Holding all the Cards: Defending champs team to beat
I ncarnate Word will try to continue its run as top dog in the Southland Conference.
Winners of four conference championships since 2018, including three in the last four years, Incarnate Word has become the biggest kids on the SLC block.
Head coach Clint Killough will try to keep things going in San Antonio after getting his team to a No. 6 national ranking at one point last year.
Killough said he has already forgotten last season, when the Cardinals made it to the Football Championship Subdivision playoff quarterfinals one season after losing in the semifinals.
'We have done a great job of leaving 2024 in 2024,' Killough said. 'We have looked in the mirror and have gotten back to work in 2025.'
The Cardinals have recently spent more than 50 weeks in the FCS Top 25 rankings. They also have a 2-1 record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents over the last five years.
With six preseason all-Americans, UIW seems poised to have another successful season. The Cardinals are the SLC preseason favorites.
UIW got a big lift when Cameron Ward, a former Cardinals quarterback, was picked first in the NFL draft last spring.
'It is a privilege to play at Incarnate Word, and we have built on that,' Killough said.
Finding the next quarterback is the key. The Cardinals brought in transfers E.J. Colson (Purdue/Cent. Florida) and Deyon Batiste (Wyoming) to go with three-year Cardinal Richard Torres to battle for the starting job.
'We got three guys who are studs in the program, so we got competition across the board,' Killough said.
Whoever wins the job will have a big-time receiver as their top target in Jalen Walthall. The first-team all-American had 85 receptions for 1,290 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last season, averaging 15.1 yards per catch. Lontrell Turner will also be back after rushing for 562 yards on 108 carries.
Thanks to an offensive line led by Traveon Newcome, one of three third-team preseason all-Americans, the Cardinals ran for 2,665 yards.
The defense is led by Declan Williams, a third-team all-American who made 62 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks off the edge. Linebacker Dune Smith finished with 80 tackles and 11.5 for loss with six sacks and one interception. He also had three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
The Cardinals have all the pieces to win the Southland again if they find their quarterback. That's perhaps their biggest challenge of all.
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