Major production funding for game notes is provided by Hargrove.

Engineers and constructors is proud to support LPB.

Since 1995, Hargrove has been employee owned and relationship driven with 2700 teammates around the world.

Hargrove works as one team to go beyond expectations.

You have what it takes to begin your journey.

Curiosity.

Ingenuity.

Intellect.

Determination.

Through a vast portfolio of affordable and in-demand academic programs, hundreds of student focused activities, and wraparound services.

Southern University meets you where you are, giving you the tools and support that lead you to a successful career in the sciences or the arts.

Begin with your goals anywhere.

Finish stronger at Southern University at Superdog Edu.

The Ralph Pugh Agency is proud to support this program.

Based in Louisiana.

Ralph Pugh has provided marketing services nationwide since 1981, partnering with clients in health care, retail, automotive and more.

For more information, visit our agency.com.

With additional support from Lafayette Travel, the LSU Alumni Association and the Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU, Louisiana Tech University, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, Northwestern State University, Red Stick Sports, the U.S.

Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion, the foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and viewers like you.

Thank you.

It is a Sunday evening and we are off and running here.

Great to have you with us for game notes, the post game edition on LPB.

I'm Victor Howell, lots to talk about.

Unfortunately for around the state, lots of disappointment when it comes to football here.

You had a Tulane win on Thursday night and an LSU went on Saturday night before all the other teams.

It's a bit of a struggle.

We're going to go through it.

We have lots of talk about lots of people to hear from as well.

So let's get you set up for what's coming here on the next 60 minutes of game notes here on LP.

We'll have a sit down with Ian Connolly Goodley the outstanding defensive back for the Southeastern Lions who left Hammond but had reasons for coming back.

We'll hear from him.

It was almost a comeback to believe most or to Z is there to Z quarterback at Grambling in a boot until he was on the field and almost rallied his team.

And yes, the Warhawks in the short declares they didn't arrive at the game on an arc, but they could have.

It was messy out on the East Coast Saturday night.

It was an ugly game for the walk.

We're going to get to all of that coming up here in the next 60 minutes.

But let's start in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Second home SEC game for LSU this season.

And remember, they beat the Florida Gators 20 to 10.

In mid September, the Gamecocks come rolling into town with LSU coming off of a bye week.

Could they get healthy?

Could they find the running game?

Let's take you to Tiger Stadium and show you how things unfolded.

Because it was an absolute Chamber of Commerce Day in Baton Rouge on Saturday.

All set for football between the Tigers and the Gamecocks.

Great crowd on hand.

And why not homecoming on the LSU campus.

And here come the Tigers again.

Just a second SEC game in Tiger Stadium so far this season.

First play from scrimmage for South Carolina's offense.

Well it had the crowd hyped in the north end zone by the students.

Lenore Sellers fumbles the snap.

The Tigers recover great field position, but they can't punch it in for a touchdown.

So Damien Ramos converts from 28 yards after the kick was tipped.

It's three nothing LSU but South Carolina feels good.

They kept LSU from scoring a touchdown.

Tigers go on a 70 yard drive, but they needed 71.

Jajuan Johnson trying to score.

Great angle on the replay.

Tries to stretch the ball over.

He loses it and the Gamecocks recover for a touchback.

And then South Carolina needed just three plays to take the lead.

Matt Fuller finds a gap.

It's the one major defensive breakdown for the Tigers all night long, 72 yards in front of his bench and into his crowd.

And it's seven three South Carolina early second quarter LSU strikes back Garrett Nuss Meyer hits Trey Des Green and he gets it across the middle down inside the five.

Then Trey Des does it again.

Four receivers on one side.

Trey the traités green up top by himself.

That's a mismatch.

Any night he gets the score and LSU is up ten seven.

Scary moment in the second.

Look at nuts Meyer take a shot on this pass here and then has trouble getting up.

Trouble walking to the sideline to the backup.

Nope.

It's okay Tiger fans here nuts Meyer came back and it was a scary moment indeed for the Tigers quarterback.

Four minutes to go in the half.

Sellars is looking to go up top but to Marcus Cooley had other plans.

He gets the interception for LSU and the Tigers lead at the half.

Let's go to the third quarter.

We're tied at ten.

Watch the top of your screen.

The quick move by Kyle Parker.

And the rest is all Parker Nuss hits him in stride and his stride takes him all the way 43 yards for the touchdown 1710 LSU.

Later in the third it's Garrett Daniels.

Oh wait no Jayden Meyer.

Look at Garrett Nelson Meyer.

Go look at the wheels 21 yards for Meyer on the huge gain.

What injury next play Jajuan Johnson.

Here's that running game we're talking about.

Great balance last night for the Tigers offensively between the passing game and the running game.

That's Johnson going 56 yards.

That's a season long run.

Then Nuss Meyer looking to cash in.

But he would like this one back flat footed leaning back throws the pass picked off by Payton Williams at the one Brian Kelly wants to break something.

Fortunately he didn't.

Gamecocks had all fourth quarter to get something done but they couldn't do it against that LSU defense.

Damien Ramos adds an insurance field goal.

