Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban said quarterback Tua Tagvailoa is doing ok at practice this week and it’s still a game-time decision as to whether he plays against LSU. On October 20th, Tua underwent a procedure to fix a high ankle sprain. The injury forced him to win one game.

LSU linebacker K-Lavon Chaisson says they expect Tua to be 100-percent Saturday and the plan is to get him on the ground…
cut 18 (19) “….the game”

In the first college football playoff ranking, LSU is number two, behind Ohio State, which is a surprise to many Tiger fans. Alabama is ranked third, Penn State Fourth.

The Falcons will likely have two of their top players back for Sunday’s game against the Saints in the Dome. Coach Dan Quinn said today that quarterback Matt Ryan and cornerback Desmond Trufrant have returned to practice. Rayn missed Atlanta’s last game with an ankle sprain and Trufant has been out since week five with a toe injury.

And the Saints are also getting healthier. Running back Alvin Kamara, tight end Jared Cook, wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith and cornerback Patrick Robinson were back on the practice field today for the portion viewed by the media.

In college basketball last night, the Ragin Cajuns and ULM were easy winners last night. UL-Lafayette dunked Loyola of New Orleans 94-41, while the Warhawks flew past Louisiana College 95-57. Nicholls nearly upset Illinois as they lost to the Big 10 school 78-70 in overtime.

In action tonight, Louisiana Tech is at Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi. Tulane will host Southeastern Louisiana. Both schools have first year coaches. Ron Hunter for the Green Wave, and Lions new head man is David Kiefer. Northwestern State, who beat Centenary last night, will be at Texas A-and-M tonight. And McNeese visits Western Michigan.

The first college football playoff rankings are out and many LSU fans are surprised to see the Tigers are not number one. That honor goes to Ohio State, which has dominated its eight opponents. LSU is ranked second and will visit third-ranked Alabama this Saturday.

The Bayou Bengals will not have linebacker Michael Divinity. The team’s sack leader has left the program for personal reasons. Andre Anthony, who has nine tackles on the season, is expected to see a bigger role. Linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson says Anthony is ready for the challenge…
cut 19 (24) “..handle it”
At yesterday’s practice, Damone Clark practiced with the pass-rushing unit. Safety Grant Delpit was not at practice as he continues to nurse an ankle injury. He’s expected to play Saturday.

The Saints will hit the practice field today to get ready for Sunday’s game against the one and seven Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans is seven and one at the halfway point and they’ll play the Dirty Birds and Carolina twice during the second half of the season. The combined record of the Saints opponents in the second half is 31-and-34.

The college basketball season tipped off last night and Nicholls nearly pulled off a big upset. The Colonels rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit and nearly beat Illinois in overtime 78-70. Transfer Dexter McClanahan had an impressive debut in a Nicholls uniform with 25 points.

Elsewhere, the Ragin Cajuns thumped Loyola of New Orleans 94-41, U-L Lafayette’s Bob Marlin won his 400th game as a Division One head coach, ULM routed Louisiana College 95-57 as JD Williams scored 25 points and Northwestern State crushed Centenary 84-51.

Tonight, Lousiana Tech tips off the season at Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi.

LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron says he expects safety Grant Delpit will play Saturday against second ranked Alabama. Delpit suffered an injury in the fourth quarter of the Auburn game. He was not at practice yesterday during the portion viewed by the media. Back-up running back Tyrion Davis-Price was also absent.

Alabama Coach Nick Saban says his star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, will be a game time decision as he continues to test his ankle after it underwent minor surgery….
cut 19 (15 ) “…the plan”
Sources told A-L-dot-com that Tagovailoa is expected to play and he’ll look healthier and less limited than he did last year when he underwent the same surgery prior to facing Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl last year.

The head injury Brandon Ingram suffered on Saturday in a loss to Oklahoma City did not hamper him last night. Ingram scored a career-high 40 points, but it wasn’t enough for New Orleans to beat Brooklyn. The Nets shot 57-percent from the field in the first half and went on to beat the Pels 135-125. New Orleans is 1-and-6 and they’ll host Toronto on Friday.

