Cardinals look to clinch Southland title
As Incarnate Word cornerback Brandon Richard was discussing the bonds the Cardinals have forged during the past year and a half, offensive lineman Dawson Kier and one of his teammates scampered shirtless through the door of the fieldhouse and onto the turf at Benson Stadium, trying to avoid the spray from each other’s water bottles on a brisk morning.
Since returning to campus last summer, UIW has pushed through fall practices, a six-game spring season, another summer session, a second fall camp and now the 2021 regular season. Richard said the unusual calendar with less time apart created a family atmosphere, as shown by his teammates’ post-practice antics.
The results are also evident on the field, with the Cardinals (8-2, 6-1 Southland Conference) winning more games than any previous squad in program history. UIW can claim an outright Southland Conference title for the first time with a victory against Houston Baptist at 2 p.m. Saturday in Houston.
“I want a championship of my own,” cornerback Brandon Richard said. “I want a ring for myself, and I want a ring for my brothers here. This is a great team and a big family. I want something to remember this whole family by, so this is a big deal to me.”
UIW is already guaranteed a share of the Southland title and a spot in the FCS playoffs after Southeastern Louisiana (8-3, 6-2) lost 45-42 at home to Nicholls on Thursday night. UIW holds the tiebreaker over Southeastern Louisiana after winning a 55-52 shootout Nov. 6.
The Cardinals have been to the playoffs just once, winning a share of the conference title in 2018 — before most of the current roster arrived in the program.
Coach Eric Morris said UIW submitted a bid to host an openinground playoff game, but the first order of business is handling Houston Baptist (0-10, 0-7), which stands as one of just two winless teams out of 123 FCS programs.
Richard said the Cardinals “can’t let anything stop us,” understanding how a subpar performance could carry over to next week.
Morris described the matchup as “the ultimate trap game if there ever was one.” He opened Tuesday’s team meeting by highlighting monumental upsets from around the country, including 31point
underdog Kansas beating Texas 57-56 in overtime last week.
“We challenged them to finish,” Morris said. “That’s been our motto all year, and this is the ultimate situation we wanted to be in, so can we go finish this thing off ?”
UIW is coming off what Morris described as a “gritty” 27-23 win last week at Nicholls — a venue Morris called “the hardest place to play in this conference” and where UIW had lost three straight matchups.
Often known for high-octane shootouts under Morris’ air raid system, the Cardinals’ leaned on their defense last week, forcing a turnover on downs inside the 10yard line on the Colonels’ final series.
UIW’S defense ranks among the 20 worst in the FCS in total yards
allowed but gave up just three second-half points Saturday, forcing three turnovers on downs and an interception.
“People that look at us, they see us as an air raid team,” Richard said. “But us in the building, we know the defense is just as big a part as the offense is, and this defense has improved tremendously, I would say exponentially. We try to just change the perception of what people think. They can think whatever they want to, but when they play us, they have to know, our defense is like that.”
The Cardinals’ offense also proved it has more than one dimension, winning a game without solely leaning on quarterback Cameron Ward.
UIW posted the lowest passing total of Morris’ tenure against
Nicholls at 108 yards but compensated with 268 on the ground, including third-quarter touchdown runs of 55 and 85 yards by running back Kevin Brown.
“It’s unique to see, because it was such a huge game, so doing something we don’t normally do, it shows we can win in different ways instead of just throwing the ball,” Brown said. “It opens the eyes of a lot of different people.”
When UIW beat Southeastern Louisiana two weeks ago, Ward threw for school records of 610 yards and seven touchdowns, earning national FCS offensive player of the week.
And when he connected on just 13 of 30 passes for 108 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions against Nicholls, the Cardinals showed they’re “pretty good in a bunch of areas,” Morris said, winning with defense and the ground game.
Richard said UIW “overall is way better than it was last year,” with more leadership and the ability to step up in one aspect of the game as other areas struggle. Morris sees it as a sign of a group with great chemistry.
“It’s just a testament to this team really truly coming together and not caring who gets the last play, but just fighting for one another and being unselfish,” Morris said. “You’re seeing that show up.”