LSU comes away with the homecoming win by the score of 20 to 10.

Five sacks, six tackles for loss and two forced turnovers for that LSU defense.

How about the nightmare trade as green, a career high eight catches, a career high 119 yards and a touchdown.

Next up for LSU it's breakfast off Broadway and 11 a.m.

kick in Nashville against Vanderbilt.

But before we look ahead, here's head coach Brian Kelly.

We all watched the game.

I was I was pleased with some things that we did that we hadn't been doing.

We ran the ball with much more effectiveness.

Right.

We got the ball to traités green.

I was pleased about that.

But certainly, you know, you can't get down on the one yard line three times and come up with three points.

And I think we all know that.

But what I loved was our compete.

I love the way our guys competed for four quarters.

Our fans stayed in there with us.

Look, it is what it is.

Find a way to win.

And tonight, we found a way to win.

Even though we had some mistakes out there that could at some time be catastrophic.

And we're going to have to eliminate them.

But the bottom line is, I love the way the kids competed today.

Second SEC home game of the season.

Second time we've invited Michael Caldwell, sports director from WGRZ, to join us now that we've had one in September, one in October, moving forward as they get ready for the call.

Great to see you, Mike.

Great.

Thanks for, thanks for joining me again, as always.

Overall impressions coming away from Saturday night's win over, over South Carolina was it.

Was it what you expected coming off the bye week?

Was it about middle of the road?

Do you think there's still some things.

What the overall look.

Oh yeah.

I mean absolutely has to be middle of the road.

I think there were so many points left off the scoreboard that you can't be super happy about it, but at least encouraged I think.

Right.

It's a stay of execution is the way I'm looking at LSU.

Did enough to continue.

You know their possibilities of the postseason to the playoff level.

And of course that's what everybody wants, right?

So I think there were so many issues that we saw with that offense.

But you do have to look at some of the positives as well, whether that be Trey does green, the commitment to the run game.

And once again the defense comes to play.

You know, and we kind of knew that going into this the South Carolina team wasn't great offensively.

So you thought okay the defense will keep this team in this ballgame.

Give this offense enough time to figure some things out.

And that's exactly how it played out.

Yeah we'll talk about some of the offensive stuff.

But that's where I wanted to start with you.

Was was a good Ole reliable with the defense you know doing its job.

Yeah.

The one blown play which was a big play.

And it well led to South Carolina's only touchdown.

But other than that it seemed like they put the pressure on the quarterback, which Brian Kelly talked about all week long, as something they had to do was make him feel uncomfortable.

After the game.

He said he's going to go home feeling, you know, this game, meaning the defense is up, but the pressure on him, they hit him and once again they were good Ole reliable for the Tigers.

You're right.

You talked about that one big bust right up the middle.

And I was thinking oh my lord here we go again.

Because that's exactly how South Carolina, you know, was in that game last year in Columbia.

So it was good to see them settle down.

Good to see them make some plays.

And and to your point, you know, they were making they were containing the north sellers the way that you needed to, you know, their ends were holding the edges.

They weren't rushing past the quarterback.

He wasn't able to really beat them with his feet.

And I think going in, they felt good about containing him with his arm down the field.

So it's exactly what you expected to kind of see.

But it's great to see it play out week after week.

It let you know that this defense is legitimate.

You know that they can play basically every style of defensive football, regardless of what the offense is throwing at you.

And and again, it's just great to put it out on paper.

And when you look at the numbers, South Carolina ran more plays and LSU, they just didn't do much with.

And especially once they got to about the 25 if they even got down, you know, to the 20 they ran more plays.

Just one productive.

So here's something that was interesting in hindsight.

LSU held them out of the red zone the entire night.

Yeah.

So South Carolina never got inside the 25.

So yeah, just to the point that LSU defense is able to get off the field.

You know again save some of their energy.

Some things that we didn't see against Ole Miss.

And maybe it speaks to that complementary football that Brian Kelly was searching for the last couple of games.

Yeah exactly.

All right.

Let's go to some of the positives on the offensive side.

And let's talk about trade.

Has green two catches coming into Saturday night ten catches coming out of Saturday night eight receptions career high 119 yards.

Look there's that one play.

You've got four on the right side.

You have him I saw it on the left side.

I'll take that all day long.

And every Tiger fan out there was like just run that play in the red zone every single time.

You know?

And to a degree, they're right.

It's because you can't stop it.

You know, we saw it in fall camp.

He was unstoppable in fall camp.

So it really speaks to, I guess, the knee injury that he had and how much of a setback that was for him.

Because last night after the game when we were talking, he said he's still only at 80%.

Really.

That's remarkable.

If he's at 80% and he's doing that, you know, then then that's fantastic for him and his future.

But again, he's such a high mismatch.

You know, for the defense that yes that play is always available.

Most of those plays are available.

You know hitting him in stride is available.

So it's great to see him get unlocked because he was an absolute game breaker for LSU in fall camp.

It just hadn't translated over to the field.

And whether that was him coming along.

He's admitted that there's a lot that he needs to add to his game as far as the mental side, or whether it was just Meyer, you know, getting healthy enough, having enough time to find him down the field.

