The Battle of the Lions The Southeastern Louisiana Lions delivered a complete performance in front of the home crowd of 4,121 on Military Night, dismantling East Texas A&M 59-14 in a statement victory at Strawberry Stadium. With the win, Southeastern improves to 7–2 overall and 5–0 in Southland Conference play, continuing their march toward a potential conference championship and FCS playoff berth. The win this week moved the Lions up to No. 14 in the AFCA FCS Coach's Poll and No. 19 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 from No. 16/21. All week leading up to kickoff, fan account WeAreETAMU had plenty to say on X, predicting an upset in Hammond. The Lions responded where it mattered most, on the field. By the time the final whistle blew, Southeastern had outclassed their Southland foe in every phase of the game, forcing the talk from Commerce to turn to near complete silence. Southeastern’s offense set the tone early and never looked back, totaling 476 yards, 340 through the air and 136 on the ground, while holding ETAMU to just 291. Quarterback Carson Camp led the way with an efficient 11/18 for 226 yards and two touchdowns, while Kyle Lowe added 85 yards and a touchdown on 9/11 passing. Tanner Murray saw action as well in the fourth quarter, going 3/4 for 29 yards. Jaylon Domingeaux continued his incredible campaign, hauling in four catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a highlight 82-yard bomb that put the first points on the board. The backfield committee was again steady and balanced as Kyree Paul, Calvin Smith Jr., Jaedon Henry, and Deantre Jackson combined for 114 rushing yards on 21 carries. Smith Jr. led the charge with two touchdowns, while Paul and Jackson each added one. Coach Scelfo’s Lions showed a ruthless edge all night, refusing to take their foot off the gas. Up 28-0 late in the first half, Southeastern could’ve run out the clock, but instead drove the field with 1:36 remaining and scored again to make it 35-0 at halftime. Then, up 52-7 with under three minutes to play, the Lions threw one more touchdown to make it 59-7, reaffirming that this team continues to play all the way to the final whistle. From a fan’s perspective, that relentless mentality is exactly what you want to see; no coasting, no mercy, just pure dominance from start to finish. Defensively, the Lions continued to assert themselves as one of the most complete units in the FCS. Linebacker KK Reno led with 10 tackles, while Ian Conerly-Goodly made a major impact with an interception, a pass breakup, and several key stops. Rowan Briggs forced a fumble and recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, while Jakyri Jones added 1.5 TFLs and a pass breakup. The pass rush was ruthless with sacks coming from Briggs, Evan Aubrey, Gabe Whittington, Kaleb Proctor, and Peyton Anderson. Special teams once again contributed in a big way. D’Khai Joseph electrified the crowd with a 63-yard punt return touchdown, totaling 117 yards on returns for the night. Brandon Hayes added 35 yards on a kick return, and Kyree Paul added another 30. Kicker Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez drilled a 43-yard field goal and was perfect on PATs, while Jack Hunter averaged 42 yards on his two punts, both pinning ETAMU deep. Lion Up LeBlanc’s Players of the Game Offense - Carson Camp: Carson Camp was 11/18 for 226 yards and 2 TDs. Camp was in full control of the offense leading the Lions to their most dominant offensive showing of the year. Defense - Jakyri Jones: Jakyri Jones had 9 total tackles (6 solo, 1.5 TFL, 1 BrUp) helping to hold ETAMU to only 291 total offensive yards! Jones is a consistent producer week after week. Special Teams - D’Khai Joseph: D'Khai Joseph had 117 punt return yards, including a 63-yard touchdown, his second Punt Return TD of the year. He averaged 29.2 yards per return. Looking Ahead The Lions now hit the road for a pivotal Southland showdown with the Lamar Cardinals (7-2, 4-1 SLC), a team looking to bounce back after a tough loss to UIW that drastically reduced their conference title chances. Lamar will be hungry for redemption, but for Southeastern, Coach Scelfo's mission remains clear: keep playing mistake free football, build consistency, and play like we have all year. In his Monday Morning press conference, the Head Coach indicated that this week is business as usual for the Lions and just one more game. This matchup begins a crucial two-game road stretch before returning home for the heated River Bell Classic against Nicholls. With confidence surging and all three phases firing, the Lions are looking to close strong and prove once again why they’re among the FCS elite. Stay tuned for my pre-game report on the Lamar matchup later this week! Where to find me? X: @LionUpLeBlanc You can also see me on the weekly Louisiana Gameday show, previewing all the College Football in Louisiana. Lion Up!

The New Orleans Saints are entering Sunday 1-7, and their next opponent could be the biggest test of the season.

