Incarnate Word was introduced to the FCS world as a sacrificial lamb to North Dakota State in 2014. The Bison were marching to their fourth consecutive FCS national championship and the Cardinals were entering their second season at the FCS level. ESPN’s “College Gameday” made the second visit to Fargo, North Dakota as the Bison held Incarnate Word to only 150 yards of total offense and defeated the Cardinals 58-0 in dominant fashion.
Nobody would have believed that only four years later that very same program would win their first conference championship and less than 10 years later be facing the Bison in the FCS playoffs with a chance to clinch a spot in the FCS championship game.
The rise of Incarnate Word started on Dec. 30, 2017, as Texas Tech offensive coordinator Eric Morris was announced as the fourth head coach in school history. The 32-year-old head coach was the mastermind behind the No. 2 offense in the country at Texas Tech and helped develop a future Super Bowl MVP in Patrick Mahomes.
In Morris’ first season, the Cardinals won the first conference championship in school history and made their first appearance in the FCS Playoffs. The offense improved drastically from an abysmal 293.2 yards per game to 483.2 yards per game.
The trajectory of the program shifted during the spring 2021 season. The Cardinals would never be the same as an under-recruited 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback from West Columbia, Texas stepped on campus during the spring season.
Cameron Ward was overshadowed in the recruiting process due to questions surrounding his passing ability as his high school ran a version of the Wing-T offense. He immediately put the doubts to rest as Ward set multiple UIW single-game and single-season passing records in only six games. He was named the 2020-21 Jerry Rice Award winner and earned first-team All-Conference honors.
Ward helped the Cardinals reach new heights in 2021 as UIW won their second conference championship and the first FCS playoff game in school history. Ward was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and earned FCS All-American honors.
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After the season, Morris accepted the offensive coordinator position at Washington State under new head coach Jake Dickert. Ward announced his entry into the transfer portal after the season and joined Morris in Pullman, WA.
Many experts and fans believed the rise of the UIW program would come to a halt after losing both Morris and Ward before the 2022 season. You cannot blame them … Ward finished his two-year career at UIW as the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and passing yards, while Morris was the catalyst that led the program to new heights.
But UIW had a blueprint … The Cardinals hired a young offensive coordinator that had ties to the state of Texas in 2018 and had massive success as a first-time head coach. Insert 33-year-old UCF offensive coordinator GJ Kinne, who was an extremely successful quarterback at Tulsa from 2008-11.
UIW hired Kinne to be its next head coach.
One of Kinne’s first tasks on the job was to find a starting quarterback to replace arguably the greatest quarterback in school history. The Cardinals stayed in the Southland Conference as former Nicholls State quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. announced his commitment to UIW on Jan. 16, 2022.
Scott originally signed with LSU out of high school before playing one season at East Mississippi Community College and winning the 2017 NJCAA national championship. The pressure to win and compete was nothing new to Scott, who had to live up to high expectations at the junior college level.
As many in the country doubted whether a first-time head coach and a seventh-year senior quarterback could overcome the odds … The Cardinals opened the season with two statement wins and jumped to No. 6 in the FCS Top 25.
The Cardinals knocked off No. 9 Southern Illinois in dominant fashion as Scott scored seven total touchdowns and totaled over 400 yards of offense. In week two, UIW upset the second FBS team in school history as the Cardinals defeated Nevada 55-41 behind 435 passing yards and four touchdowns from Scott.
Despite entering the season with major question marks, UIW finished the season with a school-record 12 wins and made a historic run to the FCS semifinals against NDSU.
Lindsey Scott Jr. entered the season with the difficult task of replacing a school legend but had one of the greatest seasons in college football history in his final year. Scott was named the 2022 Walter Payton Award winner and earned unanimous first-team FCS All-American honors.
History tends to repeat itself, and the Cardinals watched again as their head coach took an FBS job and their star QB had to be replaced. Kinne accepted the head coaching role at Texas State. And Scott graduated and pursued professional opportunities in the NFL and USFL.
UIW was left in a familiar position … A need to find a new head coach and a quarterback to replace a school legend.
The blueprint remained the same … A young, offensive-minded, first-time head coach with strong Texas connections. UIW announced 30-year-old Clint Killough as the next head coach of the Cardinals on Dec. 15, 2022.
And as far as the QB position … UIW brought in three FBS transfers this offseason: Zach Calzada (Auburn/Texas A&M), Ryan Stubblefield (East Carolina), and Richard Torres (Nebraska). Calzada started 10 games at Texas A&M in 2021, throwing for 2,185 yards, 17 TDs, and nine interceptions, including going 21/31 for 285 yards and three TDs in a win over #1 Alabama.
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Many speculate whether the rise of this program is just a “flash in a pan” or if something special has been built in San Antonio, Texas. All the theories will be tested this season as the Cardinals look to win their third consecutive conference championship with a new head coach and new starting quarterback.
Killough made his message to the team clear in an interview this offseason: “This is what we have, these are the doubts, these are the challenges, but our standard has not changed.”
The Cardinals have a chance to make a major statement this season. Another conference championship and a deep run in the FCS playoffs will be the ultimate message to the critics and doubters of this program … Incarnate Word is building a perennial FCS contender.
