The 2025 FCS football season is fast approaching, so we’re going inside each conference race. With defending champ UIW still leading the way, here’s our Southland Conference preview.
Southland Conference football can’t wait to get its 2025 season underway – literally.
The Southland is home to the first college football game on American soil this season, with its two most-recent champions – Nicholls in 2023 and UIW last year – set to square off on Aug. 23 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It also will mark the first conference game to be played in Week 0 since the early openers became a regular part of FCS football in 2014.
UIW, under third-year coach Clint Killough, is widely regarded as the leading national championship contender outside the Big Sky and Missouri Valley conferences. At No. 5 in the Stats Perform Preseason FCS Top 25 Poll, the Cardinals are ranked four spots higher than any other team that is not in the two top FCS leagues.
Following is a preview of the upcoming Southland Conference football season:
Predicted Order of Finish
*-FCS Playoff Qualifier; Ranking from Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll
1. *UIW (11-3, 7-0; Preseason No. 5) – Quick chemistry is key for the transfer-bolstered defending Southland champs, who face the added pressure of high expectations. Quarterback Richard Torres will guide one of the more potent offenses in the FCS, which includes wide receivers Jalen Walthall (85 receptions, 1,290 yards, 14 touchdowns) and Chedon James (Fresno State, but a 2023 All-American at Idaho State) and running backs Jaylan Spears (2023 Southland player of the year at Nicholls) and Lontrell Turner, among others. Declan Williams (62 tackles, 11.0 TFLs) drops back to linebacker alongside Dune Smith (80 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 6.0 sacks). The transfer additions to the defense include defensive backs Tyler Morton (Nicholls) and Quinton “Page” Cage (Louisiana Tech).
Expected win-loss projections for Southland Conference football teams in the 2025 regular season, according to Opta Analyst advanced data. (Graphic by Graham Bell)2. Stephen F. Austin (7-5, 4-3; No. 23) – Quarterback Sam Vidlak’s breakout 2024 season was cut short by injury, but he still passed for 2,387 yards and 27 TDs in nine games, with a 177.3 pass efficiency rating that is best among this year’s returning FCS signal-callers. Vidlak will get the ball in the hands of WR Kylon Harris (87-1,039-10) and RBs Jaylen Jenkins and Jerrell Wimbley. The defense boasts enforcers in DT Edward Bobino III and LB Aaron Austin, while the secondary returns cornerbacks Charles Demmings and Aaron Sears. If the Lumberjacks (just 1-4 in games decided by seven or fewer points) manage their way through September and October, the schedule lightens in November.
3. Southeastern Louisiana (7-5, 6-1) – The Lions made a case for an at-large playoff bid while playing their best football in the second half of the 2024 season. Former South Dakota and Sacramento State QB Carson Camp will make a big impact while working with WR Jaylon Domingeaux, but it will be difficult for the offense to replace 1,200-yard rusher Antonio Martin Jr., even with the return of standout linemen Javin Turner and Holden Kareokowsky. Defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor racked up 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks as a junior, and LB KK Reno had a team-high 94 stops. Prairie View A&M transfer Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez kicked three field goals of 50+ yards last season.
4. Lamar (7-5, 4-3) – The Cardinals went 5-23 from 2020-22, but have opened the Pete Rossomando coaching era with their first back-to-back winning records since 1966 and ’67. With the return of 14 starters (including special teams), they only have intentions of moving forward. Quarterback Robert Coleman has been highly productive (4,138 total yards, 38 total TDs) in his first two seasons as a starter. He has a solid offensive line and can again target WR Kyndon Fuselier (31-513-2) and tight end Devyn Gibbs. Defensive backs Kristian Pugh (72 tackles) and Ronnie Hamrick (68 tackles) ranked third and fourth, respectively, in tackles.
5. Nicholls (4-8, 2-5) – Following Tim Rebowe’s retirement after 10 seasons, Tommy Rybacki was elevated from defensive coordinator to become a first-time head coach. He’s well-versed in the physicality of the defense, particularly LB Jake Dalmado (41 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 9 sacks) and DT Rasheed Lovelace (46 tackles), who were both Stats Perform Preseason All-Americans. In addition, LB Hayden Shaheen and DB TY Marsh return. Miequel Brock is a gamebreaker who rushed for 479 yards and caught 27 passes as a freshman.
6. McNeese (6-6, 3-4) – What’s old is new … and it’s embraced in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Matt Viator is back as head coach for a second stint, previously going 78-33 with four Southland titles and five FCS playoff appearances from 2006-15. A lot has changed since then. The offense will look quite different as Texas Tech transfer QB Jake Strong (19-for-37, 236 yards, TD in a 2023 start against BYU) seeks to produce points along with RB Bryce Strong and OL William Bressi. The Cowboys are replacing eight of last year’s top-nine tacklers, including do-everything Micah Davey. Defensive back Javon Davis is the veteran anchor, and DEs A’ron Thomas and Masey Lewis the rising standouts.
