SAN ANTONIO – The goal at the end of every game remains the same for Northwestern State – winning.
Despite another final-play heartbreak against Nicholls a week ago, the Demons continue to make strides toward that goal. The challenge now is turning those improvements into the complete performance needed to finish on the winning side.
NSU (0-8, 0-4 in the Southland Conference) put up more than 460 yards of offense against Nicholls, its most against an FCS opponent since 2022, but came up just short in a 31-27 loss after an interception in the end zone ended a potential game-winning drive.
The performance featured career days from quarterback Zach Wilcke and receiver Amaaz Eugene, giving the Demons another example of the offensive progress they have made over the second half of the season. A handful of plays against a mobile Nicholls quarterback ultimately proved costly, however, as the Demons were unable to close out another tight game.
NSU looks to build on the confidence and production of the past two weeks when it travels to face UIW (4-4, 3-2) on Saturday. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Benson Stadium, with the game airing on ESPN+ and available locally in Natchitoches on 100.7 FM KZBL.
“Coach really stressed in our meetings early this week to come to work every day with the same positive attitude and mindset,” Wilcke said. “He’s seen us improve throughout the whole season, which is encouraging to hear, but we all want to win. So no matter how close we are, we have to keep working to do that.”
Wilcke has been a central part of that offensive progress. Against Nicholls, he accounted for a Southland Conference season-high 414 yards of total offense, establishing career highs with 340 passing yards and 74 rushing yards while contributing to all four Demon touchdowns.
A significant part of that production has come from a receiving group that continues to give Wilcke options across the field.
“I think what it comes down to is that we have a lot of good pass catchers,” Wilcke said. “Looking at the film and being on the same page as them and correcting what we could have done better and communicating what I’m seeing and comparing it to what they see. They all are good pass catchers and I just need to get the ball to them.”
That depth has become a defining feature of the NSU passing game. The Demons and UIW are the only two Southland Conference teams with five players who have recorded at least 200 receiving yards this season. No other team in the league has more than three.
Eugene has emerged as one of the conference’s most productive targets. He recorded a career-high 161 receiving yards against Nicholls, the most in a Southland game this season, and is the only player in the league averaging at least 100 rushing or receiving yards per game during October, with 111.0 receiving yards per contest.
Eugene also leads the conference in league play with 367 receiving yards, an average of 73.4 per game, giving the Demons a proven big-play threat as they prepare for another high-powered offense.
UIW enters the matchup ranked fifth nationally in FCS passing offense, averaging 292.4 yards per game. Quarterback Emmett Brown, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, averages 275.5 passing yards per contest, giving the Cardinals a dangerous combination of tempo, accuracy and playmaking ability.
The Cardinals have also demonstrated their ability to win games on the ground. UIW rushed for more than 200 yards in each of its past two contests, wins against UTRGV and McNeese in which the Cardinals outscored their opponents by a combined 79-22.
“They spread it around, they are in a hurry with a lot of really good athletes and a quarterback that is accurate and can make all the throws,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “That speed and athleticism goes for both sides of the ball, too. The defense is full of ball hawks that run to the ball and show up with an attitude.”
For the Demons, meeting that challenge will require the same defensive aggressiveness they have displayed in recent weeks, along with greater consistency on third downs.
NSU has recorded 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage over its past two games, nearly half of its season total. The Demons have also forced two fumbles, intercepted a pass and broken up nine others during that span after recording just 11 pass breakups in their first six games.
Linebacker Blake Fann has been one of the players helping drive that improvement. He has recorded 13 tackles, two of them tackles for loss, over the past two games after totaling 14 tackles during the first six contests.
“I think I’ve gotten more comfortable in the defense the past few weeks, and Danny (Sears) has been a big help there,” Fann said. “Communication for all of us has been a big thing and something we’ve emphasized even more. And having Danny being that leader on the defense and with the linebackers has helped build the confidence for all of us.”
That communication will be especially important against a UIW offense that operates at a high tempo and can attack defenses in multiple ways.
“You’ve got to have your eyes right when you’re going up against a team like this,” McCorkle said. “I don’t know that we’ve seen the combination of speed and physicality they have so far this year. We have to match that speed and tempo, and our defensive staff will have to do a good job of communicating sideline to player on getting calls in and be ready to go.”
Fann said getting off the field on third down will be a major point of emphasis as NSU looks to turn its recent defensive gains into a more complete performance.
“The past few weeks I feel like we’ve struggled a little bit on third down and getting the other offense off the field,” Fann said. “I think that’s going to be a big thing and important for us this week. Coach, too, has really emphasized details this week, especially after these last two weeks. Finishing games is going to come down to those details, and every one matters.”
NSU is making its first trip to UIW since April 2021, when the Demons visited San Antonio during the COVID-delayed season. That season a winless Demon team knocked off the No. 19 ranked Cardinals in a shootout, 49-47.