Luckily, it all came together last year.

Yeah.

And to your point about the match up on the one on one, that's easy to do because of his size.

But as you mentioned, they hit him in stride a couple times in the middle of the field.

And if he's only 80%, he was breaking tackles even then.

You know, getting down at one time got down to what, the sixth and the next play was a touchdown, you know, Brian Kelly joked.

He said he'll leave the basketball stuff up to Matt McMahon, but it looks like the football stuff.

That's pretty good.

And certainly you see that future for trade is.

Yeah.

Garrett nuts Meyer, we've you know, I don't know, we've ever gotten official what the injury has been, but we knew he had a week off.

They were going to use Van Buren and give him some reps.

Did he look to you?

Because I know you're there.

You're on the field.

Did he look to you as healthy as he's been all season long?

I think so the difference that I saw, at least he had some zip on his ball, like he was getting the ball down the field.

And that's something that hadn't seen, you know, in the previous five games.

So you know his ability to step into some throws.

But of course there's that that gunslinger Garrett Ness Meyer and maybe some of the the injuries still coming back to play again.

Because when you look at every one of those interceptions, there were only two of them.

But every one of them, he might as well been sitting in this chair throwing the ball, because that was the motion.

He's falling back into the past.

And and those are old habits that he's had in the past.

And it's just really unfortunate that he hasn't been able to take that step that you were expecting this season, because you're expecting him to really propel himself.

Right.

And he's been stagnant if not regressed.

And like that's the disappointing part about his game.

How much of that is due to injury?

I don't think we'll ever know until after the season.

He probably gets drafted because, you know, I think he's savvy enough to try to guard as much of his draft stock as he can.

Jackson Dart was the only quarterback to have more yards and him last year, and he was north of 4000.

Nowhere close on that pace right now.

It was nice to see him some wheels.

I mean, he had a 21 yard run after a seven yard scramble, the 21 yard run.

But I'm sure it was an audible gasp inside of Tiger Stadium when he went down in the second quarter.

Took a shot.

Yeah.

And then when you're watching it on TV, you couldn't tell if it was the ankle or if it was because he fell back into it because he took it literally lifted him off his feet.

You don't know if he was woozy ankle, but I'm sure it was one of those.

He was jumping off the field for sure.

And that's the thing.

Because part of it, you know, you understand what your starting quarterback means to you.

But there's also this large contingent of LSU fans that want to see Michael Van Buren, you know, so like they want to see that backup quarterback.

And it's no different throughout the decades that you know, sure.

College football here at LSU but but no you need an healthy to be able to move this team to the position that it wants to be.

He took another shot at the end of the game and was grabbing at his calf, which was interesting to me in that goal line situation late in the contest.

So yeah, he has his health will be a factor that we'll be talking about all season long.

Rushing game.

You mentioned it people.

I'm waiting to see it 166 yards.

The highest this season is nine more than what they had against southeastern.

We finally starting to see maybe a little more of that burst of what Tiger fans not only want to see, but they know they need to see if this team is going to be a success.

I think a healthy Caden Durham is the difference in this one, but also a commitment to the run game.

LSU ran the ball what, 30 times last night.

So they averaged five and a half yards per carry.

So they ran the ball 30 times.

They threw it 33 times.

Great balance.

Sure.

You know exactly what you're looking for there from Brian Kelly and everything that he had talked about.

But I think it was that commitment, those consecutive runs with running backs.

That was a big point of contention.

You're running the ball with wide receivers.

You only ran the ball.

You know, twice with running backs in the first half of the game against a little bit.

So but I went through, you know, after the game and there was a time where they ran the ball four straight times.

So like you can see them saying okay we're going to do this whether it's working or not.

And it wasn't working early, but they stuck with it.

Yeah.

You know and and yes we all know the offensive line issues and we know you know they're pretty obvious to see.

But it was good to see them able to get some success on the edges with Kaden him have some splash.

You know three splash runs I think they had.

And of course the long.

So it was it was great to see them have some success because as you know, that kind of is a snowball that builds on itself a little bit of success in the run game leads to more success.

Okay, so the word of the night coming out of the postgame press conference with Brian Keller was catastrophic for that one.

For, you know, we heard it 4 or 5 times from him after the game against South Carolina.

Your concerns there as we wrap things up here.

Because next week you're in Nashville.

Yeah, it's an 11:00 Am kick.

Tiger fans know you usually go to Nashville for 11.

And by 1230 you're on Broadway eating, drinking because you know this is not your grandparents or your parents Vanderbilt team anymore.

And Brian Kelly consistently said there were things catastrophic, catastrophic.

How to fix it.

It will be catastrophic.

Any concerns now moving forward with this early game?

And then part two Texas A&M is the next week.

So Vanderbilt's no longer a sandwich game, right a sleeper.

This is a legit early morning kick.

But then oh by the way the Aggies are a week later.

Yeah.

You're not getting your defense off the field in the second half of this Vanderbilt for sure.

Absolutely.

You're concerned about it.

Three trips to the goal line.

And you have a field goal to show for it.

