For LSU to win tomorrow, they’ll have to contain one of the best pass rushers the SEC has ever seen. Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett has over 30 sackles in his career and is coming off a 4.5 sack performance against Texas-San Antonio. LSU Guard Will Clapp says they have great respect for Garrett….
cut 19 (12) “…their defense”
After a frustrating loss to Florida, Clapp says the team is anxious to play tomorrow night.

McNeese State quarterback James Tabary has been named Southland Conference newcomer of the year.

The Saints return to practice today as they get ready for Sunday’s game against Los Angeles. The Rams will start number one pick Jared Goff at quarterback and defensively they are 7th in yards allowed.

Scott Farmer is out as UL Lafayette’s athletic director. He stepped down after five years. There were a lot of successes during that time. The football team won four straight bowl games, multiple NCAA Tournament appearances by the baseball and softball programs. Farmer wishes his successor the best of luck….
cut 17 (16) “…his or her advice”
School president Joseph Savoie they’ll begin interviewing candidates to be A-D in early 2017.

LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri has promoted two former playes to take the place of Andy Cannizaro, who is now the head coach at Mississippi State. Nolan Cain will be a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator, while Micah Gibbs will be a volunteer assistant and hitting coach.

The Pelicans won their third straight last night as they beat Atlanta 112-94.

Rumors are rampant the LSU Tigers will make a push for Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher, once the Seminoles regular season ends on Saturday night. Tigers Interim Head Coach Ed Orgeron says he’s telling his team to block out the noise…
Cut 17 (12) “job first “
Tigers linebacker Kendell Beckwith will not play Thursday against the Aggies. The Tigers leading tackler went down with a reported knee injury in the first half of the Florida game. Former Karr standout Donnie Alexander will get the start.

The Saints have had their issues on special teams. That’s why Coach Sean Payton has hired Kevin O’ Dea. O’Dea specializes in the snap, hold and kick. New Orleans has had two kicks blocked in the last two games. This Sunday’s game is at noon against the Los Angeles Rams.

In the NBA, the Pelicans are at Atlanta tonight.

Scott Farmer has stepped down as UL Lafayette’s atheltic director after five years. Farmer was emotional as he said good bye to the Ragin Cajun fan base…
cut 30 (16) “…to me”
Farmer will stay with the university and teach in the school’s kinesiology department. President Joe Savoie says there will be a national search for a new A-D.

Despite winning only one game, Northwestern State’s Jay Thomas will return for his fifth season as the Demons Head Coach.

LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri has promoted volunteer coach and former Tigers pitcher Nolan Cain to assistant coach and recruiting coorinator. And former LSU catcher Micah Gibbs has been named volunteer coach and hitting coach

There’s plenty of speculation that LSU will make a strong push to hire Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. But Fisher on today’s A-C-C teleconference said that he’s very hapy at Florida State and he’s fully invested in Florida State. Fisher is preparing the Seminoles to face the Florida Gators on Saturday night.

On Friday afternon, Louisiana Tech faces Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Last year, the Golden Eagles thumped the Bulldogs in Ruston, 58-24. Tech wide receiver Trent Taylor says they would like to return the favor and win big in Hattiesburg….
cut 19 (20) “…this week”
La Tech enters the season with an 8-3 record, while the Golden Eagles are 5-6.

UL Lafayette enters Saturday’s game against Arkansas State with a 4-6 record. So the Ragin Cajuns will need to beat the best team in the Sun Belt to keep its bowl hopes alive. Kick-off is at 11 AM.

Jay Thomas remains the head coach of Northwestern State. The Demons were 1-10 in Thomas’ fourth season at the helm, but he’ll be given one more year to turn things around in Natchitoches.

The Saints are trying to improve their special teams, which is why Coach Sean Payton has brought in Kevin O’Dea to help with the special teams unit. The last two weeks, New Orleans has had a kick blocked and rookie kicker Will Lutz has also had a couple others deflected. New Orleans hosts the Los Angels Rams at noon on Sunday.

In the NBA…the Pelicans are at Atlanta. New Orleans has won three of its last four and Anthony Davis is coming off back-to-back 38 point performances.

Tonight in college hoops,,,McNeese is at Memphis, Grambling visits Virginia, Nicholls takes on New Mexico State and ULM faces Bryant after losing to Seattle in overtime.

