FB: Southland Conference Power Rankings - Week 2

The first week of college football is in the books. There were some impressive showings in the Southland Conference (see: Lousiana, Southeastern) and some not-so-impressive (see: Word, Incarnate) - but at least there have officially been football games played in the 2017 season.

For at least the next few weeks, our rankings will be wildly based on overreactions of non-comparable games. There's simply no way to contrast Nicholls' thrilling victory over McNeese to Central Arkansas' defeat at Kansas State.

But, you know what? We're going to try it anyway. Ladies and gents, enjoy Week 2:

These are not standings, but rather, an indication of weekly momentum. Follow us all season as we reveal our weekly rankings each Tuesday. Be sure to sign up for a free account right here and join the conversation below.

1. Sam Houston State

2017 record: 1-0 | Last week's rank: 1

The Bearkats survived a venue change and a top 10 opponent as they knocked off Richmond to validate their preseason ranking and position atop this list. Truth be told, the Spiders had every opportunity to get back into the game late but managed to self destruct with a number of turnovers deep in Kats' territory.

If you want to nitpick, you could argue that Sam Houston State's defense still seems like the weak end of this team. Richmond's offense topped 650 total yards and seemed to move with relative ease late in the game as they tried to storm back. Regardless, it was a huge win for K.C. Keeler and his team passed its first major test of the 2017 season.

It will probably take a loss at this point to knock Sam Houston State off our Power Rankings throne.

2. Central Arkansas

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 2

The Bears did nothing against Kansas State to lose their right to the second spot on this list. For a quarter-and-a-half, UCA actually hung with their fellow purple bearers from the Big 12. As is apparent from a lot of the non-movement on this list from teams who faced FBS foes, it's just impossible to really measure a performance in a game designed for a blowout.

If you want to find some positives for the Bears in their loss, it's actually not hard. The offensive unit managed to carve out 223 rushing yards from seven different players. Quarterback Hayden Hildebrand was accurate, albeit in a gameplan full of checkdowns and screens.

Murray State, UCA's road opponent this weekend, was picked 8th in the Ohio Valley. If the Bears are what they say they are, this needs to be a convincing victory.

3. Southeastern Louisiana

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 7

In a losing effort, our big mover this week is the Lions of Southeastern. I haven't been a big believer in this team (and probably still am not) but in a week of mediocrity (largely against FBS opponents), Southeastern gave one bowl series opponent a big scare.

Ron Roberts' squad actually really kind of dominated the affair, out-gaining Louisiana-Lafayette 514-363 yards. The offense that many questioned entering the season ran the ball right down the Ragin' Cajun's throat and Lorenzo Lee Nunez was generally effective at quarterback. Unfortunately, for the Lions, a botched potential go-ahead two-point conversion in the final minute was returned 98 yards for a game-winning score by the hosts.

Even without a win, it was by far the most impressive performance of the weekend among FBS money games in the SLC. I still think this might be the high water mark for SELA, but that rushing attack has definitely put the rest of the league on notice.

4. Houston Baptist

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 4

Houston Baptist did nothing to damage their fourth-place start to our rankings. We called their bout with Texas State the most winnable of the FBS games last week, and while they didn't pull off the upset, the Huskies did make a legitimate contest out of it.

It was a defensive struggle but not a particularly sloppy one. The teams combined for three turnovers (Texas State committed two of them) but neither offense managed to top 300 total yards in the low-scoring 20-11 affair.

It wasn't inspiring but it wasn't embarassing in a weekend full of humiliating showings in money games. Houston Baptist will get a crack at in-town rival Texas Southern next week in what should be a more telling affair for the Huskies.

5. McNeese

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 3

In a tough road environment in the league opener, it really seemed like McNeese had their bout with Nicholls under control. When James Tabury completed a 28-yard score to put the Cowboys up by 8 points early in the 4th quarter, with all the momentum favoring the guests, I thought they would cruise to a win.

Credit Nicholls and their Thursday night heros. Despite being outgained 432-304, losing the turnover battle 3-2, and being dominated in time of possession 40:06 to 19:54, the Colonels stormed back to win a thriller. Does that mean they're the better team?

Absolutely not. McNeese took one on the chin this past week, but don't overlook the league's Mr. Consistency. They'll be there in the playoff picture by the final weeks.

