SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word football team returns to Benson Stadium to host Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT).
 
GAME PROMOTIONS

• To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, 3,000 fans will receive free paletas, while the first 500 fans will receive a UIW Athletics Fiesta medal. The UIW Fan Zone will include a mariachi band, bounce house, face painting, and more. Additionally, all in-game music will be Tejano/Spanish-themed music.
• One student will be selected, via raffle, to call the first play of the game on the sideline with Head Coach Eric Morris.

 
HIGHLIGHTS FROM ABILENE CHRISTIAN

• The 44-34 win gave the Cardinals their first 2-0 conference start in the ten years of football history.
• Kody Edwards had a 58-yard reception for a touchdown in the first quarter. With these yards, Edwards broke the program record for career receiving yards (previously 1,627 by Dominic Hamilton, 2009-12).
• Edwards finished the game with 133 yards and now has 1,702 career yards.
• Dickens scored a 66-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the first half, marking his seventh touchdown of the season. This was his fourth consecutive game with a touchdown of 50-or-more yards.
• Dickens had 118 yards. This was his fourth consecutive game with more than 100 yards rushing, the longest such individual streak in program history.
• WR Kam Williams threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to QB Jon Copeland in the third quarter. This was Williams' first passing touchdown, Copeland's first receiving touchdown, and gave UIW a 34-28 lead.
• Jamarkese Williams had his first interception of the season to give UIW the ball on the ACU 45-yard line in the third quarter. The interception led to a Cardinal field goal, extending UIW's lead to 37-28.
• Edwards had a 54-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. This was a season-high return for the Cardinals.
• The 48-yarder was Marshall's second field goal of the season.

 
LAST YEAR'S GAME
Southeastern Louisiana won last year's game, 49-30, at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Louisiana, on Oct. 7.
 
SERIES RECORD
UIW has won one of the five games played: The Cardinals defeated SLU, 16-2, in Hammond, Louisiana, on Nov. 7, 2015.
 
RUN LIKE THE DICKENS

• Ra'Quanne Dickens leads the FCS with 10.30 rush yards per carry.
• The Seminole, Florida, native is first in the conference and No. 7 in the nation with 587 rushing yards.
• He ranks first in the SLC and No. 3 nationally with 146.8 rushing yards per game.
• Dickens is first in the conference and No. 6 in the nation with an average of 164.25 all-purpose yards per game.
• Dickens is also first in the conference and No. 3 nationally with seven rushing touchdowns; he is first in the SLC and No. 6 in the nation in total touchdowns.
• Dickens recorded the longest run from scrimmage in program history on Sept. 1 against New Mexico with a 90-yard touchdown run. He then added the fourth longest run from scrimmage in program history in the home opener, vs. SFA on Sept. 15, when he scampered for a 79-yard touchdown run.

 
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISANA

• Southeastern Louisiana is 2-3 overall and 2-1 in conference action after defeating Northwestern State, 24-17, on Sept. 29.
• QB Chason Virgil leads the conference and is No. 3 in the FCS with 1,526 passing yards.
• Juwan Petit-Frere ranks second in the SLC and is No. 19 in the nation with 422 receiving yards.

 
NOTABLE CARDINAL PERFORMENCES AGAINST THE LIONS

• Desmond Hite returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown on Oct. 7, 2017, tying the UIW record for the longest kickoff return, held by two other Cardinals.
• Jose Perez scored 12 points by kicking three field goals (48, 43 and 42 yards) and three PATs, in that same game.
• Quarterback Trent Brittain threw for 178 yards and rushed for 88 more, including a 58-yard touchdown run, leading the Cardinals to victory on Nov. 7, 2015.
• The Cardinals recovered three SLU fumbles in the 2015 contest, tying a team record for fumble recoveries in a single contest.
• UIW's defense held Southeastern to just two points in the 2015 game. This marks the fewest points surrendered to a Southland Conference opponent in program history.
• Ramon Coto, Jr. boomed four punts more than 50 yards, including kicks of 73 and 63 yards, in the Sept. 27, 2014, game.

 
CARDINALS FACE THREE FBS OPPONENTS THIS SEASON
With the recent announcement that UIW will play Iowa State on December 1, the Cardinals now play three Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents this season. UIW opened its season with games against FBS opponents New Mexico and North Texas. The Iowa State game will be the sixth FBS opponent in UIW football history, and the first game against a proverbial "Power Five" conference school.
 
SPEAKING OF A CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
UIW also plays top-notch Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponents. Four schools represented the Southland Conference in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, released on Oct. 1: McNeese (10), Nicholls (12), Sam Houston (16) and Central Arkansas (18). Beginning with an October 20 game against McNeese, the Cardinals play these schools on consecutive weekends.
 
