RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Home field advantage has been big for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team in the early stages of the program, but the biggest tests for the magic of Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium are looming. 
 
Three teams represented the Southland Conference (SLC) in the FCS Playoffs last season: Southeastern, Lamar and conference champion Stephen F. Austin. All three of those teams are ranked in the top 25 of the Week 5 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Coaches Poll and receiving recognition in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll. Those three teams will close out UTRGV's home slate. 
 
The challenging trio of games starts Saturday at 7 p.m. as the Southeastern Lions (3-2, 1-1 SLC) come to town. After dropping their season and conference opener to Houston Christian in a result that shocked many, the Lions have found their groove. SLU comes into this one riding a three-game winning streak and following the bye week, meaning the Lions are rested and ready to get back in action. Southeastern is ranked 25^th in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and sits just outside of the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll with 70 points – the most of all teams receiving points but not in the top 25. Three weeks ago, Southeastern earned its first-ever win over a FBS opponent as it traveled to Louisiana Monroe and defeated the Warhawks, 38-35, in a wire-to-wire victory. 
 
"Got our first ranked opponent coming into Vackar Stadium. We're excited. Coach (Frank) Scelfo does a good job. They're an experienced playoff team and they're going to be sound and solid again. They're a top 25 team and we'll see how we match up Saturday. That's the level we're working to get to, so it will be a good test for us, and we're excited to have them at home," head coach Travis Bush said. 
 
UTRGV (2-3, 1-2 SLC) fell, 45-31, when these teams faced off for the first time in 2025 in Hammond, Louisiana. It was the first loss in program history for the Vaqueros and their first SLC contest. The Vaqueros are coming into this one after a tough road loss at East Texas A&M last week, falling 20-17 on a last-second, 51-yard field goal. 
 
The UTRGV Vaqueros are one of the best home teams in the FCS. Only six teams have won more consecutive home games than UTRGV, which is 9-0 inside the friendly confines of Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium. Rhode Island currently has the longest active home winning streak in the FCS with 17 consecutive wins. The Vaqueros have outscored opponents 422-93 at Vackar Stadium and won three games via shutout. 
 
The Vaqueros are hoping for another loud and rowdy home crowd to help them battle the Lions. Southeastern is averaging 32.4 points per game compared to UTRGV's 26.4. The Lions execute a balanced attack, accumulating 855 yards and nine touchdowns rushing with 905 yards and 10 touchdowns in the air. The offense, led by senior quarterback Kyle Lowe, averages 352.0 yards/game. The Vaqueros have the top-ranked defense in the Southland and are holding opponents to 21.2 points per game. UTRGV's defense is led by linebackers Spencer Rich and Jaiden Haygood, who both rank in the top 10 in the conference in tackles. Rich is the SLC's leader with 51 total tackles, averaging 10.2 per game. Haygood contributes 7.2 tackles/game. 
 
Junior quarterback Aidan Jakobsohn leads UTRGV's offense and is fifth in the conference averaging 147.6 passing yards/game with six touchdowns to four interceptions. Two UTRGV receivers rank among the top 10 in the Southland in receiving yards/game in Kyran Lee (82 YPG) and Jaydon Smith (57.2 YPG). Southeastern's defense ranks fourth in the conference and is allowing opponents 30.8 PPG and 409.4 YPG. 
 
The first six weeks of the season have seen ups and downs and brought first-time experiences to the young Vaqueros program. The next six weeks will be no different. After Southeastern, UTRGV welcomes #11/10 Lamar and #7/4 Stephen F. Austin to Vackar Stadium to close out the home slate. Bush is viewing losses and the upcoming challenges as lessons to help the UTRGV Vaqueros find the identity of the program. 
 
"This year's team, as a program, the whole fan base, everybody – we're learning there's going to be struggles involved. Not every year is going to be, like, things going our way like last year," Bush said. "As a competitor, you hate it because you want to win every game. You play to win every game. But in the big scheme of things, it's a phase that this program needs. You've got to learn how to struggle, and you've got to learn how to overcome that. It's great lessons to teach these guys. 
 
"We're looking at ourselves and understanding, yeah, we're not where we anticipated we'd be. But it's where we are," Bush continued. "We're 2-3. Will we be 9-3, or 2-10, where will we fit in there? All of that depends on how you respond, how you handle struggle, and how we move on from here." 

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