Southland Conference (FCS)
Overview: In a season where two Texas institutions with the "Cardinals" nickname chose to stay in their current conference rather than move into a new, but unproven conference, only one of those "Cardinal" squads not only advance to postseason play but also make a deep run once they advanced to the playoffs.
The University of Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals were that team in 2022, as they posted double-digit wins for the first time in their program's 10-year history. That historic run came after reversing course, and choosing to stay in the Southland Conference (SLC) instead of moving into the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
UIW's amazing 2022 campaign not only included sharing the SLC crown with Southeastern Louisiana but also winning two close FCS playoff games during the postseason. The Cardinals got by Furman in a thriller, 41-38, and then pulled off the upset at then #2 and previously undefeated Sacramento State in a high-scoring 66-63 clash, before falling to eventual national runner-up North Dakota State, 35-32, in the national semifinals, to close out their season at 12-2 overall.
Meanwhile, the other eventual SLC co-champions in the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions overcame an 0-2 start to win nine of their next 10 contests. One of those wins came in a huge upset win over a then #4/#7-ranked UIW squad in a clash that ended with SLU shocking the Cardinals 41-35 on September 24. That victory propelled the Lions to an eventual 5-1 finish in SLC play, as well as at 9-4 overall. After outlasting Idaho in the first round of the FCS playoffs, SLU's season ended in the second round with a tough loss to Samford in overtime.
Looking ahead to 2023, don't be surprised if UIW and SLU both find themselves squaring off against each other for the SLC title again this fall, as the two teams will square off in San Antonio on October 7. Don't count out the likes of Northwestern State (4-7, 4-2 in 2022), McNeese State (4-7, 2-4), or Nicholls (3-8, 3-3), either. Or even a program that's entering the second season of its transition from the NCAA Division II to the FCS ranks in Texas A&M-Commerce (5-6, 3-3), for that matter.
2023 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)
NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2023 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.
Final 2022 Southland Conference Football Standings
Houston Christian
*-Ineligible for the conference title, transitioning from the NCAA Division II level.
Follow RFC on Twitter @realfootball.
Follow RFC on Twitter @realfootball.
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