The Saints are getting ready to host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Dirty Birds have been a big disappointment at one and seven. Falcons Coach Dan Quinn willreceivers coach Raheem Morris work with the secondary. Atlanta is allowing 31 points a game. That’s third worst in the NFL.

Former Haughton star Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes last night as Dallas defeated the New York Giants 37-18.

Oddsmakers do not have top-ranked LSU beating Alabama this Saturday and ending the Crimson Tide’s eight-game winning streak over the Tigers. Bama is a 6.5 point favorite, but LSU Coach Ed Orgeron listed the reasons on why his team can win…
cut 13 (12) “…Florida”
But LSU will be without linebacker Michael Divinity. The senior from John Ehret High School says he’s taking some time off to focus on a personal matter and his goal is to get himself back to 100-percent so he can grduate in December.

While Divinity might be absent, there is a report that President Trump will be at Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch the top two teams in the country play each other.

The Saints are big 13.5 point favorites to beat their biggest rival, the one and seven Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in the Superdome. Tonight, Dallas is a touchdown favorite to knock of the New York Giants.

The 1-and-5 Pelicans are in Booklyn tonight to face the Nets. Both teams are struggling. Brooklyn is 2-and-4, even though Kyrie Irving is averaging 30 points a game. Brandon Ingram is leading the Pels in scoring, averaging 24 points a game. He’s expected to play tonight after leaving Saturday’s loss in Oklahoma City with a head injury. Tip off is at 6:30.

The Ragin Cajuns have a short week coming up as they will visit Coastal Carolina for a Thursday night game in South Carolina. U-L Lafayette leads the Sun Belt Western Division with a 3-and-1 conference record. Coastal is just one and three.

In the Southland Conference, Central Arkansas is the league leader at 5-and-1 and there’s a three-way tie for second place between Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Nicholls. The Colonels host Houston Baptist. The Lions are at Central Arkansas. Both games kick off at 3 PM.

And in exhibition baseball action, LSU defeated Nicholls 14-3. Daniel Caberera hit two-run homer and had four hits on the day.

We are six days away from LSU versus Alabama. The game is a match-up between two of the highest-scoring offenses in the country. Tiger Rag Assistant Editor Tyler Nunez wonders if LSU is up to the challenge defensively…
cut 8 (08) “…of old”
LSU’s scoring defense is 22nd in the nation at 20 points per game. Bama sits at 10th with 15 points per game.

The Athletic is reporting LSU linebacker Michael Divinity is no longer on the team. Divinty missed three games this season in what were called “coach’s decisions.” The senior from John Ehret High School has 23 tackles on the season and leads the team with three sacks.

Also one other LSU news bit. The Tigers game versus Ole Miss on November 16th will kick off at 6 PM.

The Ragin Cajuns have a short week coming up as they will visit Coastal Carolina for a Thursday night game in South Carolina. U-L Lafayette leads the Sun Belt Western Division with a 3-and-1 conference record. Coastal is just one and three.

The one-and-five Pelicans are in Brooklyn tonight to face the Nets. Brandon Ingram is expected to play after leaving during the loss to Oklahoma City with a head injury. Ingram has averaged nearly 24 points a game during the first six games of the season. Brooklyn is off to a slow start this season as well at just two and four.

The Saints will get back to work this week after enjoying a Sunday afternoon off. New Orleans will host the Falcons this Sunday. At the halfway point of the season, the Saints have the second-best record in the NFC behind undefeated San Francisco.

In the Southland Conference, Central Arkansas is the league leader at 5-and-1 and there’s a three-way tie for second place between Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Nicholls. The Colonels host Houston Baptist. The Lions are at Central Arkansas. Both games kick off at 3 PM.

