The LSU football team blocked all of the negativity surrounding the program to get a much needed win on Saturday as the Tigers knocked off the Florida Gators 17-16. Head Coach Ed Orgeron says his team grew closer during a difficult week of criticism….
cut 14 (12) “…at hand”
The Tigers have a big game coming up on Saturday as the Bayou Bengals host Auburn.

The Ragin Cajuns have a short week of prepation as they get ready for their next game on Thursday night against Texas State. UL Lafayette beat Idaho 21-16 last Saturday and Coach Mark Hudspeth says his defense came to play, after giving up 40 or more points in their four previous games…
cut 17 (10) “….the conference”
The Saints rested yesterday while their next opponent, the Detroit Lions, lost a physical game to the Carolina Panthers 27-24. Lions QB Matthew Stafford got beat up in this one and finished with a cut on his left hand and tape arounnd his feet and ankles. Stafford has been sacked six teams in each of his last two games.

Former LSU Tiger Odell Beckham is done for the season after breaking his ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Giants are also done for the season as they are 0-5 on the season.

Another former Tiger, Leonard Fournette rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns as Jacksonville defeated a struggling Steelers team 31-9. Jacksonsville and Houston are tied for first in the NFC South, but the Texans are without star JJ Watt for the rest of the season, who suffered a leg fracture.

This past weekend, Grambling State beat Prairie View A-and-M for a fourth consecutive season, winning the contest 34-21. Grambling is ranked 19th in the latest FCS Coaches Poll. McNeese State is ranked 21st and Nicholls is ranked 23rd.

After suffering the program’s first loss against a team from the Sun Belt Conference, the LSU Tigers bounced back with a 17-16 victory over Florida in the Swamp. It was a hard fought victory for the Tigers, who finished with three freshmen on the offensive line because of injuries. Head Coach Ed Orgeron says his team would not be denied…:
Cut 13 (07) “did that”
The win wasn’t enough to put the Tigers back into the Top 25, but it did push the Gators off the list. Alabama and Clemson still hold the top spots. LSU will host its first daytime home game of the season; as CBS announced the Tigers will once again be in front of a nationally televised audience 2:30pm for the second week in a row, to take on Auburn.

Former LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. with the New York Giants suffered a fractured left ankle during Sunday’s 27-22 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It is the same ankle that Beckham injured during the preseason.

The Ragin Cajuns snapped a three-game losing streak by going on the road and beating Idaho 21-16. Head Coach Mark Hudspeth says his team never lost confidence…:
Cut 16 (17) “tonight”
The Cajuns return to action on Thursday playing host to Texas State.

Louisiana Tech suffered a tough loss on Saturday as UAB blocked a 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to preserve a 23-22 win over the Bulldogs. Kicker Jonathan Barnes also missed an extra point to tie the game. Head Coach Skip Holtz is more upset about 10 penalties committed by his team..:
Cut 19 (12) “this point”
Tech is on a bye this weekend.

Our top story this morning continues to be the potential impacts Louisiana could see as a result of Hurricane Nate, which is in the central Gulf of Mexico. It appears as though the state will avoid a direct hit, as forecasters indicate the system is expected to make landfall near Biloxi around 1am Sunday morning. Storm surge is the main threat along the southeastern coast starting at Morgan City.

Now in state sports news…LSU is set to take on 20th ranked Florida in the Swamp in Gainesville this afternoon at 2:30pm, and two Tiger standouts on both sides of the ball, running back Derrius Guice and defensive end Rashard Lawrence, are expected to return to the field. The program says The Bayou Bengals head into this game coming off a good week of practice, and one that saw the Tigers doing some soul-searching following the Homecoming loss to Troy last Saturday. The game will be televised by CBS.

Hurricane Nate means college football gets an early start this morning as many games were pushed back ahead of the storm. More on that, after this.

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Southeastern Louisiana will kick off at 10am against Incarnate Word.

At 11 this morning, Nicholls will host Northwestern State.

Also in the Southland…McNeese is at Abilene Christian.

A couple more early starts…Southern hosts Alabama for homecoming at 1 PM and Tulane takes on Tulsa at Yulman Stadium at 11 AM.

Louisiana Tech and ULM both are on the road in conference games. Both north Louisiana schools are favorite to win. The Bulldogs are at UAB and the Warhawks are at Texas State after a 3-0 start in the Sun Belt.

In prep football Friday night, Benton hammered Minden 43-21 to remain undefeated. The Tigers, ranked third in Class 4A, take on North DeSoto next Thursday. Minden will face Woodlawn Shreveport on October 13th.

Ouachita Parish trumped Pineville 26-6. Pineville next takes on Natchitoches Central.

West Monroe keeps its perfect season alive with a win over Ruston, 28-14.

Ruston takes on Ouachita Parish Friday, while West Monroe squares off against Alexandria.