Ed Orgeron could be coaching his final game for the LSU Tigers Thursday night against Texas A&M. There’s no doubt the Louisiana native would love to be the head coach for the Tigers for many years to come. But he says his priority is to make sure the team is ready to play the Aggies…
cut 16 (20) “…national crowd”
Linebacker Kendell Beckwith is not expected to play because of an injury, while running back Leonard Fournette is listed as day-to-day.

The Saints have hired Kevin O’Dea to be an assistant special teams coach. New Orleans has had two kicks blocked in the last two games and O’Dea specializes in the snap, hold and kick.

Northwestern State finished the 2016 season with a 1-10 record, but Demons athletic director Greg Burke says Thomas will be back for next year, which is the last year on his contract.

After a bye week, Louisiana Tech is ramping up their preparations for the regular season finale on Friday against Southern Miss. Bulldogs wide receiver Trent Taylor says they have a good idea of what the Eagles like to do on defense…
cut 18 (12) “…your offense”
Last year, Southern Miss thumped the Bulldogs on their home field, 58-24.

In college hoops, ULM lost to Seattle 81-75 last night. The Ragin Cajuns defeated Delaware State 83-82.

The Pelicans are at Altanta tonight. The Pels have won three of their last four

Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham believes LSU will ask Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher if he wants the head coaching job in Baton Rouge, if Fisher says no, than current interim head coach Ed Orgeron remains a strong candidate…
cut 8 (09) ‘…right there”
Orgeron’s candidacy took a hit with Saturday’s 16-10 loss to Florida. The Tigers had a chance to win the game on the final play, but running back Derrius Guice started right, instead of left when he tried to get across the goal line. Orgeron says Guice is not the only one who made a mistake…
cut 30 (15) “…not him’
The Saints are now in third place in the NFC South after Tampa Bay beat Kansas City 19-17. The Buccaneers are 5-5, while New Orleans is 4-6, tied for last place in the division with Carolina. The Saints host the Rams this Sunday. L-A has scored the fewest number of points in the NFL this year.

In other NFL news…former Louisiana Tech and West Monroe star Paul Turner has been promoted to the Philadelphia Eagles active roster. The Eagles play a week from tonight against the struggling Packers.

It’s Bayou Classic Week and tickets to the Mercedes Benz Superdome are selling fast for the annual matchup between Grambling and Southern. Both teams are undefeated against SWAC opponents this year.

It’s been announced Louisiana Tech will play Southern Miss in Hattiesburg at 3 PM on Friday afternoon. ESPN News will televise the contest. Tech is looking to host the Conference USA Championship game in Shreveport.

The Pelicans Anthony Davis has been named Western Conference Player of the Week. The Pels have also signed Guard Anthony Brown. He averaged 29 points in three games in the D-League.

LSU came into this season with championship aspirations, instead they are 6-4 heading into the regular season finale. The Tigers lost by a combined 21 points in the four losses. Quarterback Danny Etling says they’ve learned every play matters in major college football…
cut 18 (13) “…right attitude”
LSU’s regular season finale is Thursday versus Texas A&M.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher remains the top candidate to become the next head coach of the Bayou Bengals. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worshman says it’s not surprising Athletic Director Joe Alleva has Fisher high on his wishlist…
cut 6 (06) “….say no”
Fisher won a national championship at Florida State and won a national title at LSU in 2003 as the Tigers offensive coordinator.

The LSU Tigers suffered a painful 16-10 loss to Florida. The Tigers had plenty of chances to beat the Gators, but there were too many mistakes, including five trips into the red zone and coming away with just one touchdown. Safety John Battle says the coaches are not the blame for this loss….
cut 17 (18) “…A-and-M”
Interim Head Coach Ed Orgeron’s candidacy to become permanent head coach for the Tigers took a hit with this loss. Orgeron is now 4-and-2 since he took over for the fired Les Miles.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports Orgeron remains a candidate for the head coaching job, but there’s also great interest in Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher.

A 3:00 kickoff time on Friday has been set for Louisiana Tech’s regular season finale at Southern Miss. The Bulldogs have won seven in a row and they’ve already wrapped up the Conference USA West Division. A win on Friday and they could possibly host the CUSA title game in Shreveport.

A big crowd is expected for Saturday’s Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern. Over 40-thousand tickets have been sold for the game, which is 13-thousand more than last year at this time. Both teams are 8-0 in the SWAC and feature two dynamic quarterbacks, Austin Howard for Southern and Devante Kincade for Grambling.