When they get into the, you know, right up against the goal line late in the game, I was thinking, here we go, southeastern all over again because they were had a first goal to three right against southeastern.

Had to settle for a field goal.

And you're thinking man against a southeastern team, you should be able to push your way into the end zone.

They didn't do it.

They weren't able to do it again last night.

Absolute concerns.

You know, stretching the ball out from John Johnson.

Like everyone knows, that's not the move that you make.

And and he fumbled the ball right in the end zone.

So, you know, those are things that you will not be able to overcome against Vanderbilt.

And never in my life would I have thought that's what you're going to say.

Sure.

Against a Vanderbilt team, but that is the truth because they are going to score.

Vanderbilt, Alabama and Texas A&M are absolutely going to score in this LSU defense and LSU's offense.

It's still the verdict out, man.

They're not going to be able to score.

I don't think if they get into a track meet with some of those teams.

Now this defense is good.

We talked about how legit they are.

But those teams that you're facing are not South Carolina.

South Carolina was one of the worst teams in the SEC in most statistical categories, and LSU won that game 20 to 10.

That's not going to happen against Vanderbilt, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Two SEC games played at home.

Both of them finished with a score of 20 to 10.

We see.

I know you'll be there in Nashville.

I appreciate you come in and talk about this game.

Safe travels and I will visit again for the end of the season.

Sounds good.

Thanks for having me.

Swac action out on the East Coast, Daytona Beach, Florida.

The weather was horrible and so was the performance by the Jaguars.

Unfortunately, taking on the soon Cookman looking to get the second win of the season for southern after a false start penalty.

First play of the game for the Jags.

Well that's a good one Cameron McCoy hits Darren Moore short.

He goes long 71 yards long for the touchdown.

And it's seven.

Nothing just like that.

But then the film Cookman comes back.

Remember southern has dominated them in this series.

They get the touchdown here and they have tied the game at seven.

Terrance graves not liking what he is seeing.

Second quarter.

Rashawn Brown takes it in from 12 yards out.

Now it's 14 seven.

So Cookman next possession for the Wildcats after the Jaguars star ransom to Ricky Short.

Touchdown corner of the end zone.

It's 21 to 7.

The big issues for the Jags in the first half.

Penalties.

Terrance graves was with us in the studio two weeks ago and talked about this.

They have to get better.

They're shooting themselves in the foot eight penalties in the first half.

And almost all of them were pre-snap penalties.

Terrance graves still not happy about it.

They've got to get that fixed.

Third quarter first drive for the Wildcats.

And once again it's Josh Evans on the pass from Ransom 22 yards across the middle.

Later in the drive Ali Scott he goes up the middle.

It's a group effort by the offensive line to push them in for the final two and a half yards.

But he gets into the end zone.

It's 28 seven and this thing's getting away from southern from bad to worse.

Kenny fam he's back to punt.

The rain a slippery ball.

He drops it.

It's a loss of 14.

Sets up an easy field goal for the turn.

Cookman.

It's now 31 to 3 late in the third quarter.

Cam Ransom to Lorenzo Jenkins.

That's good for 33 yards as he gets over the defender.

It's 38 to 7 and now it's becoming a blowout.

The Jags would add a touchdown Ashton Strother not in at quarterback.

He hits Malachi Jackson left side for the 15 yard touchdown.

But it's a long trip back to Baton Rouge for that man and his Jaguar football team 45 to 14 is the final score.

It's the first win by Bethune-Cookman in this series, with the Jags rushing yards just 65 yards on the day for southern in rainy, wet conditions.

The Dome Cookman 227.

There's one of your big storylines right there.

It doesn't get any easier for southern next week.

They're home.

It's homecoming against a very good Prairie View team.

Speaking of homecoming and speaking of the Swac, Grambling at home, it's homecoming as they hosted Texas Southern for Mickey Joseph trying to get his Tigers back in the win column.

Big defensive play, opening drive for Texas Southern, K.J.

Cooper's pass picked off by Markelle Linzer.

And take another look at this as he gets it off the deflection of the wide receivers hand.

But he's playing in a deep position and watch again.

Great job.

Sliding gets his arms under the ball and it's an interception for Grambling State.

Offense Ashton Frye gets the start at quarterback because xavien to that.

He's on a walking boot on the sideline.

So five long strides 15 yard score is a touchdown.

It's Jets nothing.

Grambling they go for two and don't get it.

Second quarter Texas Southern ties it up K.J.

Cooper to Xavier Phipps seven yards there.

They do kick the point at seven six Texas Southern.

This sort of defines the night for the Grambling Tigers.

Watch Trey Bradford bounces this one to the outside.

Cuts across the field.

And there he goes 76 yards inside the 25 inside the 20.

Knocked out of bounds at the 16.

The very next play Ashton Frye mishandles the exchange.

And Texas Southern jumps on the loose ball.

And just like that a huge missed opportunity.

Don't forget they went for two.

It could be tied.

You're still down by one.

You need every break.

You can get under two minutes to go 80 and Renfro he takes it 60 yards to the end zone.

And now it's 14 six.

