FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Southland

#15 overall#4 in FCSRR50 +10.6Upper strength +13.210 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. Austin2–04–0+17.2
2Incarnate Word1–02–1+12.5
3Nicholls1–02–2+8.6
4UT Rio Grande Valley1–12–2+13.0
5Houston Christian1–12–2+10.2
6East Texas A&M1–11–3+8.7
7Lamar0–02–1+12.3
8SE Louisiana0–12–2+11.8
9Northwestern State0–10–4+4.5
10McNeese0–21–3+10.1

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+6.35.92133664859699✓✓
2UT Rio Grande Valley5–4+2.14.94143562839599✓
Challengers
3Incarnate Word5–4+1.64.93143562849599✓
4Lamar5–4+1.44.93133460839599✓
5SE Louisiana5–4+0.94.72102954789399✓
The Field
6Houston Christian4–5-0.64.3172145718998✓
7McNeese4–5-0.84.3162043698897✓
8East Texas A&M4–5-2.24.0141435628496✓
Rebuilding
9Nicholls4–5-2.34.0151637638596✓
10Northwestern State3–6-6.43.1151739668898

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+11.9
—Illinois State
2Big Sky
+10.7
1–2Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
3–1Tarleton State
4SouthlandYou are here
+10.6
—Stephen F. Austin
5MEAC
+10.1
—South Carolina State
6SWAC
+9.9
2–0Jackson State
7OVC
+9.8
—Gardner-Webb
8Southern
+9.8
0–1Tennessee Tech
9Coastal Athletic
+9.7
—Rhode Island
10Patriot
+9.4
—Lehigh
11Pioneer
+8.8
—Butler
12NEC
+8.6
—Central Connecticut
13Ivy
+8.4
—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+13.2
Median Power+10.6
Resume Pulse53.2
Avg ATS46.7%
Wins vs Market+0.20
Top-to-Middle Gap6.1
Combined Record18-20

`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
#83 Stephen F. Austin 4-0 +17.2 95 3-1 +0.68 4-0 over the last 4 (W1 W1 W2 W3)
#140 UT Rio Grande Valley 2-2 +13.0 65 1-2 -0.40 2-2 over the last 4 (W1 L1 L2 W3)
#148 Incarnate Word 2-1 +12.5 33 0-2 -0.23 1-1 over the last 2 (L2 W3)
#150 Lamar 2-1 +12.3 75 2-1 +1.32 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#156 SE Louisiana 2-2 +11.8 36 1-3 -0.11 2-2 over the last 4 (L1 L1 W2 W3)
#185 Houston Christian 2-2 +10.2 64 2-1 +0.75 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L3)
#193 McNeese 1-3 +10.1 63 2-1 -0.54 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L2 L3)
#223 East Texas A&M 1-3 +8.7 40 2-2 -0.02 1-3 over the last 4 (L1 L1 W2 L3)
#226 Nicholls 2-2 +8.6 52 2-2 +0.64 2-2 over the last 4 (W1 L1 W2 L3)
#263 Northwestern State 0-4 +4.5 10 1-2 -0.05 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L2 L3)