LSU’s Devin White becomes the first Fighting Tiger to win the Butkus Award, which goes to college football’s top linebacker. White received the award during a team meeting when the son of the legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus walked into the room and presented White with the trophy. White has 115 total tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles this season

Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson is one of four finalists for the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to college football’s top defensive end. Ferguson leads the nation with 15 sacks and needs two sacks to break the all-time NCAA record for career sacks.

Jaylon’s brother, Jazz Ferguson, has announced he’s turning pro. The Northwestern State receiver was named Southland Offensive Player of the Year after setting school records for receiving yards and touchdown catches in a season.

After a little bit of break, the Saints return to the practice field today to get ready for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. The Bucs are 5-7 and coming off a win over Carolina. They handed New Orleans a loss in the season opener in the Dome. The Bucs could be without DeSean Jackson, he missed last Sunday’s game with a thumb injury.

The Panthers have placed tight end Greg Olsen on injured reserve, ending his 2018 season. Olsen ruptured his right plantar fascia. The Saints still have two games left with Carolina on the schedule.

In college basketball…McNeese led 22nd ranked Mississippi State by three points at halftime last night, but lost 90-77 to the Bulldogs. State went on a 19-0 run early in the second half.

Louisiana Tech beat Priairie View A-and-M 82-68. DaQuan Bracey and Derric Jean combined to score 39 points.

The Pelicans are at Dallas tonight. New Orleans is 26th in the NBA in defense, which is a big reason why they are 12-13 on the season.

LSU Ticket Manager Brian Broussard says Fiesta Bowl ticket sales through the university have been brisk. He says it might be a long trip to Arizona from Louisiana, but they anticipate a good contingent of LSU fans who live out west will make it to the game…
cut 8 (10) “….bowl game”
It’s the first time ever that the Tigers have played in the Fiesta Bowl.

Northwestern State wide receiver Jazz Ferguson declared for the NFL draft today. Ferguson was the 2018 Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year as he broke four single-season records.

Former Seahawk and Saints cornerback Brandon Browner was sentenced to eight years in prison today on an attempted murder charge. Browner plead no contest after prosecutors say he threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend last July and when she tried to flee, Browner smothered her with a carpet.

The Ragin Cajuns will head to Orlando next week where they’ll play Tulane in the AutoNation Cure Bowl. UL Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says it’s a good reward for his team, who battled hard to win the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference…
Cut 16 (14) show up”
Meanwhile, Green Wave Head Coach Willie Fritz is looking for a new offensive coordinator. Fritz fired offensive coordinator Doug Ruse three days after Tulane beat Navy to become bowl eligible. Fritz says he wants an offense that runs more tempo.

Louisiana Tech’s Amik Robertson, Jaylon Ferguson and O’Shea Dugas were named to the Conference USA first team.

In college hoops…Louisiana Tech hosts Prairie View tonight. The Bulldogs are 5-3 on the season. McNeese, who is 2-and-5 on the year, is at 22nd ranked Mississippi State. And Grambling State hosts Cententary.

LSU will try to snap UCF’s 25-game winning streak in the Fiesta Bowl when the two teams meet on January 1st. Despite going undefeated in the regular season, the Knights were not given the opportunity to play in the four-team playoffs. But U-C-F Coach Josh Heupel says they still have a great opportunity in front of them…
cut 19 (19) “….play football”
Kick-off is at noon on New Year’s Day.

The Pelicans dropped their sixth game in their last eight last night as they fell to the Clippers 129 to 126. Julius Randle scored a career-high 37 points, but New Orleans gave up 77 points in the first half and allowed the Clippers to shoot 59-percent for the game.

The Ragin Cajuns will head to Orlando next week where they’ll play Tulane in the AutoNation Cure Bowl. UL Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says it’s a good reward for his team, who battled hard to win the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference…
Cut 16 (14) show up”
Meanwhile, the Green Wave Head Coach Willie Fritz is looking for a new offensive coordinator. Fritz fired offensive coordinator Doug Ruse three days after Tulane beat Navy to become bowl eligible. Fritz says he wants an offense that runs more tempo.

In college hoops last night, Texas A-and-M beat Northwestern State 80-59. Tonight, Louisiana Tech hosts Prairie View A-and-M, McNeese is at Missisippi State and Grambling faces Centenary.

After throwing for 348 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Memphis on Saturday, Central Florida will start Darriel Mack at quarterback against LSU in the Fiesta Bowl. Mack replaced Heisman Trophy candidate McKenzie Milton, who went down with a gruesome ankle injury. U-C-F Coach Josh Heupel says everyone has confidence that Mack can get the job done…
Cut 18 (15) extremely well“
LSU will be playing back-up cornerbacks in the Fiesta Bowl, Greedy Williams has turned pro and Kristian Fulton is injured, but Butkus Award Finalist Devin White is playing as he said on Twitter that he has business to handle.

