A major storyline heading into tonight’s regular season opener for the Saints is Adrian Peterson’s return to Minnesota. As a Viking, Peterson rushed for 11,747 yards. The 32-year-old says he would like to have a big game that leads to a victory….
cut 16 (10) “…New England”
Kick-off tonight is just after 6 PM at U-S Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Former LSU Tiger Leonard Fournette’s NFL debut was a success. Fournette rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville’s 29-7 win over the Houston Texans.

Odell Beckham Junior didn’t play last night and the Giants missed him as Dallas downed New York 19-3. Former Haughton star Dak Prescott threw for 268 yards and did not turn the ball over.

LSU unleashed a down field passing attack in its 45-10 win over Chattanooga on Saturday night. Quarterback Danny Etling averaged 16 yards per passing attempt, which is a career high. Through two games, he’s completed 71-percent of his passes for nearly 400 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Head Coach Orgeron says Etling looks like a different player this season…
Cut 14 (19) “do it”
Etling and the Tigers offense will be tested this week. Through two games, the Bulldogs defense has allowed just 178 passing yards.

UL Lafayette Head Football Coach Mark Hudspeth believes his team has a quarterback they can count on. Jordan Davis threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, he also rushed for 60 yards and two more scores in a loss to Tulsa.

LSU Remains NO. 12 in the AP Top 25 poll following a 45-10 win over Chattanooga on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers are now headed into this weekend’s SEC opener versus Mississippi State in Starkville. Between Jack Gonsoulin and Connor Culp, the Tigers have missed three field goals. Head Coach Ed Orgeron says it’s an issue…:
Cut 13 (10) “we can”
But quarterback Danny Etling has looked sharp. Through two games, he’s completed 71-percent of his passes for nearly 400 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Mississippi State had no problem against Louisiana Tech in a 57-21 non-conference win over the weekend in Ruston. State’s Nick Fitzgerald threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. Tech travels to face Western Kentucky in its Conference USA opener this Saturday.

An intriguing matchup to start the season for the Saints as they visit the Minnesota Vikings to kick-off the 2017 campaign. New Orleans led the NFL in total offense last year, while the Vikings had the league’s third-ranked defense, and return most of their starters from 2016. Saints Quarterback Drew Brees says it’s a tough match-up to start the season…:
Cut 15 (12) “absolute best”
Kickoff tonight is slated for 6pm.

In other football action around the state over the weekend, The Ragin’ Cajuns fell to Tulsa 66-42 in an offensive shootout.

Nicholls State rallied back from an early 14-0 deficit against Texas A&M, but the Aggies did just enough to put the game away as the Colonels fell 24-14.

McNeese State hammered Florida Tech 42-21. Southeastern Louisiana fell to Bethune-Cookman 28-23.

12th ranked LSU returns to Tiger Stadium for the first time in 2017 as they host Chattanooga at 6:30. Last week, the Tigers started four true freshman and young players could see more playing time tonight, if this game gets out of hand. LSU is 12-0 against FCS teams. The Mocs lost their season opener to Jacksonville State 27-13.

For the 13th time, Louisiana Tech will play Mississippi State and for the second time the game will take place in Ruston. Tech beat State 22-14 in 2008 at Joe Aillet Stadium. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says it’s been tough preparing for Mississippi State Q-B Nick Fitzgerald…
cut 30 (20) “…pick our battles”
Kick-off is at 6:30.

The Ragin Cajuns had a thrilling win over Southeastern Louisiana last week, this afternoon they travel to take on Tulsa. Last year, the Golden Hurricane offense ranked fourth nationally in yards per game and seventh in scoring. Tulsa lost last week to Oklahoma State 59-24.

Tulane begins American Athletic Conference play by visiting Navy. Nicholls State is looking for its fourth victory over an FBS team as they take on reeling Texas A-and-M, who blew a 34-point. third quarter lead and lost 45-44 to UCLA. Last year, the Colonels nearly beat Georgia.

Elsewhere…McNeese hosts Florida Tech, Southeastern Louisiana takes on Bethune-Cookman in Hammond, Northwestern State makes the short to Grambling State and Southern is at Southern Miss.

High School football last night…Acadiana over Ruston 28-6, Barbe had a big 45-28 win over Riverside, St. James defeated Lutcher, and Sterlington shutout OCS 35-to-zip.

There’s been a stunning development with the Saints. 37-year-old long snapper Jon Dornbos needs to have immediate open-heart surgery after he was diagnosed with an aortic (A-or-tic) aneurysm. He was recently traded to the Saints from Philadelphia for a seventh round draft pick in 2019. Coach Sean Payton says a phsical conducted by Dr. John Amoss saved Dorenbos’ life. New Orleans is bringing in long snappers today and expect to sign one before Monday night’s season opener against Minnesota.