For the first time this season, both offense and defense for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns played a complete game when it mattered most. The Cajuns beat the Jaguars 31-22 this past Saturday in a game where bowl eligibility was at stake. Louisiana’s struggles this season has been costly. From poor QB play and an injured offensive line to poor coverage and tackling on defense allowing big plays, it has been a difficult stretch for Coach Des and company who came into this season with arguably the highest expectations of any Cajuns football season prior. Unfortunately, they found themselves at 2-6 and right on the verge of losing bowl eligibility coming into this game. But on Saturday, the team finally found a spark not just on one side, but both sides of the ball, that allowed them to take a nice lead early in the game big enough to where they kept it through the end even after a comeback attempt by South Alabama. Here are my final takeaways on the game: 1. Cajuns offense finally had a really good and consistent game. The Cajuns have struggled on offense way more than anyone would’ve thought they would this season. The run game has been the sole bright spot on this side of the football, with the passing game being very subpar and inconsistent. Turnovers and inability to take advantage of red zone trips has been the story of this offense’s struggles. On Saturday, however, everything seemed to click very well. Despite many players being out due to injuries, the team played a clean game free of turnovers and filled with big plays. Both the passing with Lunch Winfield and running games by Bill Davis and Zylan Perry was excellent, and the team only had to punt the ball 3 times. As a matter of fact, they did not punt the ball at all in the first half, scoring on all four of their possessions which allowed them to carry a 24-7 lead going into half. I’m going to give extensive credit to the offensive line, who we all know has struggled with an abundance of injuries this season, for allowing the offense to play and move well. Six offensive linemen were ruled out for this game, including three who have been starters this season. Only one sack was allowed Saturday against South Alabama. The team was also without starting TE Caden Jensen, but Brock Chappell took over very well, with 44 yards on just 2 receptions. 2. Shelton Sampson is finally playing the way we all expected he would. Things did not start off well this season for WR Shelton Sampson Jr., who only pulled in 7 of the 25 targets thrown to him in the first four games of the season. He was then sidelined for over a month with a hamstring injury suffered against Eastern Michigan. Sampson came back against Troy last week, leading all UL receivers in the game with 5 catches for 74 yards and his first touchdown reception of the season. Then on Saturday, he came down with 6 receptions and a whopping 138 yards to show for it (the most of any UL receiver this season), along with 2 touchdowns. He only had one drop, which came on a play that probably should’ve been called defensive pass interference. It’s been a sensational last two games and a comeback after injury for Sampson, making even the toughest of catches. Cajuns fans are excited to see him back and finally playing the way everyone knew he’s capable of, and he played a big role in Saturday's win over the Jaguars. 3. Lunch Winfield’s sensational performance made for a historical day in UL football history. From an overall perspective, QB Lunch Winfield has not looked entirely good passing the ball for the Cajuns ever since he led the team to a convincing second half comeback against Marshall. He came into this game with only a 54% completion in the previous three starts and averaging 180 yards per game through the air. To shoot him some credit, however, he has been the team’s leading rusher in the last four games prior to this game, averaging nearly 100 yards per game. On Saturday, he finished with 232 yards passing on just 14 completions, along with the 2 touchdowns passes to Sampson. What made this game really special, and historic, for Lunch was that he only threw one incompletion, finishing the day 14/15. That made for a 93.3% completion game, which breaks UL’s single-game record for best completion percentage (previously held by Chandler Fields when he went 18/20 [90%] against ULM in 2023). To Winfield’s credit, that lone incompletion came on a deep pass to Sampson that, as mentioned earlier, probably should've been called pass interference. The defender’s hand was grabbing on Sampson’s jersey by the inside of his shoulder pads as he went up to catch the ball. Regardless, excellent performance by Lunch on Saturday in making decisive plays to keep the ball safe and moving. Not to mention he did run for 45 yards and a touchdown as well. 4. Defense stepped up big-time when needed. The Cajuns defense played very well in the first half of the game where UL powered themselves to a 24-7 lead going into the half. They allowed only a total of 126 total yards in the first two quarters, helping the Cajuns offense control ball possession 18:44 to 11:16. Most notably, the defense triumphed big with a huge goal line stop late in the fourth quarter as South Alabama tried to rally a second-half comeback. Not to mention, the defense sealed off the victory with an interception by LB Jaden Dugger. This is a defense that has had some inconsistency in defending both the pass and run from time to time. Defending the run has been a key issue, where they allow 200 yards per game, and defending the pass against Sun Belt quarterbacks, albeit improved against Troy last week, has been subpar as well. Tackling was also an issue for the team as well, which allowed for big plays by opponents. That has improved as the course of the season played out, and the performance in this game showed a lot of that improvement. The Cajuns will be back home this upcoming Saturday at 4pm to face 3-5 (0-4 in conference) Texas State in what will be the final game between the two before the Bobcats ship away to the new Pac-12 Conference. Louisiana is 12-0 and undefeated against Texas State, a matchup that has been played yearly since 2013. UL looks to keep that streak going as they find a way to keep their 7-year bowl eligible streak going. Check out my sports talk show, Cajun Sports Talk, where my co-host and betting expert Banyan Turner and I cover the hottest sports topics from Cajun Country and beyond! We go live on our YouTube channel Tuesdays at 5pm CT. We are a proud member of The Kneaux. Check us out!