We are six days away from LSU versus Alabama. The game is a match-up between two of the highest-scoring offenses in the country. Tiger Rag Assistant Editor Tyler Nunez wonders if LSU is up to the challenge defensively…
cut 8 (08) “…of old”
LSU’s scoring defense is 22nd in the nation at 20 points per game. Bama sits at 10th with 15 points per game.

The Athletic is reporting LSU linebacker Michael Divinity is no longer on the team. Divinty missed three games this season in what were called “coach’s decisions.” The senior from John Ehret High School has 23 tackles on the season and leads the team with three sacks.

Also one other LSU news bit. The Tigers game versus Ole Miss on November 16th will kick off at 6 PM.

The Ragin Cajuns have a short week coming up as they will visit Coastal Carolina for a Thursday night game in South Carolina. U-L Lafayette leads the Sun Belt Western Division with a 3-and-1 conference record. Coastal is just one and three.

The one-and-five Pelicans are in Brooklyn tonight to face the Nets. Brandon Ingram is expected to play after leaving during the loss to Oklahoma City with a head injury. Ingram has averaged nearly 24 points a game during the first six games of the season. Brooklyn is off to a slow start this season as well at just two and four.

The Saints will get back to work this week after enjoying a Sunday afternoon off. New Orleans will host the Falcons this Sunday. At the halfway point of the season, the Saints have the second-best record in the NFC behind undefeated San Francisco.

In the Southland Conference, Central Arkansas is the league leader at 5-and-1 and there’s a three-way tie for second place between Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Nicholls. The Colonels host Houston Baptist. The Lions are at Central Arkansas. Both games kick off at 3 PM.

Number one LSU hopes to break an eight-game losing streak to number two Bama this Saturday in Tuscaloosa for what’s being dubbed the Game of the Century II. Tiger Rag assistant editor Tyler Nunez says Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban will have to contend with the best LSU offense he’s ever faced…
Cut 7 (11) “…havent had.”
The first game of the Century resulted in a nine to six final score in favor of LSU. A lot more points are expected this Saturday. The Tigers are averaging 47 points a game, the Crimson Tide is averaging 49 points.

The Saints will get back to work this week after enjoying a Sunday afternoon off. New Orleans will host the Falcons this Sunday. At the halfway point of the season, the Saints have the second-best record in the NFC behind undefeated San Francisco.

ULM fell to 3-and-5 on the season on Saturday with a 48-41 loss to Arkansas State. The Warhawks had a 21-3 lead, but the Red Wolves responded by scoring four touchdowns in the second quarter.

The Ragin Cajuns are in first place in the Sun Belt’s West Division. U-L Lafayette defeated Texas State 31-3 on Saturday. Elijah Mitchell rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown. The Cajuns are at Coastal Carolina on Thursday.

In the Southland Conference, Central Arkansas is the league leader at 5-and-1 and there’s a three-way tie for second place between Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Nicholls. The Lions beat Stephen F Austin 47-30 on Saturday night in Hammond. Cole Kelley threw for a touchdown and rushed for two others.

The Colonels defeated U-I-W 27-23 on Saturday as Julien Gums rushed for a career-high 178 yards and two touchdowns. McNeese heads to its bye week with a 6-and-4 record after rallying to beat Northwestern State 30-20.

No Saints, LSU or Louisiana Tech football this weekend. But there’s still plenty of college football action around the state.
It’s homecoming in Lafayette and Monroe, as the Ragin Cajuns host Texas State and the Warhawks will face Sun Belt rival Arkansas State. With Appalachian State losing at home Thursday night, it’s opened the door for someone to host the Sun Belt Championship game other than App State.

It’s also homecoming at Southern. The Jaguars have yet to say who will start at quarterback, it will be either Ladarius Skelton or Bubba McDaniel. Grambling can improve to 4-and-4 on the season if they beat winless Texas Southern.

Northwestern State is coming off its first win of the season. The Demons are at McNeese. The Cowboys need to win out for a shot at the playoffs. C-S-T will televise the game at 4 PM.