White, Williams, safety Grant Delpit and kicker Cole Tracy were named to the A-P All-SEC first team.

After a tough loss in the Sun Belt Championship game, UL-Lafayette is now looking forward to the AutoNation Cure Bowl where they’ll play Tulane in Orlando on December 15th. The Cajuns received their official invite to the Cure Bowl, following their loss to Appalachian State. Coach Billy Napier says they can take away a lot of valuable lessons from that game…
cut 17 (23) “….the ball”
In the first half, the Cajuns held Appalachian State to just 87 yards of total offense.

Julius Randle had a career-high 37 points but the Pelicans lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 129 to 126 last night. But New Orleans gave up a season-high 77 points in the first half. The Pels are now 12 and 13 on the season.

LSU star cornerback Greedy Williams will not play in the Tigers bowl game against UCF as he’s declared for the NFL draft. Williams is considered to be a top five pick next April. But junior linebacker Devin White will play in the bowl game, even though he’s a potential Top 10 pick, if he elects to forgo his senior season. Tiger Rag Editor James Moran says it’s not a surprise to see White elect to play, despite the injury risk
Cut 14 (12) “…targeting suspension.”
Moran says the Tigers need White, because they’ll be without Williams, Kristian Fulton and Bredein Fehoko, because of injuries and Jacob Phillips will have to sit out the first half because of a targeting suspension.

UCF Is without its starting quarterback as McKenzie Milton suffered a gruesome ankle injury a couple of weeks ago.

Louisiana Tech’s coaching staff has a busy two and a half weeks coming up. The Bulldogs are getting ready for the early signing day period that starts December 19th and on the 22nd, they’ll play Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says he’s still learning about the Rainbow Warriors, which the coaching staff all juggles recruiting…
cut 17 (18) “….lot of points”
Hawaii is 8-5, while the Bulldogs finished the regular season losing three of their last four.

After beating Charlotte 119 to 109, the Pelicans are back home tonight to host the Los Angeles Clippers. New Orleans is 12-and-12 on the season, while the Clippers lead the Pacific Division with a 15-7 record. Tip off is at 7 PM.

LSU is headed to the Fiesta Bowl where they’ll play undefeated UCF on New Year’s Day at noon central time. Tigers Coach Ed Orgeron says he’s impressed with the Knights 25-game winning streak…
cut 14 (11) “…how to win”
LSU cornerbacks Greedy Williams and Kristian Fulton will not play in the game. Williams, who is expected to be a Top 5 pick, has declared for the NFL draft, giving up his college eligibility. Meanwhile, Fulton had surgery on his ankle-slash-foot and will not be ready to play until at least spring football.

The Ragin Cajuns and Tulane will play in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando on December 15th. Five years ago, the two teams met in the New Orleans Bowl and the Cajuns won by three points.

No bowl game for ULM, they were left out despite a 6-6 record.

Louisiana Tech will head to Hawaii later this month to play the Rainbow Warriors in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night, December 22nd. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says playing a bowl game in Hawaii is an unique experience and he’s glad his team has this opportunity…
cut 18 (20) “…excited about it”
Hawaii is 8-and-5 on the season, while the Bulldogs are 7-5.

All good things must come to an end and the Saints 10-game winning streak ended last night with a 13-10 loss to Dallas. New Orleans was held to 176 total yards of offense as Quarterback Drew Brees was under duress for much of the game
Cut 3 (12) “we are doing”
Brees threw for just 39 yards in the first half and ended up with 127 yards passing.

The Saints also no longer own the top record in the NFC. That belongs to the one-loss Los Angeles Rams who are in Detroit this Sunday.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said today he was very disappointed by the postgame scuffle that occurred following LSU’s seven overtime loss to Texas A-and-M on Saturday, but he’ll leave it up to the two schools to hand down any discipline. On Sunday, the Tigers will find out their bowl destination. There’s a good chance it will be the Fiesta Bowl.

Can Nicholls keep its season going? They will face Eastern Washington tomorrow in the second round of the F-C-S playoffs. The Colonels have won five in a row and they’ve been jumping on their opponents right off the bat. Coach Tim Rebowe says strong starts have been a focus this year, but against this kind of opponent, they’ll need to keep their foot on the pedal…
cut 17 (15) “….slugfest”
Kick-off is at 4 Pm on Saturday.

At 11 A-M, the Ragin Cajuns face Appalachian State in the inaugural Sun Belt Championship game. The Mountaineers beat UL Lafayette by 10 points earlier this season.

