SAN ANTONIO — Welcome to the chaos.

The Southland Conference has what it wants, which is half the league with realistic championship hopes halfway through the league schedule.

Saturday left five teams clustered atop the standings with one loss. The schedule dictates that many of those teams are guaranteed a second conference loss, leaving two-loss Northwestern State in the hunt as well.

It will be a compelling final month of football, though thanks to conference expansion there is potential for equal amounts of confusion. The lack of a true round-robin format lends to the possibility that co-champions will not play one another, forcing the conference’s automatic playoff berth to be determined by some arcane formula rather than on the field.

It’s not ideal, but this is the new-world order of college football. If Maryland and Iowa can be conference rivals, then a place like Incarnate Word can pass off as a Division I program.

The fine folks at UIW are certainly trying to pass muster, but they are working with a limited slate.

It’s shocking to think Benson Stadium is in the same league as Cowboy Stadium, where one has never had to sidle past McNeese’s coaching staff on the way to their seat in the press box. Or had to change into shorts because the temperature is hovering around triple digits before kickoff.

But you do have to give the Cardinals credit for one thing — their lights stayed on for the entire game, which is better than fellow Southland newbie Houston Baptist could manage last Saturday night.

Then again, HBU is still in better shape than established league member Nicholls after beating the hapless Colonels on Saturday.

Even with the massive disparity between the programs at the top and bottom of the league, McNeese’s win over UIW is the most important victory the Cowboys have had so far this season.

For starters, it’s the first time McNeese has won a road game this year. Frankly, it may be tougher to play in an atmosphere like Benson Stadium than Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium.

A team has to be solar-powered for games like this — in other words, all energy is self-sustaining. It’s not coming from any other source, though it does help when you bring along as many fans as the home team. It took a big play, Brent Spikes’ first interception and long return, to feel like this was a football game rather than a spring scrimmage.

The Cowboys also proved they have depth, which is vital to a team’s chances this time of year and even more so if it wants to go on a run in December. McNeese played three quarters with two healthy running backs, and the whole game without two of its three starting safeties.

Spikes stole the show, but Derek Allen and Andre Fuller seemed to perform just fine in place of Dominique Hill and Aaron Sam. Both tied with Wallace Scott for a team-high five tackles.

If the Cowboys are going to win the crown, they’ll need to get at least a few starters back into the lineup. Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern Louisiana will all be stout tests, and even Lamar isn’t going to be pushed over.

Ideally the health situation will improve, although winning a game largely on the accomplishments of backups does prove one point about the Cowboys. They have the ability to survive chaos.

In the season’s final month, no other trait will be more important.

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Alex Hickey covers McNeese sports. Email him at ahickey@americanpress.com(Rick Hickman/American Press)