Richwood slid past Union Parish 14-6. The win lifted Richwood to 4-2. The defeat dropped Union Parish’s record to 4-2.

It sounds like LSU star running back Derrius Guice will play tomorrow against the Gators, but will not see a lot of playing time. Head Coach Ed Orgeron says Guice will be limited after missing last week’s loss to Troy due to a possible knee injury. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran….
cut 28 (15) “…the better”
Orgeron says running back Darrel Williams will also be limited and true freshman Saahdiq Charles will start at right tackle, which means Toby Weathersby will likely not play.

Ragin Cajuns offensive tackle Grant Horst and place kicker Stevie Artigue are expected to return to the field against Idaho on Saturday. Safety Travis Crawfod will likely miss another game with a leg injury.

It will be an early start to college football on Saturday across Louisiana, because of Tropical Storm Nate. Southeastern Louisiana will kick off at 10 AM against Incarnate Word. The Lions can improve to 3-and-1 in the Southland with a win. U-I-W is winless at 0-4.

At 11 A-M, Nicholls will host Northwestern State. The Colonels are trying to get to 2-and-1 in the Southland, while the Demons are currently 1-and-1.

Also in the Southland…McNeese is at Abilene Christian in a battle of teams who are 2-and-1 in league play.

A couple more early starts…Southern hosts Alabama for homecoming at 1 PM and Tulane takes on Tulsa at Yulman Stadium at 11 AM.

Louisiana Tech and ULM both are on the road in conference games. Both north Louisiana schools are favorite to win. The Bulldogs are at UAB and the Warhawks are after a 3-0 start in the Sun Belt.

In high school football tonight…Ruston visits top ranked West Monroe, while Richwood takes on Union Parish.

Some home football games have been moved tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Nate. Tulane and Nicholls State’s games will now kickoff at 11am, Southeastern 10am, and Southern’s Homecoming will now start at 1pm.

The LSU/Florida game won’t be moved as it’s being played in Gainesville for a 2:30pm kickoff Saturday on CBS. Associate Tiger Rag Editor James Moran says if LSU wants to start winning games, they are going to have to start playing a lot better. He says there are a lot of positives..:
Cut 16 (20) “defines this game”
But he says on the offensive side of the ball, you’ve got to see some sort of progress from the Tigers.

In other state college football action, ULM heads into a road game against Texas State as a 6-point favorite. Louisiana Tech takes on UAB. UL-Lafayette will face Idaho on the road.

The LSU Tigers are ranked as the nation’s fifth most-valuable college football program in a report out of Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus. Jeff Palermo reports…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The New Orleans Pelicans continue preseason action tonight as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7pm tonight on the road. They will face the Bulls Sunday in Chicago. New Orleans opens the regular season, Wednesday October 18th against the Grizzlies.

After Saturday’s disappointing loss to Troy, LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron said a meeting occurred involving himself, athletic director Joe Alleva and the two coordinators. Oregeron says he and Alleva meet weekly and he thought it was good to bring in Dave Aranda and Matt Canada too…
Cut 16 (10) “very positive”
Orgeron defended himself during his call-in radio show last night. He says he’s earned his position as head coach of the Tigers and called Joe Alleva the best athletic director he’s worked for. Coach O added the practices this week are more physical as the team prepares for Florida.

A hurricane in the Gulf is expected this weekend, but the LSU-Florida game is still on for Gainesville. But other games have been affected. Tulane will now play Tulsa at 11 AM. Nicholls State versus Northwestern State will kick-off at 11 AM in Thibodeaux, instead of 6:30. And Southeastern Louisiana -Incarnate Word contest in Hammond begins at 10 AM.

ULM is a 6-point favorite heading into Saturday’s road game at Texas State. The Warhawks have won two in a row, while the Bobcats have lost four straight. Coach Matt Viator is not expecting an easy win in San Marcos
Cut 18 (25) “of game”

More bad news for the Saints. One day after placing starting tackle Zach Strief on injured reserve, the Black and Gold have also placed rookie linebacker Alex Anzalone after injuring his shoulder while making a tackle in Sunday’s win over Miami.

Tonight’s NFL game is New England at Tampa Bay. The Bucs are 2-and-1, while the Patriots are 2-and-2.

LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron defended himself during his call-in radio show last night. He says he’s earned his position as head coach of the Tigers and called Joe Alleva the best athletic director he’s worked for. Coach O added the practices this week are more physical as the team prepares for Florida.