7. East Texas A&M (3-9, 2-4) – No returning Southland QB had more passing yards than Ron Peace’s 2,535 and he added 16 TD passes, but he will need to cut down on the 14 interceptions. He will throw to a veteran receivers unit, led by Christian Jourdain (51-683-6). Despite key defensive losses, LB Kyree Anderson (87 tackles, six TFLs) and DB Lavon Williams (55, six) are steady returnees. A home upset of SFA highlighted last season. This year, a tough nonconference mix and beginning to the Southland schedule awaits the Lions, who are playoff-eligible for the first time.
8. Houston Christian (5-7, 3-4) – The Huskies were quite competitive in coach Jason Bechtel’s first season, but this year’s lineup will be quite different with an expected boost from FBS and junior college signees. While they will have a new starting quarterback (perhaps Mississippi State transfer Jake Weir), there are plenty of offensive touches to go around to RBs Daryl Evans and Champ Dozier and WR Deuce McMillan. Safeties Zayteak McGhee (53) and Xavier Toliver (49) return to a defense that lost its six leading tacklers.
9. Northwestern State (0-12, 0-7) – The Demons begin the season with a 20-game losing streak – twice as long as any other FCS program. Coach Blaine McCorkle went heavy on transfers to jump-start a defense that ranked 127th in yards allowed per game (499.0) and 128th in points allowed per game (45.4) in the 129-program FCS. Despite the loss of the nation’s leading tackler, Blake Gotcher, the linebackers unit still features Landy Huddleston (63 tackles) and Danny Sears (52), while CB Caesar Magee III (63) also is back. The offense has young building blocks with WR Amaaz Eugene and OL Ryan Larson.
10. UTRGV (2025 inaugural season) – UTRGV’s debuting program is now the southern-most in the FCS, located way down in Edinburg, Texas. The start-up Vaqueros, who already enjoy high community support, will play three sub-Division I teams and Prairie View A&M from the SWAC before embarking on an eight-game Southland schedule. Coach Travis Bush’s staff has offensive minds, so it’s not surprising QB Atzel Chavez Jr. was a standout in the spring. Wide receiver Tony Diaz and DB Marcus Heard Jr. are other players to know on a team that seeks an upset or two.
How the Conference Predicted the Race
The 2025 Southland Conference preseason poll. pic.twitter.com/bGTnX0i2Ai
— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) July 21, 2025Five Players to Watch
Carson Camp, QB, Southeastern Louisiana – Camp had a banner 2021 season at South Dakota (2,252 passing yards, 65.2 completion%, 17 TD passes to seven interceptions), but has battled injuries and ineffectiveness in his career. Rasheed Lovelace, DT, Nicholls (Buck Buchanan Award preseason nominee) – The 6-foot-2, 310-pound big man in the middle anchored a rush defense that ranked fourth in the FCS in allowing just 83.9 yards per game. Tyler Morton, DB, UIW (Buck Buchanan Award preseason nominee) – When healthy at Nicholls, Morton had six interceptions over the 2022 and ’23 seasons. It included one against UIW. Sam Vidlak, QB, Stephen F. Austin (Walter Payton Award preseason nominee) – Despite missing the season’s final three games, Vidlak was selected Southland newcomer of the year. He led the FCS in touchdown passes (27) at the time of his injury. Jalen Walthall, WR, UIW (Walter Payton Award preseason nominee) – In two games against FCS power South Dakota State last season, Walthall had 16 receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns.Must-See Matchups
Southland: Stephen F. Austin at UIW (Oct. 4) – Each of the last three meetings have been decided by seven points, including UIW’s overtime win in the 2021 FCS playoffs. Nonconference: Abilene Christian at UIW (Sept. 27) – These two defending conference champs – ACU in the United Athletic Conference – used to be in the Southland together. UIW trails 6-5 in the series. FBS: UIW at UTSA (Sept. 13) – The truth is, UIW has the most intriguing first half of the schedule in the FCS, including this crosstown matchup with UTSA. The Cards lost the only prior meeting in 2019 (35-7).Southland Conference Football Fast Fact
Last season, seven of the nine Southland teams finished above .500 at home, including champion UIW with an 8-0 mark. No team was better than 3-3 in road games.
(Here’s an index page to the 2025 FCS Conference Previews)
Graphic by Matt Sisneros.Top photo, from left, from East Texas A&M, UIW and Stephen F. Austin Athletics.
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Southland Conference Football Predictions: Defending Champ UIW Chasing Loftier Goals Opta Analyst.
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