In the NFL…Tampa Bay won again to move past the Saints into second place in the NFC South. The Bucs are now 5-5 after a nice 19-17 win on the road over Kansas City. Former LSU Tiger Spencer Ware had 69 yards rushing in that contest. The Black and Gold host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The Rams fell to 4-6 after losing to Miami 14-10

It’s the final home game of the season for the Tigers at noon today as the Bayou Bengals will host Florida. A win for Florida and they clinch the SEC East, while a victory for LSU and a win against Texas A-and-M on Thanksgiving Day, the Tigers could receive an invite to play in the Sugar Bowl. Two more wins could also convince athletic director Joe Alleva to hire Ed Orgeron as the permanent head coach.

Alleva released in a letter to LSU fans describing what he’s looking for in the next head coach of the Tigers. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says one of the items in Alleva’s letter stuck out…
cut 9 (08) “….Les Miles”

In other college football action today, Ragin Cajuns visit Georgia, ULM is at Appalachian State, Grambling visits Texas Southern, while McNeese hosts Lamar.

It was a wild night of high school football playoff action last night…in Division One…the defending champs, Catholic High was shutout by Brother Martin 28-0.

In Division Two, University High upset Loyola Prep 41-25. In Division Four…Central Catholic advanced to the semifinals to play Ascension Episcopal.

In 5-A, Acadiana beat Ponchatoula 38-14. In Four-A…Benton doubled up Rayne 28-14, In Two-A,. Rayville had an upset win over Welsh 20-13, Ferriday was also a winner.

And in One-A, Plain Dealing was victorious over Oberlin 14-6 and they’ll play Oak Grove in the quarterfinals.

In basketball…Jrue (Drew) Holiday played his first game of the season last night and scored 21 points as the Pelicans defeated Portland 113 to 101. Anthony Davis was also outstanding, 38 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

And the LSU Tigers improved to 3-0 with a 78-70 win over North Florida.

LSU is a 13.5 point favorite to beat Florida tomorrow at high noon in Tiger Stadium. Tiger defensive end Arden Key enters the game three sacks away from tying the school record for most sacks in a season. Key, who said before the season he would get 20 sacks, says he would love to tie the school record on Senior Day…:
Cut 16 (12)” good bang”

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva has sent a letter to Tiger fans about what he’s looking for in a new coach…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Ragin Cajuns play their final non-conference game of the year on Saturday when they visit the S-E-C’s Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. UL Lafayette is 4-and-5 on the season, but Coach Mark Hudspeth believes his young team is better than what their record shows…:
Cut 19 (18) “moving forward”

After falling to the Panthers last night, the Saints are now 4-6 with 6 games remaining…meaning their chances of making the playoffs are even thinner. New Orleans scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth, but it still wasn’t enough.

New Orleans Pelicans star Jrue Holiday announced he’s going to return to play after being with his wife while she had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. Holiday added that he was returning to the Pelicans “because my wife said I could.” The Pelicans are 2-10 on the season and could really use some help from Holiday.

For the second straight game, the Saints had a kick blocked and it played a huge role in a second consecutive defeat for the Black and Gold. Coach Sean Payton on the special teams miscue in the 23-20 defeat to the Panthers…
cut 30 (08) “….it’s disappointing”
The Saints are now a disappointing 4-6 and a long shot to make the playoffs.

LSU is a 13.5 point favorite to beat Florida on Saturday, even though the Gators have one of the best defenses in the SEC. Tigers center Ethan Pocic says Florida is excellent at swarming towards the football…
cut 18 (17) “….limit that”
Kick-off on Saturday is at noon.

Good news for duck hunters, surveys find there are over twice as many ducks in Louisiana as there were at this time last year. State waterfowl study leader Larry Reynolds says they really aren’t sure why there are so many more ducks, but they have some theories….
cut 27 (10) “…migrants down”
Duck hunting season opens in the east zone tomorrow morning.

In college basketball tonight, LSU hosts North Florida. The Tigers are 2-0 and shooting 53-percent from the field. U-N-F is 1-and-2 on the year.

The Pelicans host Portland tonight. Anthony Davis is expected to play after missing the last game with a quad injury. Tonight also marks guard Jrue Holiday’s first action on the court this season.