Even though his team is on a bye week this week, the eyes of the college football world are on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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In public education news, Louisiana’s statewide performance score has increased for a fourth consecutive year. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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The second round of the Louisiana High School football playoffs begins tonight. Andre Champagne looks at some key non-select matchups.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Andre Champagne.”
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Even though Ole Miss has the weekend off, the eyes of the college football world are on their head coach, Lane Kiffin. They’re awaiting his decision on whether he will remain in Oxford or whether he will go to LSU or Florida, should either school offer him their vacant coaching positions. Christopher Boan (“Bowen”) with Bookies-dot-com says as of right now, the odds favor him not needing a real estate agent.
Cut 4 (08) “…goes to Florida.”
Kiffin and Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter are scheduled to meet this morning, and Boan says Ole Miss will pull out all the stops to keep Kiffin in Oxford.
Cut 5 (11) “…from anybody.”
Boan says if LSU fails to land Kiffin, one name that’s been floating around in Tigerland is that of another SEC head coach, Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri.
Cut 6 (08) “…that SEC move.”
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For the fourth consecutive year, the State Department of Education is reporting an increase in public school and district performance scores. The statewide performance score for this year is 80.9 — up from 75.3 in 2021. State Superintendent Cade Brumley says it’s the highest overall score under the current 150-point system.
Cut 7 (07) “…in our state.”
Brumley says this progress shows what’s possible when the state is focused on strong instruction.
Cut 8 (11) “…students in need.”
Overall, 21 percent of schools earned a letter grade of A, 31-percent received a B, 32-percent got a C, and 16-percent received a D or F. Next year, the percentage of A and Bs could drop as the state will move to a new accountability formula.
Brumley says schools and districts will be measured using a straightforward scorecard that raises expectations for student performance and places greater emphasis on whether students graduate ready for a career, college or military service.
Cut 9 (14) “…A-and-B category.”
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This has been a very dry fall so far here in Louisiana – so much so that 40-percent of the state is in a drought. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says drought conditions haven’t been this bad in the state in quite a while.
Cut 10 (10) “…November of 2024.”
Grymes says in some parts of the state, relief is on the way. Parts of the northern parishes could see at least two inches of rain in the next week.
Cut 11 (11) “…of the state.”
Grymes says the southern parishes, on the other hand, may have to settle for only about a quarter of an inch of rain over the next seven days.
Cut 12 (09) “…much improvement there.”
Grymes says this could be a sign of things to come in the months ahead, as given the current weather pattern, we could be in for a dry winter this winter.
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The second round of the Louisiana high school football playoffs kicks off tonight. One of the marquee matchups is Barbe at West Monroe. Spencer Verrett of the LHSAA Network says the Buccaneers have one of the best offenses in Louisiana, led by running back Jordan Griffin and says they will test the Rebels defense.
Cut 13 (08) “…business against Barbe.”
In Division Two, the Franklin Parish Patriots host the Lutcher Bulldogs. Verrett says he could see either team making a run, but he expects the Patriots to come out on top.
Cut 14 (11) “…last year ended.”
Last year the Patriots’ season ended in the quarterfinals, losing 42-28 to Iowa.
In Division Three, eleventh-seeded Richwood travels to seventh-seeded Oak Grove. After being winless in 2024, the Rams have a chance to continue to build on their impressive season, but Verrett says it won’t come easy against a hot Tigers team.
Cut 15 (12) “…good numbers recently.”
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LSU sophomore quarterback Michael Van Buren is expected to make his second straight start this week against Western Kentucky. Last week in his first win with the Tigers, Van Buren threw for 221 yards and a touchdown against Arkansas. Van Buren says that he’s been soaking everything up from the coaching staff this season, which has allowed him to stay ready.
Cut 16 (15) “…get the victory.”
Van Buren came into Baton Rouge to serve as the backup to senior Garrett Nussmeier in hopes to eventually become the starter. Even with all the coaching changes, Van Buren is glad he ended up at LSU.
Cut 17 (16) “…me do that.”
Van Buren said that he will stay with the program through the coaching changes.
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Louisiana Tech is down to two quarterbacks after sophomore Evan Bullock exited last week’s game with an upper-body injury in the 28-3 loss to Washington State. Bullock and Blake Baker are both out for the year. Junior Trey Kukuk (Q-kuhk) will be the starter for this week’s game against Liberty, and head coach Sonny Cumbie says the entire offense will have to elevate its play.
Cut 18 (16) “…continue to elevate.”
Louisiana Tech leads the Conference USA and is number-16 in the nation in most penalties with 76 through ten games. Cumbie said that the Bulldogs have to do better of being disciplines, but said the team may be getting called for more penalties since they are leaving Conference USA for the Sun Belt next year.
Cut 19 (09) “…sometimes you wonder.”
The Bulldogs kick off against Liberty in Ruston tomorrow afternoon at two.