And all the momentum going in the half is with Texas Southern.

Or is it under a minute to go.

Frye up top.

This ball is deflected.

But Tyson George is there to catch it and gets it down to the one yard line.

It leads to a touchdown.

So it's 1413 Tsu.

But the opening kick of the third quarter Jay Sean Johnson.

He wants to make the highlight reel.

And he will 95 yards.

And he takes it to the house on the kick return.

And now it's 20 to 14.

Grambling is up by six.

Three minutes later K.J.

Cooper he keeps it for a one yard score.

They kick the point once again.

It's a one point deficit for Grambling.

Bad moment here.

Another fumble for far.

That's not the worst part.

He's on the bottom of this dog pile.

Gets out leaning, favoring his shoulder golf cart up to the facility.

He leaves the game.

Guess who's coming in.

He trades a walking boot for a headband and a ponytail.

And here comes his hat.

And on his first pass, 24 yards to Andrew Frazier, then to set 16 yards to Keith Jones Jr.

This is a movie story.

He's going to walk in injured and lead the team to a win.

But two plays later Clyde McLendon trying to make a move fumbles the ball.

Tsu jumps on it once again.

Grambling loses it, but we're not sure if Tsu beat them or if they beat themselves.

Four turnovers for Grambling.

Three lost fumbles, including one late in the game inside the five.

It's a 2125.

Ashton Fry, the starting quarterback, left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.

We still know he's had his father with a foot injury.

They've got to figure something out before next week because they're on the road to face Arkansas Pine Bluff.

Sold out crowd for James Madison and Louisiana.

Two teams pick to meet at the end of the year and the conference championship for the Sun Belt lunch.

Winfield getting his first start for the region.

Cajuns no score in the second quarter.

Winfield rolls out, hits Robert Williams, 40 yards on the catch for Williams, then Winfield to the end zone picked off by Elijah Culp.

But you see the flag come in.

Culp gets called for pass interference calling.

Hit the defensive coordinator for James Madison out of his mind.

You know, for me, he had something to say to the officials, but it doesn't change the play.

So the Ragin Cajuns still get the ball back.

And on the next play, Winfield to Brock Chapel for the touchdown.

And just like that, the Cajuns have the lead six plays 80 yards on the drive.

Later in the second Tony Sterner from 51.

But his field goal is blocked and it's good field position for JMU.

Wayne Knight then keeps it for 49 yards.

What's ahead off bounce to the outside and look at this.

Look at the quarterback leading the way.

Go for the block.

Lay on the lumber.

Gets his man down inside the five down to the three yard line.

What a great lead block and great hustle down there Alonzo Barnett then four yards to land.

And Ellis.

And we're tied at three.

It takes the cage is just three plays in a minute.

20 to get the lead back.

Lutz Winfield up top to former quarterback now wide receiver Dale Martin 69 yards and a touchdown.

It's 14 seven.

But before the end of the half Winfield hits Robert Williams 44 yards on this play.

Last play of the half throughout the one you kick the field goal you're up 17 seven.

We're here to play ball four seconds on the clock.

They go for it at the goal line and they come up short.

So instead of a ten point lead it's a seven point lead.

But you still have the lead until JMU comes out and they go trick play razzle dazzle.

And then up top on the pass the flea flicker to land.

And Ellis 62 yards.

We're tied at 14.

Fourth quarter now still tied at 14 Ellis gets the hook up again.

His third touchdown of the game.

It's 2114 now 2414.

Just have to get a score.

Have to get an onside kick.

Lunch Winfield goes to the end zone.

Watch the ballots.

On the interception by Jacob Thomas who gets his foot down with possession.

And just like that the hopes are gone.

The drive is gone.

JMU takes a few knees and they win this ballgame at home.

Good matchup.

We might see it again, but the raging Cajuns have some things to improve on.

24 to 14 is the final.

Winfield in his first start, 14 of 28 for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

It's the sixth straight game.

James Madison has held an opponent under total yards of 300 or less.

That's a Sunbelt record.

Next up for Louisiana a few extra days off.

They play a Tuesday night game, the 21st against Western Kentucky.

Afterwards, head coach Desormeaux talking about going for it at the end of the first half.

We talked about, you know, we got stopped on on third and one earlier in the year.

And, you know, a group was like, you know, just give us another chance to do it, you know, we'll get it in there.

And, I mean, they want to go.

And I think for us, you know, I can't sit here and tell them we're coming here to be aggressive, and we're coming here to lay it all on the line.

And and not do the same thing.

I mean, from the first play where we threw the, you know, flea flicker, they covered it, okay.

You know, but we were going to come out here and be aggressive and we were going to try to take it to them.

And, I felt like that was the only way, you know, we could win.

And that's the only way you're supposed to play, are we know it was time.

We knew that.

We all know.

Everybody knew was going for.

Well, I think we were at the one right there in your arm.

Yeah.

I mean, it's it's football.

It happens.

You know, it sucks that you don't get any points from that.

But then you scored the touchdown at 321.

Seven is really good going the half.

So you know it's nothing that's about it.

Everybody got stood up on the bench you know oh we're going for it.

