By Jason Plotkin, CSN Down South Columnist

It has been nearly a year since the last time we went Down South together, but I am happy to inform you that our adventures in the Southland Conference will continue again.

As we reunite ahead of what will be an exciting season of SLC football, the big question asked of Southland followers by those from around the nation is whether or not the conference can muster multiple teams in the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the SLC, the conference has not put two teams into the playoffs since 2005 when Texas State reached the semifinals and Nicholls State came within a few yards of knocking off Furman in the opening round.

One of the reasons stressed for this lack of postseason participation is simply put – the Southland schools have scheduled themselves out of the playoffs.

What does this mean? Many of the teams within the conference had filled their out of conference slate with Football Bowl Subdivision games and sub-Division I games. By the time they had started conference play, these teams had no choice, but to win six or seven games of their final seven games to reach the minimum amount of wins required for at-large consideration. Yes, these schools were given no other choice, but to win the conference’s automatic bid or they were not going to the playoffs, the hallowed grounds of our subdivision.

Why did this happen? Part of it was financial reasons. Most of the conference felt the impact of Hurricane Katrina and Rita in some shape or fashion. Tough times call for tough schedules.

In 2006, both Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana scheduled three Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools while SLU repeated the tough task in 2007.

The schedule is much friendlier to Southland schools this year as despite the 2008 slate being one of the years the NCAA allows 12 games for FCS schools, only Nicholls and Southeastern have two FBS schools.

Things are about to get better. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which has member institutions in each of the states with a Southland squad has granted their schools two additional out of conference contests. This was brought about by the removal of the nine- mandate which required each member of the SWAC to play every other team in the conference.

We are already seeing signs of progress on this front as Alcorn State hosts Southeastern Louisiana while NWST hosts Grambling in the first year of home-and-home agreements. In other SWAC-Southland clashes, Texas Southern travels to Texas State for the second consecutive year while Sam Houston State hosts what fans of the Bearkats hope will be a series of games with Prairie View A&M. Lastly, Central Arkansas has renewed their rivalry for Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a neutral site game in Little Rock.

More good news for the SLC comes in the arrival of North Dakota and South Dakota to the FCS scene. While both schools do not count as Division I schools this year for purposes of qualifying for the playoffs, these schools will be no stranger to SLC schedules, just like recent FCS additions North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Southeastern Louisiana will get to see both Dakota schools in Hammond this year.

And if those developments were not enough, since we last ventured down south, Lamar has announced that they are adding football and will hit the field in 2010. Head coach Ray Woodard has said he would like to schedule as many SLC schools as he can in 2010 before the team joins the conference as a full member in 2011. The Cardinals will give the conference nine members, handing each school four home and four away games in conference on annual basis. This will limit out of conference scheduling to three games.

For 2010, Lamar has already announced a contest against McNeese in Lake Charles to start their return to football. Games against Southeastern Louisiana and Sam Houston State have also been mentioned as potential games for the Cardinals in year one.
Southland Stars

The voting this summer for the preseason honors of the SLC Offensive Player of the Year and SLC Defensive Player of the Year came pretty easy for those who cast ballots. Central Arkansas QB Nathan Brown, who won the offensive honors last fall returns to the Bears while Lardarius Webb, the 2007 SLC Newcomer of the Year for Nicholls State, returned on the defensive side.

Brown, an NFL prospect, has been a large reason that Clint Conque’s team has found success in Conway, Arkansas from the start. The signal-caller threw for over 3,000 yards highlighted by his seven touchdowns against Texas State that gave the Russellville, Ark. product an ESPN SportsCenter appearance.

If Brown wants to duplicate, if not exceed his impressive marks from last year, he has a tight end back in Marquez Branson, who should make the job easy. Branson, who is also getting looks from the NFL had 37 receptions for a shade under 500 yards and seven touchdowns for UCA last year.

Webb is a dangerous individual on the defensive side of the ball. This member of the Colonels secondary has been put in the first round of the NFL draft by at least one publication and is on pace to make a few million dollars on Sundays.

Last year, Webb puts quarterbacks on risk when they threw his way, as he picked off five passes, returning three for six points on the board for Nicholls. There is no question that when you have an offense like Nicholls, which can take time off the clock quickly, having such a strong defensive player that will make a meaningful impact on the game.

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Lagniappe – A Bit Extra To Write Home About

* While we will dig a little deeper in the weeks leading up to the season, the conference coaches voted McNeese State as their pick to win the conference with seven first-place votes. The other first-place vote, cast by Pokes head coach Matt Viator, unable to vote for his own squad, went to SHSU, tabbed as second. From there, Northwestern State led Central Arkansas, Nicholls State, Texas State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin in filling out the predicted order of finish.
* SLC Commissioner Tom Burnett announced the formation of the Southland TV Network at the recently completed Media Days in Houston. Going with a company that has a solid reputation in the world of television production, the SLC will be able to put games into conference markets. Affiliates have not been announced just yet, but the conference should be able to benefit from this new direction.
* On June 16, Lamar announced the hirings of Will Richard and Craig McGallion as the first two assistants under head coach Ray Woodard. All that is known is that Richard will be on the offensive side of the ball while McGallion will keep to the defensive side. Both coaches have ties to the Golden Triangle region, home of LU. Bryan Maper, a former assistant under Woodard at Navarro joined the staff a few weeks later. The most recent hire is SHSU assistant Tommy Mainord, who will take over the offense for the Cardinals. Mainord came to SHSU with head coach Todd Whitten from Tarleton State and has coaching blood in his family.