Last season, Nicholls snapped UIW’s 15-game home winning streak with a 45-32 win, earning the regular season title and a berth in the FCS Playoffs. The loss ultimately kept UIW out of the playoffs despite an 8-2 record. The two teams reconvened in San Antonio this past Saturday and the Word avenged their loss in a huge way, dominating the Colonels from the start en route to a 55-10 win. Zach Calzada was the star of the show with five touchdown passes on the evening as the Cardinals moved to 1-0 in Southland play.
SFA Earns Nationally-Ranked Win
The SFA Lumberjacks continued their strong play this season, moving to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the SLC with a massive 27-20 road win over previously nationally-ranked Lamar. Sam Vidlak continues his impressive with 329 yards passing and a touchdown pass. That pass went to Kylon Harris, who caught 10 balls for 106 yards. Qualan Jones also had a day with 126 yards rushing and two scores.
Lions Roar to 2-0 Start
The Southeastern Lions regained their footing in the Southland as they moved to 2-0 in the league with a dominant 37-7 win over HCU. Three Lions had 50 or more rushing yards in Rodeo Graham (109), Antonio Martin Jr. (93), and Harlan Dixon (52), while Eli Sawyer tossed a pair of touchdown passes. The always-electric Darius Lewis had a pair of punt returns of 62 and 55 yards, while the Lion defense held a HCU squad that had over 600 yards of offense a week ago to 326.
A&M-Commerce Returns to the Win Column
Texas A&M-Commerce found themselves back in the win column after defeating Northwestern State on the road, 42-21. The win snapped a 10-game skid for the Lions and earned their first conference win since a 41-10 win over McNeese on Oct. 7, 2023. Ron Peace threw for 275 yards and three scores and added a touchdown run. Christian Jourdain caught a pair of touchdowns, while Brandon Tucker Jr. continued his terrific season defensively with seven tackles and 2.0 TFL.
2024 SOUTHLAND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
ZACH CALZADA, UIW • QB • GR • BUFORD, GA
• Zach Calzada continues to put up impressive numbers, leading No. 15 UIW to a 55-10 victory over Nicholls last Saturday night. He finished the night going 25 of 33 for 270 passing yards and five touchdowns as the Cardinals took care of business in the FCS National Game of the Week. His incredible 71-yard bomb to Jalen Walthall, with the Nicholls defense on his heels, made SC Top 10 plays.
Other nominees:
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
DUNE SMITH, UIW • LB • JR • MIAMI, FLORIDA
• Dune Smith capped off the 55-10 victory over Nicholls, returning an interception 55 yards and diving into the endzone to cap the win with three minutes to go in the fourth. This marked his first defensive touchdown of the year and was the icing on the cake in a dominant win in the FCS National Game of the Week. Smith added 10 total tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss to go with his INT.
Other nominees:
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
DARIUS LEWIS, SOUTHEASTERN • WR • SR • NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
• Darius Lewis set a new single-game school record with 39.3 yards per punt return in Southeastern’s 37-7 league victory at HCU. The senior preseason All-American had punt returns of 62 and 55 yards – the latter of which set up a touchdown that helped Southeastern add onto the lead and pull away for victory.
