Around The Southland Conference
9/13/2013 4:19:00 PM | Football
This Week's Southland Schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 14
Texas Southern at SamHoustonState, 2 p.m. (CSNH)
Northwestern State at Cincinnati, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Nicholls at Louisiana-Lafayette, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Southeastern Louisiana at South DakotaState, 6 p.m.
McMurry at Stephen F. Austin, 6 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Tennessee-Martin, 6 p.m.
Lamar at OklahomaState, 6:30 p.m. (FSN)
West Alabama at McNeeseState, 7 p.m.
THIS WEEK
All eight Southland teams are back on the gridiron on Saturday with three teams playing FBS opponents. Sam Houston State welcomes Texas Southern at 2 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Houston.
NorthwesternState puts its 2-0 record on the line at Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. Nicholls will try to wins its second consecutive game against the FBS when it visits Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. on ESPN3. Lamar visits OklahomaState at 6:30 p.m. on FSN trying to protect its 8-0 all-time record vs. teams from Oklahoma. The Cardinals already have a win this season against the SoonerState, beating OklahomaPanhandleState in the season opener. Other league games include,Stephen F. Austin playing host to McMurry at 6 p.m. and McNeeseState against West Alabama at 7 p.m. Two other Southland teams are on the road with Southeastern Louisiana visiting No. 6/6 South DakotaState at 6 p.m. and No. 8/7 Central Arkansas traveling to Tennessee-Martin at 6 p.m.
Three More FBS Games in Week Three:
The Southland has already played eight FBS opponents in 2013 and will play three more on Saturday. The league is 2-6 against the FBS this season and has won multiple games against the subdivision for the first time since 2007 when McNeeseState and Nicholls also had wins over FBS teams. Nicholls will try to make it two consecutive wins against the FBS when it takes on Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday at 6 p.m. The Colonels have now won three games against the FBS in their history. Prior to last week's win at Western Michigan, Nicholls beat Rice (Conference USA) in 2007 and ArkansasState in 2001 (Sun Belt).
NorthwesternState visits Cincinnati on Saturday and will be trying to win its first game against the FBS since beating Louisiana-Monroe (Sun Belt) in 2003. The Demons have 10 wins against FBS (formerly Division I-A) teams since 1977 when Division I teams were split into two classifications. Lamar will take on its second consecutive FBS opponent when it visits OklahomaState on Saturday. It is the second consecutive year for the Cardinals to play multiple FBS teams in the same season.
FCS Has Beaten FBS 11 Times in 2013:
There were three more FCS upsets against FBS teams in week two giving the FCS 11 wins against FBS teams this season. The Southland has accounted for two of the wins with Nicholls getting past Western Michigan 27-23 last Saturday and McNeese State handing South Florida at 53-21 defeat in week one. Other FCS wins against the FBS the second week of the season included Chattanooga over GeorgiaState and Maine over UMass. In week one, Eastern Washington became the third FCS team to knock off a ranked FBS team when it beat No. 25 Oregon State. Defending FCS champion North DakotaState beat defending Big 12 champion KansasState. McNeeseState, which tied for fourth in the league standings last season, not only surprised South Florida, but scored more points (53) than any FCS team had against a team from a BCS AQ conference. Other FCS wins against the FBS this season include Towson over UConn, Northern Iowa over IowaState, Eastern Illinois over San DiegoState, Southern Utah over South Alabama and Samford over GeorgiaState.
Southland's Broadcast Opportunities This Week: Four Southland Conference teams will play on television in week three. Comcast SportsNet Houston will feature a Southland team for the second consecutive week when SamHoustonState welcomes Texas Southern to Bowers Stadium at 2 p.m. ESPN3 will have both the NorthwesternState at Cincinnati game and the Nicholls at Louisiana-Lafayette game at 6 p.m. while Lamar's 6:30 p.m. kick at OklahomaState will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
Six Southland Teams Garnering Attention in FCS Polls: Two-time FCS runner-up SamHoustonState is the Southland Conference's top-ranked team for the third consecutive week. After losing at Texas A&M, the No. 7 team in the FBS, the Bearkats dropped one spot in both the Sports Network and FCS Coaches' polls. They're ranked No. 5 in both polls this week after beginning the season as high as No. 3. Central Arkansas also slipped in the polls, down one spot in the Sports Network poll and two spots in the coaches' poll after losing at Colorado, out of the Pac-12, by just two touchdowns. The Bears held a fourth-quarter lead on the Buffaloes.