Here we go I mean he trust us.

So that's a good thing for us.

If you want to go for we we rob them behind our coach 100%.

So if you feel like we can do it, we feel like we can do it.

Because dad's got ultimate belief in arrogance, that film.

And he he's a believer.

And so our prayers.

So we know if he believe in us we believe in ourselves.

And it's going to be a great, great thing.

Our kids are playing hard, man.

I mean that's a prerequisite.

You have to, you know, and I don't you know, we've had some things that certainly have been going our way this year, but, you know, we're, you know, are in position.

You know, we've got all the Western games in front of us.

I knew that this is a, Eastern Division game.

It really don't hurt our chances to win the West.

And that's what I was doing to the guys every day when it was first.

So we could get to that, to, to to the championship.

And what what our team got to understand that.

Like, that could be this could be a game that we come back to in the Championship halfway through the season.

Six games left, all on our side of the conference.

So that's good.

Yeah.

I mean, it definitely felt different.

A lot of guys, you know, know what it takes.

And you know, hopefully we see these guys again.

Well, like they say, it's good to go back home.

And that's exactly what Ian Connolly Goodley did.

A former lion spent some time over Troy, and now he's back at southeastern, having quite a run right now.

Ian, thanks for joining us.

Thank you very absolutely I appreciate it.

We're going to get to some personal side stuff.

But let's talk about the streak you're on.

As you guys entered the bye week.

You personally have had a couple of big games like back to back games with interceptions one with the pick six.

Give me a little bit of an update of how it's going on the field.

I mean, I feel like just executing my job and doing what the team requires of me, I feel like they just put me in the best position to make plays, like they'll play week one.

Quarterback rolling out to the sideline, but he's scrambling not being to ANC and trying to jump something, taking some short but just playing.

True to my job, being the cover two player and driving the route that helped me make that play.

And this past week against McNeese, just keep in my eyes, like having good eyes, having good patience, being able to drive the road and help my team win is great.

How easy was it to you for to get back in the system?

For those who don't know his story, he was here at southeastern, had a chance to go up to Troy, stepped up in terms of size and teams, spent a year at Troy.

And then you came back.

So when you got back into the system, was it an easy transition coming home?

I'd say it was a pretty decently easy transition.

A few calls may have had their name changed.

His defense may have been a little different.

Personnel I was playing with may be a little different.

Like when I left, I was used to playing with Dottie and, Anthony Britton, but now I'm playing with K.K.

Reno and, Jerry Johnson and Cam forward.

So it's new people to get used to, and my coach changed.

I'm with Dustin Landry now, but, as far as our base calls, it was about the same.

Learn a new chase.

Learning how to communicate on a different level.

I felt like it elevated, but I feel like going to Troy also made me able to play in this system better.

People might want to know.

You know, in this days of transfer portals and nil and the chance to go to Troy, even your head coach, Frank self said, look, I don't blame him if it has the opportunity and you took advantage of it, but I understand and correct me if I'm wrong.

That during the bye weeks because you're from South Louisiana, during bye weeks, even though you were at Troy, it's not that long of a drive.

You kept coming back.

Was that one of those?

What made you decide?

Okay, I went to Troy, I tried it.

Sunbelt conference.

I want to go back.

Going to play on the EBS level was a blessing.

And when you're at this level, like FCS or you may be D2, D3, you're like, okay, this is the pinnacle of what I want to play because people talk about this so highly.

So obviously in your mind you're going to be like, okay, I want to see what this is about.

I go to play at that level.

And it wasn't much different than what I was already playing on.

I'm playing in big games, but I played in big games here, like at Troy.

I played against Iowa, but here I played against Mississippi State.

I'm not going to say that any game I played at Troy was any harder than I played at southeastern, whether it be, say, Georgia, Georgia Southern or I'm playing McNeese state, there's good players on both teams.

So when I'm thinking, okay, when I want to come back, because obviously when I'm in the portal that maybe other FBS schools now want me to go there, well, what the factors for me was, can I trust these people in my last year and how do I fit into their system?

Well, I was already at southeastern, so I know off into their system and I was already coached here.

So I know I can trust these people.

With my last season of eligibility, I know that they'll put me in the best position they can to help me put my best film out.

If I have aspirations to go pro or even set me up as a person because I feel like the people on the staff are good people, that I can trust.

You mentioned your position.

Coaches know, but your head coach is the same.

But then you mentioned some of the players are different.

Well, you mentioned CJ and you guys have really kind of separate yourselves.

What's it been like playing with him because right now y'all are y'all are leading the way in terms of this lion defense.

What's it like playing with him?

I love playing with CJ.

Like coming in with him as a freshman.

Like just seeing his growth since like we were both freshmen.

He's elevated his game so much like he's a leader on the field.

I love being able to like say I have him in front of me on Saturdays making almost all the plays.

I joke with him all the time.

I'm like, man, you don't leave no tackles for anybody else.

I know you're on the defensive side of the ball, but let me ask you, at practice, you're going up against the same two headed monster as quarterbacks, as other defenses are in your games.