In the high school football playoffs…top seeded Karr hosts Neville in Four-A tonight. These two schools have won 16 state championships between them. The Cougars are two-time defending champs.

It was a really frustrating night for the Black and Gold as the Saints were held to 176 yards of total offense in a 13-10 loss to Dallas. Quarterback Drew Brees threw for just 39 yards in the first half and ended up with 127 yards passing. Alvin Kamara was held to 36 yards rushing, while Mark Ingram had just 27 yards on the ground. Coach Sean Payton says not enough success on first down, led to a long night…
cut 4 (10) “…in this game”
The loss ends the Saints 10-game winning streak and they drop to second place in the NFC Standings as the Rams now own the best record in the league.

The Ragin Cajuns and Southern are gearing up to play conference championship games on Saturday. UL Lafayette is at Appalachian State, while the Jaugars will face Alcorn State.

The Colonels take a five-game winning streak to Eastern Washington on Saturday for a second round F-C-S playoff game against The Eagles from the Big Sky Conference. Nicholls Coach Tim Rebowe says he’s bringing a confident team to the Pacific Northwest…
cut 18 (17) “…arrogance'”
Kick-off is at 4 PM.

Tonight it’s the semi-finals of the high school playoffs on the non-select side. In Class One-A…top-seeded Oak Grove hosts West St. John, while third seeded Kentwood makes the long trip to Haynesville. In Two-A, top seeded Many hosts defending champion Welsh and second-seeded Amite hosts Ferriday. You can watch that game on Cox Sports Television.

The Saints bring a 10-game winning streak into Dallas tonight to face a Cowboys team that has won three in a row. Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense gets a lot of attention, but the Saints defense is allowing just 13 points a contest in their last three games. Coach Sean Payton…
cut 17 (13) “…might be”
The Saints allow 3.6 yards per rushing attempt, while Dallas averages 4.9 yards per carry as Ezekiel Elliot is one of the top running backs in the NFL.

The LSU Tigers have received a verbal commitment from quarterback Max Johnson, who is the son of Super Bowl winning Q-B Brad Johnson. Max Johnson is a four-star propsect out of Georgia and becomes the second quarterback to give a verbal commitment to LSU in the Class of 2020.

Louisiana Tech has accepted an invitation tot he Hawaii Bowl where they’ll play Hawaii on Saturday December 22nd at 9:30 central time. It’s the fifth straight season the Bulldogs have made a bowl appearance and they’ve won the four previous games.

The Pelicans ended a four-game losing streak last night by beating the Washington Wizards 125 to 104. Jrue Holiday had a game-high 29 points, while Anthony Davis and Julius Randle each scored 23 points. Rarely used Tim Frazier made his third start of the season and had 12 points and 12 assists. Nikola Mirotic added 15 points and nine rebounds.

In college hoops, the Ragin Cajuns outlasted UNO 77-73 in overtime. The Privateers shot just 35-percent from the field, while JaKeenan Gant, Malik Marquetti and P-J Hardy each scored 12 points for UL-Lafayette who completed a six-game road trip with a 3-and-3 record.

Nciholls also a winner last night, beating Spring Hill 85-65.

LSU is 10th in the new college football playoff rankings, which is good news for their chances of playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Jerry Palm does bowl projections for CBS-Sports-dot-com and says as long as there are no major upsets in the Big 10 or ACC Championship games, the Tigers should have a postseason game in either Arizona or Georgia…
Cut 9 (09) “Fiesta Bowl”
Palm says if LSU goes to the Peach Bowl they could face Michigan. He says if the Tigers play in the Fiesta Bowl, they’ll likely face either U-C-F or Boise State.

Louisiana Tech has accepted an invitation to play in the Hawaii Bowl and they’ll face the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West Conference on Saturday December 22nd at 9:30 Central time. It’s the fifth straight season the Bulldogs will play in a bowl game, they’ve won the previous four. Hawaii is 8-5 on the season.

The Ragin Cajuns back on the practice field this afternoon getting ready for Saturday’s Sun Belt title game against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers are 9-2 overall, 7-1 in the Sun Belt as they clinched the East Division with a win over Troy last week. UL Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says they need a good week of preparation in order to beat the Mountainers on their home turf…
cut 18 (19) “…right way”
If the Cajuns win, they’ll play in the New Orleans Bowl, a loss sends them to the Cure Nation Bowl in Orlando.

Saints Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson is recovering after undergoing brain surgery. It’s unknown why the surgery was needed, but NOLA-dot-com says the procedure was a success. The member of the Dome Patrol was inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame in 2010.