Conference play begins Saturday - The Rider Newspaper

Redshirt freshman linebacker Trey Bright (from left) and redshirt freshman running back Jamal Polley run with redshirt sophomore tight end Ismael Smith Flores to take the ball down the field during the game against Texas Wesleyan University Sept. 20 at the Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg.
THE RIDER FILE PHOTOS

With the non-conference portion of their schedule already complete, the Vaqueros (4-0) will now play their first conference game in the history of the nascent football program Saturday.

As far as expectations have gone, they have been met and then some. UTRGV is undefeated through four games against non-conference opponents, including a 27-21 win on the road against Prairie View A&M University.

Head coach Travis Bush is no stranger to the Southland Conference, having previously coached at Texas State University when it was a member.

The Vaqueros will travel to Hammond, Louisiana, to take on the Southeastern Louisiana University Lions.

Bush said the team is “excited to get on the road” and play in the SLC.

“We’re about to jump in the deep end right now,” he said. “We’ll get a full load of what the Southland Football Conference is all about. We’re excited. There’s only one road. It’s hard. And it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

The Lions enter the conference opener with a non-conference record of 2-2, and are coming off a 56-10 loss to Louisiana State University (4-0, 1-0 SEC) in Death Valley.

The Vaqueros are anticipating a tough defensive matchup, as outside of their loss to LSU, the Lions defense is allowing an average of 17 points a game.

Knowing that Southeastern has played in front of bigger crowds and has played good defense to this point, Bush said the team has to be “ready” to make plays and they cannot make mistakes.

“They’re gonna make plays,” he said. “ We can’t turn the football over. We can’t make mistakes on our end that just allow them to make more plays. … We gotta be ready to make some and take advantage of the plays they give us to make.”

Starting quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger said it is “a whole new mindset” when “everybody’s 0-0,” as their upcoming opponent will be the toughest of the season yet.

“This is what you live for, right?” Marburger said. “This is conference play now, man. It’s going to go down the wire every single game. It’s going to be a four-quarter game, so we’ve got to be ready to play.”

Additionally, Bush told reporters at a news conference Tuesday the opening phase of conference play will be a “good gauge” to see where the team is and what its goals will be this season.

“These two weeks can affect really what our goals are for the second half of the season,” Bush said. “[We are] just worried about one day at a time, one week at a time.”