Orgeron also said that that Jacoby Stevens is back on defense. Stevens was the nation’s top safety prospect for the Class of 2017 coming out of Tennessee, but the coaching staff decided to use him at wide receiver. This week, Stevens has been working the defensive backs and Orgeron says that’s where he’ll stay
Cut 17 (23) “respect him”

Louisiana Tech is at UAB on Saturday. Bulldogs Quarterback J’Mar Smith goes in as the one of the highest ranked QBS in Conference USA as he’s averaging 264 yards a game. Head Coach Skip Holtz likes how Smith is spreading the ball around to his receivers…
Cut 19 (22) his growth “
Kick-off is at 3 PM.

Tulane has moved up its game with Tulsa to 11 AM because the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows that Tropical Storm Nate could be a hurricane and strike southeast Louisiana Sunday morning.

Big high school football game tonight in New Orleans as McDonogh faces Karr and in Monroe Ouachita Christian will take on Cedar Creek.

After Saturday’s disappointing loss to Troy, LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron said a meeting occurred involving himself, athletic director Joe Alleva and the two coordinators. Oregeron says he and Alleva meet weekly and he thought it was good to bring in Dave Aranda and Matt Canada too…
Cut 16 (10) “very positive”
Orgeron defended himself during his call-in radio show last night. He says he’s earned his position as head coach of the Tigers and called Joe Alleva the best athletic director he’s worked for. Coach O added the practices this week are more physical as the team prepares for Florida.

The Saints have placed rookie linebacker Alex Anzalone on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury he sustained in the win over Miami. It’s the same shoulder Anzalone injured while at Florida, which forced him to miss a lot of time.

Louisiana Tech is at UAB this Saturday. The Bulldogs are a 12-point favorite to beat the Blazers, who are 2-and-2 on the year. Tech Head Coach Skip Holtz is impressed with UAB quarterback A-J Erdely who has five rushing touchdowns to go along with six passing TDs and one interception….
cut 20 (22) “…every week”
La Tech enters the game with a mark of 3-and-2.

Former Ragin Cajuns standout Jonathan Lucroy went two for three with two runs scored and a run driven in, but it wasn’t enough for the Rockies, who were eliminated from the postseason by Arizona who beat Colorado 11-8. Ex LSU star DJ LeMahieu was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.

LSU Head Football Coach Ed Orgeron said today that a meeting took place Monday involving himself, athletic director Joe Alleva and the two coordinators, Matt Canada and Dave Aranda. Oregeron says he and Alleva meet all the time, but he thought it was good to bring in the coordinators so they’re all on the same page. Orgeron said earlier this week that he will no longer interfere with how Canada is running the offense.

On the defensive side of the football, defensive end Rashard Lawrence says he’ll play in Saturday’s game against Florida. Lawrence is considered LSU’s best defensive linemen, but he’s missed three of the last four games because of ankle injuries. Lawrence is anxious to get back on the field, especially against Florida, who won in Tiger Stadium last year….
cut 17 (12) “…disrespected yes”

Saints tackle Zach Streif is expected to miss the next eight weeks because of a knee injury suffered in the win over Miami. Strief has been put on injured reserve and can’t play in a game for the next two months. Rookie Ryan Ramczyk is expected to take Streif’s spot on the starting o-line. Meanwhile, left tackle Terron Armstead has shown signs of returning to action and could play in the Saints next game on October 15th against Detroit.

Shreveport’s Indpendence Bowl has a new title sponsor and it’s a Louisiana-owned business. Walk’s On Bistreaux and Bar, which is based out of Baton Rouge, will sponsor the December bowl game. Walk-on’s has 15 locations in Louisiana, but they are expanding to Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

Tonight is the NL Wildcard Game between the Diamondbacks and the Rockies. Former LSU star DJ LeMahieu will bat second and play second for visiting Colorado.

Injured LSU players are starting to come back to the field. Running back Derrius Guice, right tackle Toby Weathersby, H-back J-D Moore and nose tackle Ed Alexander could return this Saturday when the Tigers visit Florida. Starting defensive end Rashard Lawrence says he’s playing…:
Cut 16 (11) “on always”
Head Coach Ed Orgeron says he plans on playing starting quarterback Danny Etling all four quarters. But Etling says he will not change his preparation:
Cut 18 (15) “coached to do”
Kickoff in Gainesville is 2:30pm on CBS.

Saints Coach Sean Payton says current gun laws are flawed and frustrating as he spoke about gun control in light of the massacre that occurred in Las Vegas. In a conference call with beat reporters, Payton says the current system in our country right now is not working…:
Cut 25 (10) “better that way”
Payton says if people don’t like his position for common sense gun control, that’s tough.

Meanwhile sources indicate New Orleans veteran right tackle Zach Strief was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury Tuesday. But Saints veteran left tackle Terron Armstead is reportedly set to return from a long-term shoulder injury after the Week 5 bye.

The New Orleans Pelicans began the preseason with a 113-109 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the Smoothie King Center last night. Stars DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis both played more than 30 minutes, and combined for 40 points and 13 rebounds by halftime.