No ULM game on Saturday versus Florida State in Tallahassee as that game has been cancelled because of Hurricane Irma.

The weather is perfect for high school football tonight. Ruston who upset Neville last week will travel to Lafayette to face Acadiana. St. Charles Catholic takes on Destrehan and in northeast Louisiana, Ouchita Christian battles Sterlington.

LSU looked really good in the Tigers shutout win over BYU in the season opener, LSU allowed just 97 total yards and held BYU to negative five rushing yards. Tomorrow night they host Chattanooga, linebacker Devin White led the team in tackles that night and expects more dominate performances…
Cut 16 (14) “need to be”

12th ranked LSU is coming off a dominating performance over BYU and will host Chattanooga at 6:30 tomorrow night in the home opener for the Tigers. LSU is a heavy favorite to beat the FCS School, but Head Coach Ed Orgeron says they have a great deal of respect for the Mocs…:
Cut 15 (08) “but a battle”
LSU defensive end Rashard Lawrence will miss the game, according to Coach O. He played the entire game against BYU, but was seen limping around the field.
Orgeron also said stand-out edge rusher Arden Key is still not ready to play.

Saturday’s contest between ULM at Florida State has been cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. The game was previously moved up to an 11am start time earlier in the week. It is unknown at this time if the game will be made up.

No. 22 Florida also canceled its home opener against Northern Colorado because of the impending storm.

Louisiana Tech is gearing up for a big home game this Saturday as the Bulldogs will host Mississippi State from the SEC. The last time these two teams met in Ruston, Tech defeated State 22-14 in 2008. Coach Skip Holtz says hosting an SEC team is a great opportunity for their football team, but this game does not make their season…:
Cut 13 (11) “after this one”
Both teams won their season openers.

Tulane is at Navy. The Green Wave are 13 point underdogs. They beat Grambling last week as quarterback Jonathan Banks threw for 185 yards and three scores, plus one rushing TD.

The Ragin Cajuns released their baseball schedule Thursday and they’ll begin the season with a three-game series against the Texas Longhorns in Austin. UL Lafayette will also play in the Shriner’s Classic in Houston and host LSU on March 7th. They’ll face the Tigers again on March 27th in Metairie.

The Saints first injury report leading up to the season opener against Minnesota came out today. Terron Armstead, Trey Hendrickson, Nate Stupar and Jon Dorenbos did not practice, while Stephone Anthony and Chase Daniel were limited. Dorenbos and Hendrickson are both ill, while Stupar has a hamstring injury and Armstead continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

LSU’s Arden Key appears to be getting closer to returning to the field. He practiced fully yesterday, but will not play in the home opener on Saturday against Chattanooga. Head Coach Ed Orgeron says Key continues to make progress every day and they’ll find out more next week.

The Ragin Cajuns released their baseball schedule today and they’ll begin the season with a three-game series against the Texas Longhorns in Austin. UL Lafayette will also play in the Shriner’s Classic in Houston and host LSU on March 7th. They’ll face the Tigers again on March 27th in Metairie.

UL-Lafayette is preparing for its trip to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane. Cajuns starting quarterback Jordan Davis was 12 of 23 for 162 yards and one touchdown. Coach Mark Hudspeth on what he expects from Davis in Week 2….
cut 17 (19) “….each week”
The Cajuns are a two touchdown underdog.

Louisiana Tech is an 8.5 point underdog at home to Mississippi State. Tech is hoping to get another big game from Linebacker Dae’von Washington, who had two interceptions in the win over the Demons last week.

Tulane is at Navy. The Green Wave are 13 point underdogs. They beat Grambling last week as quarterback Jonathan Banks threw for 185 yards and three scores, plus one rushing TD.

LSU’s All-American pass rusher Arden Key practiced fully for the first time this fall yesterday. Head Coach Ed Orgeron said on his weekly talk show that Key has not been cleared to play, but he’s making progress and they’ll know more next week.

The Saints are optimistic starting tackle Terron Armstead will be able to return soon from shoulder surgery. The team had the option to place Armstead on the PUP list, which would have kept him out of action for an extended period of time. But Armstead is currently on the active 53-man roster.

Super Bowl champions Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley will be enshrined into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame next year. Both were teammates with the Colts from 2003 to 2006 and won a Super Bowl together. Stokley has two Super Bowl Rings, while Wayne is a six-time pro bowler.

Other inductees include former LSU star and 18-year Major League Baseball pitcher Russ Springer, plus Notre Dame of Crowley football coach Lewis Cook.

