» Nicholls tabbed as favorite of deep Southland Conference.
Last year’s Southland Conference preseason poll had Incarnate Word picked to finish ninth, with Lamar slotted 10th. When the dust settled four months later, UIW had claimed a share of the conference title, with third-place Lamar handing the Cardinals one of their only two league losses.
When the league released its 2019 preseason poll last month, defending co-champion Nicholls was the overwhelming favorite, garnering 20 of 22 possible firstplace votes from the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. The Colonels earned 200 points from the voters, outpacing second-place Central Arkansas (154) and third-place UIW (150).
The Cardinals and coach Eric Morris proved last season just how empty those totals can be.
“Last year, they were telling us we were going to be the worst in this conference, and we were able to overcome that. So we just reset,” Morris said. “The expectations are there. They weren’t there last year.”
Coaches and pundits alike say they expect the Southland to be filled with parity this year. Southeastern Louisiana coach Frank Scelfo, the offensive coordinator at UTSA in 2016 and 2017, said his group can beat or lose to every team on the Southland schedule this season.
K.C. Keeler, the coach of Sam Houston State since 2014, said the dynamic of the league has shifted from the days of haves and havenots.
“It’s amazing how much this conference has changed and grown in the last six years,” Keeler said. “Everyone will agree there has always been that little cluster at the top and that cluster at the bottom. It is just not that way anymore. There are a lot of resources now trying to catch the guys at the top and you could see that this (past year). The parity was incredible.”
Though the Southland may again offer a few surprises, Nicholls still enters it as the team to beat after a 9-4 season. The Colonels have a league-leading 11 selections on preseason all-conference teams, including eight first-team picks.
“Our focus is being about right now,” Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said. “Yesterday is gone.”
Among the Colonels’ first-team selections is senior quarterback Chase Fourcade, the 2018 SLC Player of the Year. Nicholls took a ground-and-pound approach last season, leading the conference with 246.8 rushing yards per game. Fourcade threw for 2,930 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he also ran for 659 yards and 13 scores.
“This is a new team with a new identity,” Fourcade said. “We’ve got to build that chemistry throughout the season.”
Central Arkansas’ top three corners and two of its top three safeties return, including all-conference safety Juan Jackson, who led the Bears with 91 tackles. Central Arkansas also brings back four starting offensive linemen.
UIW’s Morris, the Southland’s Coach of the Year in 2018, returns eight offensive starters to an airraid attack that averaged a leaguebest 483.2 yards per game en route to a 6-4 regular season, including a 6-2 mark in the league.
Jon Copeland, last year’s conference Freshman of the Year, returns after throwing for 2,984 yards and 22 touchdowns. Two years removed from going 1-10, UIW is coming off its first FCS playoff appearance.
Lamar coach Mike Schultz said his team, which won its final six regular season games to reach the FCS playoffs for the first time, doesn’t want to be “one-hit wonders.” Lamar, 7-5 a year ago, is seeking its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1967. Jordan Hoy inherits the starting quarterback spot, but the Cardinals have holes at receiver and in the secondary.
Wide receiver Nathan Stewart has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons for Sam Houston State, which has posted a school-record nine straight winning seasons. But the Bearkats’ 6-5 campaign is disappointing for a program that had a streak of seven straight FCS playoff appearances broken in 2018.
Stephen F. Austin is rebuilding following a 2-8 season, with Colby Carthel stepping in at head coach after winning 35 games, including the 2017 Division II championship, during the past three years at Texas A&M-Commerce.
“We’re taking over a team we didn’t recruit, and that poses some interesting challenges,” Carthel said. “The reality is, we’ve got a tough job ahead of us.”
McNeese State is moving to a spread offense with Cody Orgeron the trigger man. Northwestern State won three of its final four games in 2018.
Southeastern Louisiana’s strength is in special teams. Allconference return specialist Juwan Petit-Frere and punt returner Devonte Williams made the allconference first team in 2018. Punt returner Austin Mitchell was named to the 2019 preseason second team.
Houston Baptist junior quarterback Bailey Zappe tied for the conference lead with 23 passing touchdowns last season. The focus in 2019 for the Huskies is shoring up a defense that gave up in excess of 60 points three times last year.