Team Stats (Pelicans at Clippers) Final Score: 124-126 Rebounds: 43-37 Assists: 28-28 Steals: 8-12 Blocks: 4-6 Turnovers: 15-12 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Zion Williamson, 29; Kawhi Leonard, 34 Rebound Leaders: Yves Missi, 9; Ivaca Dubac, 11 Assist Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 8; James Harden, 14 My Player of the Game: Jeremiah Fears Chrissy's Key Takeaways * It was great to see the New Orleans Pelicans come out early in the game and play well and be competitive. * Rookie Jeremiah Fears is the real deal. He's 19 years old and playing like he's used to the pace of the NBA. * Once again, the third quarter proved to be a turning point for the Pelicans as the Clippers took their biggest lead of the game during that time. * BTW, Joel Meyers was unhinged during this game and said several things against the referees that were hilarious and true. * Jordan Poole has been a gift to this team and it's strange that he isn't a starter anymore. * We need to see resilience from this team and it hasn't happened yet. * The Pelicans are 0-5 to start the season. This is depressing. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

The Game The Southeastern Louisiana Lions return home to Strawberry Stadium this Thursday night for another great Southland Conference matchup against the East Texas A&M Lions. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in Hammond, America. This week also marks Military Night, where all military members with identification receive free admission as the university honors those who serve. Southeastern enters the contest at 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Southland Conference play, ranked No. 16 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. The Lions are undefeated against FCS opponents this season and have outscored them by an average of 33.2 points per game, according to @LionUpFootball on X, tied with No. 1 North Dakota State for the best point differential in the FCS.  The Southeastern Lions are also 3-1 all time against East Texas A&M, winning the last two meetings. While Southeastern is in the middle of a title race with Lamar and Stephen F. Austin, this week’s opponent cannot be overlooked. The Lions of Commerce, Texas may have a 2-6 record, but their level of play has been far stronger than the numbers suggest.

Team Stats (Pelicans at Nuggets) Final Score: 88-122 Rebounds: 36-57 Assists: 17-40 Steals: 9-5 Blocks: 3-5 Turnovers: 12-14 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 21; Nikola Jokić, 21 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 7; Nikola Jokić, 12 Assist Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, 6; Nikola Jokić, 10 My Player of the Game: Jeremiah Fears Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The starters for this game were Fears, Murphy III, Jones, Zion, and Deandre Jordan. So that was different, and it didn't work at all. * With most of the third quarter over, Zion had five total points in the game. He finished with 11. * The Nuggets went on a 32-4 run in the third quarter. The Pelicans came out very slow to start off the third. * New Orleans went 7-of-33 from the three-point line. * Nikola Jokić had a triple-double. The Pelicans had no answer for him all night. * Do the Pelicans know that the season has started because the majority of the guys out there look like they still think they're playing Summer League. * The problem with this team isn't the talent because they have that. So what's the problem? Coaching, effort, etc.? This has to be fixed ASAP. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Celtics at Pelicans) Final Score: 122-90 Rebounds: 54-35 Assists: 25-17 Steals: 5-7 Blocks: 7-0 Turnovers: 11-13 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Anfernee Simons, 25; Jordan Poole, 22 Rebound Leaders: Neemias Queta, 11; Yves Miss, 7 Assist Leaders: Payton Prichard, 8; Trey Murphy, III, 5 My Player of the Game: Jordan Poole Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The first two losses of the season were tough but at least the team looked good. In this game, no one looked fired up to compete except Jordan Poole and Jose Alvarado. * Zion did not play because he's been spending all offseason getting in shape just so he could rest after two games. Makes no sense to me. * Trey Murphy and Herb Jones need to find their spark and stride. These guys have been putting in a ton of work in the offseason but it isn't showing right now. * Willie Green has got to be on a short leash because this 0-3 start feels like the team is just picking up where they left off except this time they're healthy and have all the momentum in the world. * The next three games for the Pelicans will be on the road against Denver, Clippers, and Thunder . Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.