Give me your evaluation of what you're seeing out of the guys on the other side of the ball with both those quarterbacks and what they're doing with your offense.

It's crazy to have two elite quarterbacks on the same team, and you have to prepare for them both differently.

Kyle, he's more mobile, but let's not talk away.

Take away from camp because he can move to both have great arms.

Both can read the defense.

The both like they play college football.

So like say I may make a misread in practice.

They're going to make they're going to take advantage of it.

So it keeps me on my toes and elevates me every day.

So it's great to prepare against them every single day.

You told me when we were getting ready to do the interview, you said, yeah, you just need to call me Ian Goodley.

But there is a story behind why the media guide and the rosters say Ian Connolly.

Good.

Lee and I think it's a great story I want to share.

Yes.

So after going into my freshman year, the summer of 2022, my grandmother lay on me the stash.

Connolly she had passed away.

That's her.

And my mom were the ones I was primarily raised by in our house in Madisonville, Louisiana.

So my freshman year, I really didn't know what I could do to honor her in a way.

Like I wanted to do something for her, would have little wristbands with her name on it and stuff.

And I talked to my mom about possibly changing my name, but I didn't know if I had to either change it legally or I could just go and ask.

But I considered both.

Coming into my sophomore year, I played two games as Ian Goodley going into week three, walking off the practice field.

I had seen Mr.

Kamla and I was like, is it okay if I change my last name to Connolly Goodley?

And he was like, sure, no problem.

I see my name change the currently goodley, but I didn't think it would jump to other presented me as Ian Connolly.

Good.

Leanne or the accolades.

They saying Ian Connolly Goodley.

So I love to see like how it's elevated and that Troy I had it on my on my back as Connolly Goodley and it's it's an honor to honor like the people I represent with my grandmother, also my grandfather and my mother who helped me get here in the journey.

So what you thought might be a small, fun gesture that maybe meant something just personally.

It's come a lot more.

It become a lot more and I'm really thankful for that, honestly.

So like every time I make a play and I hear Connolly goodley like I think about my grandmother, I think about my grandfather, my mom, because they all helped me get to where I am.

So it's like it's not just me when I'm out there, it's the people I represent as well.

If she raised you and obviously she did a very good job doing so, what do you think she'd be saying?

How do you think that what that would have meant to her and what would she be saying about the way you're playing?

I think my mama would be extremely proud.

Just like to be able to come to one of my games and watch me play.

She'd be ecstatic.

But just to see that I'm playing at a high level, making plays, I don't even.

She probably lose my mind.

I know she probably smiling right now.

Oh that's great and I hope she has.

And I'm sure she has.

Let's wrap up just by sort of looking ahead a little bit.

You've had a couple of big competitions, starting out with Louisiana Tech, a big win in Baton Rouge against LSU, but against Murray State, which is a really big game that you guys won handily on the road.

You had a very nice win over in Lake Charles, and the meat of the schedule was to come.

Give me the evaluation of what you've done to this point and what you see moving forward to accomplish the goals that you all want to accomplish as a team.

I feel like in our short comings and early week games, even beating Murray State, it wasn't our best game.

We've constantly stacked stacked stack got better every week, even even against LSU games.

There's positivity in the game, so we're getting better every week.

And we dropped this McNeese game where we throw a shutout, obviously, and that's the standard that we want to uphold going into the second half.

And for the second half, I just want to build.

We just want to build upon what we've already done being a great defense, being a great team in general.

But just take a week by week.

We can't be looking, oh, what's the end of the season?

Hold it.

And we let our guard down for our opponent.

We're playing this week.

We just got to take it day by day, consistently get better.

And that's how you win games on Saturday.

And because you've been here prior, do you see yourself of having to be a, if not a vocal leader or at least a leader on the field to get to the point of what you're talking about because you've been there?

Yes.

So 100%, I'd say in years past I wasn't a very vocal guy.

I was a player that would come out here, do his job trying to lead by example, but doesn't, doesn't really get to everybody.

So coming in here as a senior, it holds a different weight.

I have to say stuff I have to lead with my voice and by example, make sure people hear me and they feel me.

So when you reiterate the example in the standard everyday, you can see what comes around you.

So I'd say like as far as a team that I've been with, this is the closest group of guys we've had, probably the best in school, most professional, and it just shows when we play on Saturday, like best communication on the field and I foresee a great results coming from it.

Well so far so good.

We wish you the best of luck down the road.

We look forward to covenant.

Thank you sir.

Appreciate your time.

Thank you sir.

The demons from Northwestern State coming off of its five.

Back on the road taking on Houston Christian three minutes to go into the game.

You might remember on Saturday mornings game host.

We talked about this young man's eye Shaun Edwards leading the Southland Conference.

And boy did he have himself an afternoon.

52 yards for the early touchdown.

It's seven nothing Houston Christian but the demons respond nicely.

Abraham Johnston can't find anybody open so he takes it himself 18 yard gain.

And he's in the Houston Christian territory.

Then on fourth and one it's not the prettiest pass, but it works.

Johnston to Brandon Webb to close a 12 play, 75 yard drive and we're tied at seven.

