SAN ANTONIO -- After ending a lengthy road losing streak a week ago, the University of the Incarnate Word football team will attempt to continue its home dominance and further improve its chances at an FCS playoff spot.

Now 6-4 with a 5-2 mark in the Southland Conference, the Cardinals host Nicholls at 2 p.m. Saturday. The final home game of the season will serve as both homecoming and senior day.

Winners of four straight, UIW moved into the top-25 for the first time all season this week, landing at No. 22 in the Stats Perform FCS poll.

The Cardinals are currently 5-0 at home this season, winning by an average of 35.6 points. With a win Saturday, Incarnate Word would finish undefeated at Benson Stadium for the fifth time in the last nine seasons, also doing so in 2018 (4-0), 2021 (6-0), 2022 (6-0) and 2024 (7-0).

The Nicholls game can be streamed on ESPN Plus.

LAST WEEK: UIW 35, SOUTHEASTERN 16

The Cardinals put up 541 yards of offense, going over 500 for the third week in a row. They came out on fire, scoring touchdowns on each of their first three possessions and taking a 21-3 lead into the half.

The Lions made things interesting, as a 97-yard Blake Smith touchdown on the opening kick of the second half started a 13-0 third-quarter rally to make it 21-16.

But UIW re-established control, moving right down the field and getting a 9-yard Lontrell Turner touchdown less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. A fourth-down stuff by the defense led to another rushing touchdown, this one by Jayden Hibbler, to produce the final points of the game.

Emmett Brown, who is fifth in the nation with 2,810 passing yard, threw for 294 yards and ran for another 45 while accounting for two touchdowns. A week after gaining 173 receiving yards against Northwestern State, Roy Alexander went for 172 on six catches, including a 23-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.

Hibbler, who put up 198 all-purpose yards (134 rushing, 60 receiving, 4 punt return), has 1,270 yards from scrimmage, which is 301 more than anyone else in the SLC. Giving the Cardinals a great 1-2 punch in the backfield is Turner, who leads the Southland with eight rushing touchdowns.

The offense, which ranks fifth in the FCS in yardage (475.9) and eighth in scoring (38.5) is backed up by a defense that ranks 30th in the FCS in yardage allowed, giving up 342.5 per-game.

The unit got a record-setting performance from defensive end Jeremiah Young on Saturday. With two sacks against SELA, Young now has 9.5 on the season, breaking a previous single-season record of 8.5 held by three different players.

UIW has been far more opportunistic during its win streak. After forcing just six turnovers in the first six games, the Cardinals have forced 11 in the last four.

ABOUT THE COLONELS

Entering with a record of 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the SLC, Nicholls is coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind 32-31 win over East Texas A&M last weekend.

Down 24-7 in the second quarter, the Colonels rallied back and scored the game-winning touchdown with 47 seconds to play. Trailing 31-24, quarterback Chase Richardson scored on a 1-yard run. Nicholls then elected to go for two, with the try being converted on a pass from Richardson to Chantz Babineaux.

The second half was a turnaround for an offense that has struggled to move the ball this season. Nicholls is gaining 302.7 yards per-game, the lowest total in the Southland.

The road has been particularly brutal for the Colonels. They are 1-4 away from home and have scored a total of eight points in those four losses.

MATCHUP HISTORY

In a series with major ebbs and flows, Nicholls currently holds a 7-6 all-time edge, including a 20-6 win in Thibodaux in each team's season opener last year. 

After the Cardinals won the first two matchups in 2014 and 15, the Colonels proceeded to win the next five, highlighted by a 75-45 win in the spring season of 2021, where the teams combined for 1,194 yards of offense and Nicholls scored touchdowns on its first nine possessions.

UIW then proceeded to win four of the next five before last season's loss. The last meeting in San Antonio was in 2024, a 55-10 rout for the Cardinals who scored the game's final 41 points. Quarterback Zach Calzada threw five touchdown passes, with two each to Jalen Walthall and Jackson Lowe.