ULM has a tough challenge on the road this Saturday as they visit 10th ranked Florida State. The Warhawks lost their season opener 37-to-29 to Memphis. ULM had four turnovers in the defeat and Head Coach Matt Viator wants his team to do a better job at protecting the football….
cut 19 (18) “…need to”
Kick-off time for this game has been moved up to 11:00, because of Hurricane Irma.

Other than LSU, there are three schools who will have their home opener this Saturday. McNeese is taking on Florida Tech, Grambling hosts Northwestern State. It’s only the fourth ever meeting between the two north Louisiana schools and first since 2009. Also on Saturday, Southeastern Louisiana hosts Bethune Cookman.

The Tigers getting ready to take on Chatanooga in Death Valley on what looks to be a beautiful and even chilly Saturday night. In LSU’s 27-0 shutout victory over BYU, the Tigers forced just one turnover. Linebacker Devin White says the goal against is to create multiple turnovers in every game…:
Cut 20 (24) “the ball”
Kickoff Saturday night is 6:30pm.

If you’re going to the game, don’t expect a pat-down. LSU announced it would eliminate the searches mainly due to its new recent clear bag policy. Student government had fought against the pat-downs in the student section saying it unnecessarily slowed fans down from getting into the game.

The Ragin Cajuns won their season opener over Southeastern Louisiana 51-48. UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth says he would like to see fewer points given up this Saturday against Tulsa, who averaged 43 points a contest last year:
Cut 16 (20) “what they do”
Kickoff at Cajun Field is 6pm.

ULM will face a true freshman at quarterback on Saturday when they visit Florida State. Warhawks Coach Matt Viator expects the Seminoles to run a similar offense that was used in the season opening loss to Alabama..:
Cut 18 (10) “to approach it”
The kickoff time for the game has been moved to 11am Saturday due to Hurricane Irma approaching The Sunshine State Sunday morning.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame announced its class of 2018 and highlighting the class are former NFL stars Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley. Both were teammates with the Colts from 2003 to 2006 and won a Super Bowl together. Stokley has two Super Bowl Rings, while Wayne is a six-time pro bowler.

Other inductees include 18-year Major League Baseball pitcher Russ Springer, NBA champion and two-time Grambling All-American Larry Wright and current Notre Dame of Crowley football coach Lewis Cook, who has won four state titles during his long career.

Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said today that rookie tackle Ryan Ramczyk will be ready for the season opener on Monday at Minnesota. Payton says receivers Tommylee Lewis and Brandon Coleman will play a lot, especially since Willie Snead will miss the first three weeks because of a suspension for a DUI.

LSU’s defense had a stellar performance in its shutout win over BYU on Saturday night. Greedy Williams intercepted his first pass. After the contest, Williams heard from former LSU Tiger and another Shreveport native TreDavious White….
cut 18 (16) “….next Saturday”
LSU’s game this Saturday against Chattanooga has been moved to the SEC Network channel. Kick-off is still at 6:30.

ULM’s contest against Florida State has been moved from seven PM to 11 AM because of Hurricane Irma. And in the NFL, the Buccaneers-Dolphins game scheduled for Sunday in Miami has been postponed because of Irma. The game will be played during Week 11 as both teams have a scheduled bye week. That means the Bucs and Fins will play 16 straight weeks.

LSU Quarterback Danny Etling was very efficient in Saturday’s 27-0 win over BYU. The senior was 14-of-17 for 171 yards and seemed in complete control of the offense. Etling is not considered one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC and Head Coach Ed Orgeron has a theory on why…:
Cut 16 (20) “knows that”
Coach O said several of the Tigers who did not travel with the team to New Orleans will “work their way back” this week. Junior edge rusher Arden Key is still out while recovering from shoulder surgery.

LSU has moved one spot to number 12 in the AP Top 25 poll and they are also ranked 12th in the coaches poll, which were released Tuesday.

Ragin Cajuns Sophomore running back Raymond Calais was named Sun Belt conference special teams player of the week, after returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in UL-Lafayette’s 51-48 victory over Southeastern Louisiana…:
CUT 25 (12) “by him”
That’s Cajun’s Coach Mark Hudspeth. UL-Lafayette takes on Tulsa this weekend.

The LHSAA released a policy statement that will allow member schools to treat student athletes evacuated by a storm as transfer students, allowing them to gain eligibility. Schools were instructed to follow the guidelines established for transfer students when seeking eligibility for those forced to move by Hurricane Harvey, and a new memo stated that the same guidelines would be used for students potentially displaced by Hurricane Irma.