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.

The Saints had 371 total yards to Carolina’s 223, but the Black and Gold still lost to the Panthers 23-20 last night. New Orleans Quarterback Drew Brees had two turnovers in the first half that resulted in 10 points for the defending NFC champs…
cut 30 (12) “…result”
The blocked field goal right before halftime resulted in seven more points for the Panthers. New Orleans is now 4-6 on the year.

Southeastern Louisiana completed its regular season with a 44-42 win over Nicholls State. S-L-U’s Julius Maracalin had three rushing touchdowns. The Lions, who are 7-4 on the season, still have a chance for an F-C-S playoff berth. The Colonels finished the year with a 5-6 record.

LSU will honor 19 seniors before tomorrow’s game against the Florida Gators. One of those seniors is defensive back Tre’ Davious White. The Shreveport native likes how the team has come together since Head Coach Ed Orgeron took over….
cut 17 (12) ” next to none”
A key to an LSU win on Saturday will be the running game for the Tigers. Florida is the second best in the SEC at defending run. Kick-off is at high noon.

Also this weekend, the Cajuns visit Georgia, ULM is at Appalachian State, Grambling visits Texas Southern,Northwestern State is at Stephen F Austin, McNeese hosts Lamar and Southern hosts Mississippi Valley State.

In the high school football playoffs last night…West Monroe advanced to the quarterfinals in Class Five-A with a win over Ouachita Parish. In one-a, Oak Grove and Kentwood moved on to the quarters.

Tonight the Saints visit the Carolina Panthers in an NFC South matchup. These two teams met last month in the Superdome and New Orleans won 41-38. Quarterback Drew Brees says the Panthers have a good defense, even though he threw for 465 yards and four touchdowns versus Carolina this season
cut 19 (19) “…the past”
Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux will reportedly not play tonight. Breaux has missed much of the season because of a broken fibula.

In college football tonight…Southeastern Louisiana is at Nicholls State for the 26th playing of the River Bell Classic. The Lions ahve won five of their last six games, while the Colonels can claim their first winning season since 2007 with a win tonight. Kick-off is at 6 PM.

The Florida Gators will arrive in Baton Rouge tomorrow for Saturday’s SEC match-up with LSU. A win for the Gators and they clinch the SEC East. Meanwhile, a victory for the Tigers moves them one step closer to a potential Sugar Bowl appearance.

Former LSU Coach Les Miles made some news today. Dennis Dodd of C-B-S sports-dot-com published a story featuring Miles, who says he wants to coach at a Power 5 school ynext year. There are multiple sources that say Miles is a candidate at Baylor. The 63-year-old also told Dodd that he will change his philosphy on offense.

In college basketball tonight…Tulane takes on Oklahoma, the Cajuns host Panhandle State for their home opener which will take place inside Blackham Coliseum and ULM begins a four-game road trip at Colorado.

Last night in college hoops….Louisiana Tech beat Alabama State as Erik McCree and Jacobi Boykins each scored 18 points.

The 4-and-5 Saints take on the 3-6 Carolina Panthers tonight on Thursday night football. New Orleans beat Carolina 41-38 earlier this season. Drew Brees threw for 465 yards and four touchdowns. The Q-B says the Black and Gold had a good day that day and Carolina still has a good defense…
cut 19 (19) “…the past”
The 37-year-old Brees is tied for the most touchdown passes in the NFL and ranks second passing yards as he’ll go over 3,000 mark tonight.

Also tonight in Thibodaux, Nicholls State will host Southeastern Louisiana as those two teams will battle it out for the River Bell Trophy. The Colonels won this game last year on a 40-yard field goal with no time left on the clock. Nicholls is led by freshman quarterback Chase Fourcade who has thrown for 22-hundred yards and accounted for 22 touchdowns.

The 21st ranked Gators come into Baton Rouge this Saturday with a 7-2 record, but seven starters are not expected to play because of injuries. Florida Coach Jim McElwain joked about changing the rules of football in order to make the game more even…
cut 17 (20) “…some guys”
A win for Florida and they clinch the SEC East.

Louisiana Tech is the first school since 2012 to have two players named semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award. Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson have combined to catch 26 touchdown passes.

In college hoops, Tech beat Alabama State 87-56 last night, tonight ULM faces Colorado.