With the return of Stephen F. Austin, the Southland Conference is reuniting with an old friend as it continues to rebuild.

However, the league still needs to prove itself when it comes to the national level, as one team made the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last year. Now they are looking to make more of a splash as they battle for the title and the automatic playoff berth.

Here is a look at the rest of the league McNeese State will be chasing.

Incarnate Word

The Cardinals went 8-2 last season, shared the league title and finished ranked 22nd. Yet they didn’t make the playoffs.

UIW is back and doesn’t want to be passed over again.

The league’s top quarterback Zach Calzada returns after throwing for 289 yards per game and finishing with 19 touchdowns. The Texas A&M transfer has the Cards ranked No. 16 in the preseason FCS Coaches Poll.

Calzada averaged 295 yards of total offense per outing and got former McNeese and Marshall speedster Mason Pierce as a fresh target.

Linebacker Tylan Foster leads the defense after 82 tackles last season.

The Cardinals improved by five games (6-5) under first-year coach Pete Rossomando and look to keep rising.

Lamar placed a trio of offensive linemen on the all-SLC preseason team. Seniors Jevale Roberson and Elias Ripley made the first team while junior Reggie Brooks is on the second. That is good news for quarterback Robert Coleman (156 of 255, 1,956 yards, 16 TDs) and running back Khalan Griffin, who ran for 823 yards and five touchdowns a year ago. Leading receiver Andre Dennis is also back. He had 36 catches for 482 yards and three scores.

Nicholls State

Nicholls is going to run the football and play defense, that is the formula head coach Tim Rebowe has found works best for the Colonels, who are ranked 24th in the preseason coaches poll.

With Collin Guggenheim and Jaylon Spears, Nicholls has two of the top three backs in the league. Guggenheim led the Southland with 178 carries for 833 yards and 11 TDs while Spears had 115 rushes for 769 yards and six scores.

With six first-team all-SLC players on the defense, Nicholls will once again be tough to score against, making the Colonels a true playoff contender.

Southeastern Louisiana

After a down season, the Lions look to get back into the race behind quarterback Eli Sawyer, who will try to bounce back from a rough season. He threw six touchdown passes and five interceptions while splitting time with Zach Clement.

That is no longer a problem as Clement has moved on. If Sawyer struggles, Alabama State transfer Damon Stewart is ready to fill in.

Darius Lewis is the top target after 48 catches for 568r yards and four touchdowns

Stephen F. Austin

With three wins a year ago, the Lumberjacks limp back into the conference with a lot of questions. Most of all, where do they fit in the league?

A lot will be determined by the group of transfers they will be counting on.

Senior Brian Maurer is back at quarterback, but he had nine interceptions while throwing 14 touchdowns, so cutting down on turnovers will be needed.

Jarrell Wimbley returns to lead the running game, but the defense needs improvement. The Lumberjacks allowed almost 400 yards a game. Linebackers Jermaine Brown and Luke Watson will need to step up for that group to improve.

Houston Christian

A year after looking like they were on the rise, everything changed for the Huskies.

Jason Bachtel takes over as head coach after spending one season as the offensive coordinator. He will need to start the rebuilding process all over again.

Bachtel will count on a pair of second-team all-conference preseason selections in Dion Daniels and Zae Smith. Daniels started every game on the offensive line for the top-rushing team in the league last fall.

Smith had 3.5 sacks to lead the defense.

Texas A&M-Commerce

The Lions enter their third season on the FCS level and in the Southland with lots of questions. Quarterback Eric Rodriguez returns after playing in one game last year due to injury.

That gives TAMU-CC reason for hope, but there isn’t much help around him. Safety Max Epps leads an experienced secondary that the Lions will have to hope can lead a defense.

Northwestern State

Nothing went right last year in Natchitoches. The Demons canceled their season after the shooting death of safety Ronnie Caldwell.

That led to a coaching change and a complete overhaul of the roster. Blake McCorkle takes over after a 31-26 record on the Division III level at Belhaven. One thing is for sure, McCorkle will have his work cut out for him and his staff, but there is nowhere to go but up.