TRUE FRESHMAN QB STARTS SEASON-OPENING GAME
When UIW's Jon Copeland took the field against New Mexico in week one, it was the first time that a true freshman started at quarterback for the Cardinals in a season-opening game. Previously, UIW had started a redshirt freshman (Trent Brittain, 2013) in a season opener and started a true freshman (Taylor Woods, 2012) in midseason games.
 
MAKING THE MOST OF A HISTORIC START
Copeland made the most of his initial start against New Mexico, passing for 328 yards and one touchdown, and running for another. That put him in second place for the most individual passing yards in a single game, some 40 yards behind Trent Brittain's record 368 against ACU in 2015.
 
LONGEST TOUCHDOWN RUN AND LONGEST RUN FROM SCRIMMAGE
Dickens recorded the longest run from scrimmage in program history on Sept. 1 against New Mexico with a 90-yard touchdown run. He then added the fourth longest run from scrimmage in program history in the home opener, vs. SFA on Sept. 15, when he scampered for a 79-yard touchdown run.
 
10TH YEAR: CARDINAL FOOTBALL
This is UIW's 10th year of college football. The Cardinals won their inaugural game on Aug. 29, 2009, by a score of 42-39 against Monterey Tech. In that first year, UIW competed as a Division II independent. For the next four seasons, UIW played in the Division II Lone Star Conference. The Cardinals joined the Division I ranks as an independent in 2013 before becoming a member of the Southland Conference in 2014.
 
138th YEAR: THE UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD
In 1881, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, an order of Catholic nuns based in Paris, founded UIW as a center of higher education for young women. In 1970, male students first enrolled in undergraduate programs. UIW is the largest Catholic school in Texas and the fourth-largest private university in the state. Enrollment is approaching 11,000, which includes off-campus learning programs in Texas and international locations.
 
COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHING PRODIGY
Eric Morris, at age 32, is one of college football's youngest head coaches. Born on October 26, 1985, he is more than two years younger than another coach who has received a lot of attention for his youth, 34-year-old Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma. Morris is not the youngest head coach in college football, however. Sean Lewis of Kent State, another 32-year-old, is more than six months younger.
 
HEAD COACH: DEEP TEXAS TIES
UIW's new head coach, Eric Morris, comes to UIW from Texas Tech and has deep Texas ties. He played at Tech before spending five years as its offensive coordinator, and he plans to bring the same exciting style of offense to Benson Stadium. He was also a graduate assistant under University of Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin, who later went on to coach at Texas A&M. Additionally, Morris coached at Washington State under former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach.
 
ASSISTANT COACHES: MORE TEXAS TIES
Only one of Eric Morris' 11 position coaches/coordinators does not have a Texas background as either a player, coach, scholar, or native-born son.
 
PASSION FOR CHANGE
The Cardinals have an all new staff filled with young coaches who have a ton of energy and passion. Throughout the spring and in fall camp, they worked to change the culture of the team and will look to sustain that momentum throughout the season. Many of the players have remarked that they can relate to a youthful coaching staff that seems to have boundless energy.
 
SIX YEARS WITHOUT NATURAL TURF FOR THE CARDINAL GRIDDERS
UIW has played 62 consecutive football game on an artificial playing surface. The Cardinals last played on natural grass on Oct. 13, 2012 at Texas A&M-Kingsville's Javelina Field. All Southland Conference football teams play home games on artificial turf. The Cardinals' streak of consecutive games on a synthetic playing surface will come to an end on Dec. 1, 2018, when they play on natural grass at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
 
SPEAKING OF PLAYING SURFACES
UIW enjoys the Southland Conference's newest crop of artificial turf. Benson Stadium received new Field Turf over the summer, replete with a camouflaged end zone pattern in school colors of red and black with white lettering. The installation of the field turf garnered national attention from social media, Sportscenter, and more.
 
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
When new UIW head football coach Eric Morris held spring football drills in March, he had a roster that numbered in the sixties. When fall drills began in August, those numbers had increased to 105. The new roster included a 20-player recruiting class announced on Feb. 7 (19 high school prospects and one transfer), plus numerous recruited and walk-on players who joined the team later.
 
MAKING THE GRADE
Since UIW head coach Eric Morris took charge of the Cardinal football team in December 2017, his student-athletes have increased the team GPA -- previously under a 2.5 -- through hard work and dedication. The emphasis that Morris and his assistant coaches placed on classroom attentiveness paid off in one semester. When spring semester grades arrived in late May, the team achieved a collective GPA of 3.2.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS
Five team captains, chosen by their fellow players, will provide leadership on and off of the field for the Cardinals this season. Center Tyler Preston from Georgetown and wide receiver Kody Edwards from Mesquite, both seniors, represent the offense. Senior linebacker Silas Stewart, from Wilmington, Delaware, and junior linebacker Mar'kel Cooks, from Irving, Texas, will lead the defense, while special teams members will look to senior kicker Cody Seidel, from Keller, Texas.