FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Southland

#15 overall#4 in FCSRR50 +10.6Upper strength +12.810 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

McNeese Country

The Southland Conference lost several members to the newly formed United Athletic Conference in 2023, including Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, and Eastern Kentucky. The remaining core — Lamar, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, Houston Baptist, and Northwestern State — rebuilt as a smaller, regional Gulf Coast conference. McNeese State has been the standard: four Southland titles in six years, consistent FCS playoff appearances, and a fan culture built around a genuinely beloved program in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

FCS10 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: Stephen F. Austin

Southland · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The ProgramMcNeese State: Four Titles in Six Years

McNeese State has won four Southland Conference titles in six seasons and made the FCS bracket in each of them. Their program — based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, drawing from the same Cajun South recruiting pool as LSU's walk-on pipeline — has the most consistent winning culture in the Southland. Gary Goff's staff develops Gulf Coast athletes into FCS playoff performers year after year.

The Challenger

Southeastern Louisiana's Recurring Threat

Southeastern Louisiana made the FCS bracket three times in five seasons and beat a seeded program in the second round in 2023. Their Hammond, Louisiana program draws from the same New Orleans and north shore pipeline that LSU uses for its walk-ons. When their offense is healthy in November, they are the most dangerous team in the Southland and the most likely program to knock McNeese off the automatic bid.

Wild CardNicholls and the Gulf South Pipeline

Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana has made the FCS bracket and demonstrated they can compete with mid-major bracket programs. Their recruiting base — deep Louisiana, the bayou corridor south of Baton Rouge — produces linemen and skill players that FCS programs across the country try to reach. If Nicholls can maintain their 2024-25 talent level, they are a legitimate automatic bid challenger in 2026.

Conference Standings · Southland · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Stephen F. Austin2–03–0+15.7
2Nicholls1–02–1+9.8
3Houston Christian1–02–1+9.0
4East Texas A&M1–11–2+8.5
5Lamar0–02–1+12.0
6Incarnate Word0–01–1+12.7
7UT Rio Grande Valley0–11–2+12.6
8SE Louisiana0–11–2+11.8
9McNeese0–11–2+10.4
10Northwestern State0–10–3+5.4

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · Southland · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥9≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Stephen F. Austin6–3+5.05.7192956809399✓✓
2Incarnate Word5–4+1.95.04153763859699✓
Challengers
3UT Rio Grande Valley5–4+1.84.93133460829599✓
4Lamar5–4+1.24.83133359829499✓
5SE Louisiana5–4+1.04.72112955799399✓
The Field
6McNeese4–5-0.44.3172246719098✓
7Nicholls4–5-1.04.3172245718998✓
8Houston Christian4–5-1.84.0151637648596✓
Rebuilding
9East Texas A&M4–5-2.33.914143461839699
10Northwestern State3–6-5.43.3172145729199

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+11.6
—Illinois State
2Big Sky
+11.0
1–1Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
3–1Tarleton State
4SouthlandYou are here
+10.6
—Stephen F. Austin
5SWAC
+10.3
1–0Prairie View A&M
6MEAC
+10.2
—South Carolina State
7Coastal Athletic
+9.9
—Rhode Island
8Southern
+9.9
0–1Tennessee Tech
9Patriot
+9.7
—Lehigh
10OVC
+9.6
—UT Martin
11NEC
+9.0
—Robert Morris
12Pioneer
+8.9
—San Diego
13Ivy
+8.3
—Harvard

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = Southland's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Southland Conference lost several members to the newly formed United Athletic Conference in 2023, including Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, and Eastern Kentucky. The remaining core — Lamar, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, Houston Baptist, and Northwestern State — rebuilt as a smaller, regional Gulf Coast conference. McNeese State has been the standard: four Southland titles in six years, consistent FCS playoff appearances, and a fan culture built around a genuinely beloved program in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+10.6
Upper Strength+12.8
Median Power+10.7
Resume Pulse54.4
Avg ATS41.7%
Wins vs Market+0.12
Top-to-Middle Gap4.7
Combined Record14-15

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

Southland Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#98 Stephen F. Austin 3-0 +15.7 95 2-1 +0.59 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#143 Incarnate Word 1-1 +12.7 26 0-1 -0.36 1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L2)
#144 UT Rio Grande Valley 1-2 +12.6 55 0-2 -0.73 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)
#150 Lamar 2-1 +12.0 74 2-1 +1.32 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#154 SE Louisiana 1-2 +11.8 24 0-3 -0.89 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#181 McNeese 1-2 +10.4 68 2-0 -0.21 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)
#197 Nicholls 2-1 +9.8 71 2-1 +0.68 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#221 Houston Christian 2-1 +9.0 58 1-1 +0.88 1-1 over the last 2 (W1 L1)
#232 East Texas A&M 1-2 +8.5 53 2-1 -0.01 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 L1 W2)
#264 Northwestern State 0-3 +5.4 21 0-2 -0.05 0-2 over the last 2 (L1 L2)