6. Nicholls

2017 record: 0-0 | Last week's rank: 8

No matter how you dice it statistically, it was an impressive victory for the Colonels against McNeese on Thursday. The resiliance to come back and win in the final seconds after feeling thorougly dominated for much of the game was almost a microcosm of what this program has gone through over the past few years.

Tim Rebowe should continue to be showered in praise for the job he's done in Thibodaux, but let's stop short of crowning the Colonels for winning a game they probably shouldn't have. Yes, it was a huge victory against a quality team in their league and an awesome way to pump up the fans in the early part of the season.

But, until they do it a bit prettier, I'm not quite ready to buy this team just yet. They'll have to wait at least one more week as they'll head to College Station for a commercial beating by Texas A&M on Saturday.

7. Stephen F. Austin

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 5

The Lumberjacks were thoroughly smacked around by SMU in a mistake-filled debut in Dallas. Most concerning for SFA fans were the number of unforced errors in a contest where we'd generally be very forgiving of inferior play. Jake Blumrick's debut at quarterback was shaky at best and a surprise cameo by Foster Sawyer (who will likely start the bulk of games this season) ended early as he got blasted on his blind-side for a sack-strip-score.

Where SFA goes from here is anyone's guess. It's hard to put too much stock into Saturday's affairs in Dallas but even for an FBS game it got ugly fast. The offensive line seemed to validate a bit of the preseason concern with a rough showing against a pretty good Mustang's defensive front. They'll get another big test as Southern Utah comes to town this weekend.

A convincing win over a fairly quality opponent would be a quick way of shutting down the murmering in Nacogdoches. A loss may send 'Jacks fans into an early panick.

8. Abilene Christian

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 6

In pretty typical fashion, ACU was rolled by New Mexico in their FCS-FBS matchup. Credit the Wildcats for hanging tough in the first half, though, trailing just 14-7 at the break.

This new-look team will be hard to fully gauge until they get some tape on the record against FCS opponents. In some ways, the unfamiliarity is an early advantage for the Wildcats that will dissipate rather quickly as teams start to figure out the way Adam Dorrel wants to attack them.

We'll have to wait to really know what ACU has in their tank, though, as the Wildcats will face a second-straight FBS opponent this weekend in Colorado State.

9. Northwestern State

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 11

They were far from in the game, but Northwestern State put up a some respectable numbers in their contest at Louisiana Tech on Saturday. The Demons managed to put up 24 points on nearly 400 yards of offense and benefitted from three forced turnovers.

Unfortunately, NSU also turned it over three times themselves. J.D. Almond, who won a preseason quarterback competition, was hardly impressive. Clay Holgorsen, who came off the bench, was worse.

There were still bright spots on the night, including Bobby Chan-Chan who is quickly becoming among the top receiving threats in the league. It'll still probably be a long season in Natchitoches, but this was not an embarassing showing against an in-state team. They'll have a chance to pick up a quality win this weekend against the SWAC favorites in Grambling State.

10. Lamar

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 9

Lamar was flattened by a bad FBS team this past weekend. It was still an FBS game but there are few who look at North Texas with 59-14 respect.

But that was the final score as the Cardinals' defense gave up just shy of 700 yards while mustering up just 266 from their offense. In totality, it was the worst showing in the FBS games beside the one we're about to get to.

The Cardinals will face UT Permian Basin (DII) this weekend at home in what should be the first victory for Mike Schultz in Beaumont. Truthfully, though, there's no guarantee of that.

11. Incarnate Word

2017 record: 0-1 | Last week's rank: 10

I get it - don't overreact to FBS games. Shoot, though. Fresno State, a winless team against fellow FBS opponents a year ago, rocked the Cardinals to a final score of 66-0. The Bulldogs racked up over 600 yard of total offense while UIW couldn't top 130 (just eight first downs in the entire game).

There were a number of genuinely bad displays of football this weekend (SFA, ACU, Lamar) but this was next-level awful. The AP release after the game said it best: "The Cardinals crossed midfield just twice. They went three-and-out, had a safety, committed a turnover or had a field-goal blocked on every possession except two -- a one-play drive to close the first half and a three-play drive to end the game."

Now that's about as dismal as it gets.