BEAUMONT, Texas -- An ultra-challenging, three-game road stretch finally concludes for the University of the Incarnate Word football team this Saturday, as the Cardinals face another highly ranked team following a controversial loss to a top-five opponent.

UIW, which is 2-3 with a 1-1 mark in the Southland Conference, heads to Beaumont to take on a very good Lamar squad in a battle of two Cardinal teams.

Lamar comes in 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Southland, following a 42-14 win over Northwestern State. That win moved the team up to No. 10 in the most recent FSC Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the STATS Perform Top-25.

The game will kick off at 3 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN Plus.

LAST TIME OUT: STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 28, UIW 26

For a moment, it appeared UIW had forced the No. 5 team in the FCS to overtime on its home field. 

Down 28-20 following a Lumberjack missed field goal, the Cardinals went right down the field, scoring with 22 seconds remaining when Emmett Brown threw a great back-shoulder pass to Jacob Emmers, who adjusted to the ball at the SFA 30 and outran four defenders to the end zone.

Needing a two-point conversion, the Cardinals seemingly got it when Brown threw a jump ball that was brought in by Price Morgan in the back corner of the end zone. But as Morgan was hitting the ground, a disputed but upheld flag for offensive pass interference was as well. Pushed back 15 yards, the Cardinals were unable to convert, leaving Nacogdoches with a heartbreaking loss.

Still looking for its first road win of the season, UIW enters the week sixth in the FCS in both total offense (470 yards per-game) and passing offense (311.4). Brown is fifth in the country with 285.2 passing yards per-game, while top target Isaiah Champaign is tied for 12th with 33 receptions.

Jayden Hibbler, a critical member of the Cardinal running game, is fifth in the country with 214 punt return yards and tied for second with two punt return touchdowns.

Defensively, Jeremiah Young is coming off a career-best, three-sack performance against SFA. That sack total was the second most ever recorded by a Cardinal player in a single game.

Young is third in the SLC with 5.5 tackles per-loss while linebacker Christian Barney is third in the conference at 9.6 tackles per-game.

In the kicking game, Nick Rigas made field goals of 39 and 43 yards at SFA, the two longest kicks made by UIW this season.

SCOUTING THE (OTHER) CARDINALS

Coming off a playoff appearance a season ago, Lamar appears on its way to another with a 4-1 start. The Cardinals' only loss was to an FBS team and they've opened Southland play by outscoring Nicholls and Northwestern State 91-32.

Thus far, the Lamar defense has yet to give up 20 points to an FCS opponent. The Cardinals rank second in the SLC and in the top-50 nationally in both scoring defense (20.2 points per-game) and total defense (346.4 yards).

The unit is headlined by sophomore linebacker Dawson Washington, who leads the Southland with 56 tackles and 11.2 tackles per-game. Washington also leads the team with 4.5 tackles for-loss.

The offense runs through quarterback Aiden McCown, who's thrown for 872 yards and accounted for 12 touchdowns. His top targets have been Blake Thomas (19 receptions, 203 yards, three touchdowns) and Davin Driskell (15-218-4).

Jojo Uga (38 carries, 252 yards, one touchdown) has been the top option in the run game. On special teams LaDamion McDowell (21.6) is second in the Southland in kick return average, while Kyndon Fuselier (12.0) is third in punt return average.

Kicking has been a bit of an adventure for Lamar. While Andres Sandoval is a perfect 19-of-19 on extra-point tries, he's just 3-of-7 on field goal attempts.

MATCHUP HISTORY AND OTHER NOTES

This is the second year in a row, UIW will be outside the top-25 while facing a ranked Lamar team. 

Incarnate Word is hoping for a similar result as a year ago, as it jumped out to a 24-3 lead then held off a late rally for a 24-17 win over the No. 14 team in the country.

That continued a recent string of dominance in the series for UIW, which has beaten Lamar six times in a row and holds an 8-4 edge all-time. 

This is the first matchup between the two in Beaumont since Oct. 28, 2023, a 17-7 UIW win.

FOLLOW ALONG  

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