RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Southland Conference announced on Monday that senior quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) football team is the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
 
During Saturday's 56-28 victory over defending Southland Conference Champion Incarnate Word, Marburger threw six touchdown passes, tied for the 10^th-most in a game in Southland Conference history, while going 26-for-36 for a career-high 440 yards in the air to go with 13 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
 
UTRGV finished with 548 total yards on offense, the most in a conference game in the Southland this year, the most by a Southland team against an FCS opponent, the third most by UTRGV, and the fourth most by a Southland team this year.
 
Marburger leads the Southland in nine statistical categories, ranking seconds in the FCS in passing touchdowns (22) and passing yards per completion (15.66), third in yards per pass attempt (10.10), fourth in passing efficiency (181.6) and points responsible for (156), fifth in points responsible for per game (19.6), eighth in passing yards (2,020), 11^th in passing yards per game (252.5), and 12^th in total yards per game (280.0). He also ranks 40^th in the FCS and fourth in the Southland in completion percentage (64.5%), 52^nd in the FCS and fourth in the Southland in completions per game (16.13), and 106^th in the FCS and seventh in the Southland in rushing touchdowns (4).
 
Marburger leads an offense that ranks second in the FCS and first in the Southland in points per game (46.1), fourth in the FCS and first in the Southland in total yards per game (492.3) and team passing efficiency (174.78), fifth in the FCS and first in the Southland in passing yards per completion (15.09), and 11^th in the FCS and first in the Southland in passing yards per game (275.4).
 
Of the 11 athletic departments that have started an NCAA Division I football team from scratch at the NCAA DI-AA (1978-2005)/FCS (2006-Present) level since Division I college football split into two levels in 1978, UTRGV is one of two programs to win six of its first eight games during its inaugural season, along with Kennesaw State (2015, 6-2). Only one of the 11 teams won seven games during its inaugural season – South Alabama (2009, 7-0), which didn't play any NCAA Division I competition.
 
Up Next
UTRGV plays its third-straight road game against a team ranked or receiving votes on Saturday at 6 p.m. at No. 24 Stephen F. Austin. Fans can watch online via ESPN+. Fans can also listen locally on Ultra 90.1 FM, in Laredo on Pure Country 95.7 FM, and online via the Radio Para Mi app.
 
UTRGV Weekly Southland Conference Honors
Sept. 1 – Eddie Lee Marburger, Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Sept. 8 – Nathan Denney, Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 15 – Elijah Graham, Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Oct. 27 – Eddie Lee Marburger, Offensive Player of the Week

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