McNeeseState climbed five spots, up to No. 13 in the Sports Network poll, but only jumped two positions in the coaches' poll to No. 18 after a 58-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the defending SWAC champion. Nicholls, NorthwesternState and Southeastern Louisiana are receiving votes in the Sports Network poll, while Northwestern is the only other Southland squad garnering votes in the coaches' poll.
Week Two Players of the Week: SamHoustonState senior running back Timothy Flanders was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week after running for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and adding a 33-yard touchdown reception against Texas A&M, the No. 7 team in the FBS last Saturday. His 170 yards rushing are the second best total by a Bearkat in Sam Houston's 29 meetings against FBS opponents. He posted 194 yards at New Mexico in 2011 overtime win. Nicholls senior safety T.J. Lumar was named the defensive player of the week after finishing with nine tackles and a crucial interception in the Colonels' win over Western Michigan, which was the school's third win against an FBS team. He picked off a pass in the second quarter and returned it 12 yards to midfield to give Nicholls a 21-9 lead with 5:07 to play in the first half. The Colonels went on to claim a 27-23 victory for his first FBS win since beating Rice in 2007. McNeese State senior receiver/kick return specialist Diontae Spencer was named the special teams player of the week after he set a school single-game record in averaging 40.5 yards on four kick returns in the Cowboys 58-14 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Saturday. He totaled 162 yards on four returns, which included a career-best with an 80-yard return. Spencer had returns of 6, 80, 35 and 41 yards and all four returns led to touchdowns.
Sam Houston's Flanders Ties Southland's Career Touchdown Record: Walter Payton Award candidate Timothy Flanders tied the Southland Conference record for career touchdowns with 59. He has 55 rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns to tie him with Brent Grimes, who played at UCA from 2006-09. Flanders ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and added a 33-yard touchdown reception against Texas A&M. The Aggies had not allowed a back to gain 170 or more yards in 42 consecutive games. The last player to achieve the feat was Colt McCoy of Texas who rushed for 175 yards in 2009. Flanders also moved into second place on the conference's rushing chart. Now with 4,455 career yards, he trails only Claude Mathis (4,694 for TexasState in 1994-97) in the Southland career standings. Flanders' 170 yards rushing are the second best total by a Bearkat in Sam Houston's 29 meetings against FBS opponents. He posted 194 yards at New Mexico in 2011 overtime win. Against the Aggies, Flanders had touchdown runs of 11 and 68 yards, which was the third longest of his career.
Sam Houston Notes: The Bearkats dropped to 1-1 with a 65-28 loss at No. 7/7 Texas A&M last Saturday in College Station ... Walter Payton Award candidate Timothy Flanders ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and added a 33-yard touchdown reception against Texas A&M ... the Aggies had not allowed a back to gain 170 or more yards in 42 consecutive games ... prior to Saturday, the last player to achieve the feat was Colt McCoy of Texas who rushed for 175 yards in 2009 ... Flanders owns two of the three 100-yard rushing performances by a Bearkat against an FBS defense ... Flanders rushed for 170 yards at Texas A&M Saturday and posted 194 in a win at New Mexico in 2011 ... the only other such performance was 117 yards by Charles Harris against Rice in 1990 ... Flanders became the Southland's No. 2 career rushing leader and tied league record for career touchdowns with 170 yards rushing and three scores ... now with 4,455 career yards, he trails only Claude Mathis (4,694 for Texas State in 1994-97) in the Southland career standings ... his career touchdown total (59 – 55 rushing, four receiving) puts him in a tie with Brent Grimes, who played at UCA from 2006-09 ... quarterback Brian Bell's 75-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Torrance Williams in the third quarter of the Texas A&M game stands as the senior's third longest throw ... Bell has extended his school record career passing total to 6,492 yards and 56 touchdown passes ... Sam Houston returns to Bowers Stadium Saturday when they host Texas Southern on Comcast SportsNet Houston ... the game is a rematch of last year's 50-6 Bearkat win at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston ... Sam Houston holds a 9-5 lead in the series ... the Bearkats are riding a 15-game win streak at home dating back to a victory in the final home game of the 2010 season ... that is tied for the longest in school history ... Sam Houston won its first 15 games at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after the facility opened in 1985 ... the 15-game home winning streak is the longest current streak in the FCS.