24th ranked Nicholls is at U-I-W. The Colonels are trying to snap a two-game losing streak and Southeastern Louisiana looks to stay in the race for a conference title as the Lions host Stephen F Austin.

_________________________________________________________________

The Pelicans will look to make it two in a row on Saturday at 4 PM as New Orleans visits Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder. New Orleans won its first game of the year on Thursday, a 122 to 107 win over Denver. The Pels and O-K-C enter Saturday’s contest with idential one-and-four records.

Louisiana Tech will host LSU for an ehibition basketball game Saturday. Skylar Mays and Javonte Smart are back for the Tigers after leading them to an SEC regular season championship last year. Coach Will Wade says both are good scorers, but they need to rebound better…
cut 17 (15) “…there and bark”
Tip off in Ruston is at 4 PM.

And at one o’ clock on Sunday in Thibodaux, LSU baseball will visit Nicholls State for a fall ball exhibition contest. C-S-T will have coverage of the scheduled 11-inning game.

The Pelicans hope to break into the win column tonight when they host the Denver Nuggets at 8:30 Pm at the Smoothie King Center. New Orleans has not had Jrue Holiday the last two games because of a sprained left knee. The Pels need a healthy Holiday to beat the Nuggets, who are 3-and-1 on the season.

The big story in the NBA is the broken hand suffered by Warriors star Steph Curry. He’s expected to miss several weeks and since Golden State is already without Klay Thompson, the five-time defending Western Conference Champions will likely miss the playoffs.

Saints fans will be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals tonight, who host the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. If San Fran loses, then the Black and Gold will be tied with the 49ers and Packers for the top record in the NFC.

No championship parade for the Astros as the Nationals beat Houston six to two last night to win the World Series in seven games. Former LSU star Will Harris allowed the two-run homer that allowed the Nats to take the lead for good.

ULM will look to snap a nine-game losing streak to Arkansas State when the Warhawks host the Red Wolves on Saturday night for homecoming. On offense, A-S-U is led by Omar Bayless, who has 60 catches in eight games. Warhawks Coach Matt Viator says their receivers are impressive…
cut 19 (12) “…really incredible”

In the Southland Conference, Northwestern State will seek its first win in Lake Charles since 1988 when the two schools meet in southwest Louisiana at 4 PM. The 5-and-4 Cowboys still have a chance at making the F-C-S playoffs if they win their final three games. The Demons won their first game of the season last week and they beat McNeese in double overtime in Natchitoches last year.

Also this Saturday, Southeastern Louisiana hosts Stephen F Austin, while Nicholls travels to U-I-W, who is coming off that upset loss to Northwestern State.

It’s a somber day for Astros fans who saw their team fail to win a home game in the World Series, including the decisive seventh game which was won by the Washington Nationals six to two. Former LSU Tiger and Houston third baseman Alex Bregman says all they can do now is try to make another run at it next season…
cut 30 (18) “…back for 2020”
Bregman will find out November 14th whether he’s the American League MVP.

LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow has been named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the Collegiate Player of the Year. And LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Junior is the semifinalist for the Bednarik Award which goes to the best defensive player in college football. Stingley is the only freshman on that list.

The Pelicans will shoot for its first win of the season tonight when they host the Denver Nuggets at 8:30 PM inside the Smoothie King Center. Denver is 3-and-1 and coming off a home loss to Dallas. The Pels are coming off a loss to Golden State. Guard Jrue Holiday and center Derrick Favors didn’t play in that game, because of injuries. Coach Alvin Gentry says their status for tonight will be decided at game time.

ULM will host Arkansas State for homecoming on Saturday. Warhawks Coach Matt Viator says it’s a big game for his team, who is fighting to win the Sun Belt Western’s division…
cut 18 (18) “….west side’
Kick-off is at 2:30. At 4 PM, the Ragin Cajuns will host Texas State in another Sun Belt Western Division battle.