More of Edwards against the demon defense 14 yards up the middle.

Then Jake Weir hits Braylon Finney and he's going to get it down to the two.

But guess what the demon defense would hold from there.

And then Houston Christian has to settle for a field goal from 35 yards out.

But it's pushed to the right and no good.

So we're still tied at seven.

The demons then answer right back with another nice drive.

Johnston rolling out to his right.

Hits Joseph Moreland.

That's good for 24 yards now.

Third and four.

Johnston finds Ryan Hicks.

This was good for 19 yards.

And a first down.

This will lead to a Cooper Evans field goal.

Remember the struggles they had with field goals two weeks ago.

But this one from 33 is true right down the middle.

And it's ten seven.

Northwestern state has a lead on the road.

Under a minute to go in the half Maddox Kopp connects with Joe Ryan Wallace 33 yards.

He sneaks it into the pylon and it's 1310 Houston Christian at the break.

Third quarter and another big run by guess who sees Shaun Edwards this time 47 yards.

And it's 20 to 10 caimans down by ten.

Back on offense Johnston rolling right hits Tyler Sims for 17 yards.

That leads to a 34 yard field goal.

But this time for Cooper Evans.

Well this one's no good.

Never really left his foot well misses it to the right.

So it's still a ten point deficit early fourth quarter.

Back inside the red zone.

Johnston connects with Ty Moore ten yards back of the end zone 2017 demons trailed by three on the road.

Just over two minutes to go.

You have to get a first down.

It's fourth down Johnston buying time scrambling.

Hesitation makes a move.

Finally throws it past the sticks hoping to get it to somebody.

But it's picked off by Javon Anderson.

The fight was certainly there for the demons on the road.

Unfortunately the results once again were not 22.

17 is the final score.

Abram Johnson, the quarterback 15 of 33, 424 yards and two touchdowns since Shaun Edwards.

I told you he had himself a day 30 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns to lead Houston Christian.

Next up for the demons.

It's another tough one on the road in Hammond facing the Lions from southeastern.

Here's head coach Blaine McCorkle following the loss.

Though this is a hard one.

This is a hard one.

I thought the guys played extremely, extremely hard for four quarters.

They showed a lot of toughness.

They showed a lot of grit.

They continue to be who we expect them to be in that realm.

So this was a tough one to swallow.

You know, we came in here and played a three point game against a team that last year to be about 62 or 62 points on us.

So, you know, there's no, consolation in this, but we are getting better.

You know, there's there's no doubt where improved football team waiting is extremely hard.

But we've got to wait.

Well, and keep working and and know that our days are coming, and they are.

And I think our kids see it.

It's a heartbroken locker room in there right now because they know it's coming.

Those who are going to the game for you on Monroe and Coastal Carolina and are two by two coming off the arc.

It was a monsoon and it rained all night long.

But they're still playing football like people say.

Has football weather.

The conditions hurt Coastal Carolina early.

You saw the sack and a loss of six.

Here's another sack.

Back to back plays a loss of ten doesn't lead to a field goal for Coastal Carolina.

And the shot declares are up three to nothing.

Next possession for the shots Jovan Simpkins goes 46 yards inside the 20 inside the 15.

And then he fumbles.

Great strip by the Warhawk defense.

But then they catch up on the ball.

Chanticleers get at the four yard line.

But guess what.

The defense holds another field goal.

It's six.

Nothing.

Coastal Carolina now nine nothing.

They go for the trick play.

Bryson graves gets it throws it to Jamison Tucker.

But then Tucker he's going to fumble at the ten yard line.

And this time the Warhawks do get a great job by David Godsey Jr to not only force the fumble he jumps on the ball, but the Warhawks can't do anything on offense.

Coastal gets it back just before the half.

Samari Collier finds Brooks Johnson in the end zone.

It's 16.

Nothing at the break.

Third quarter eight.

Na mensah.

Great looking, great camera angle.

You can see what he's saying to Jonathan Phipps who gets a foot in on the catch.

Touchdown.

They go for two and get it.

So they now cut the deficit in half.

It's 16 to 8.

But seven plays later Collier keeps it up the middle and it goes to distance 39 yards for the touchdown.

It's 23 to 8.

And the Warhawks in trouble because the offense has struggled.

And a major problem all night long.

Third downs.

And here's an example on third and 12 the incompletion.

Couldn't get the running game going.

Couldn't convert on third downs.

And there were a lot of long third down conversions at the Warhawks.

Could not take advantage of eight minutes left in the game.

Fourth down you got to get something going.

Are meant to hoping anybody can get it, but it's picked off by some Marion Gordon and that was pretty much the night for the Warhawks.

43 to 8 is the final score.

You see the rushing yards a good rushing team from Warhawks, the only 139 yards.

But that middle line is the problem.

Just one for 14 on third downs.

They could not keep the offense on the field.

Coastal Carolina gets the win to go to two and one in conference.

The Warhawks dropped to three and three overall.

One and one in conference.

Next up it's Troy next weekend.

But afterwards a frustrated head coach Frank Benson.

We really don't need to put this one behind us.

We need to let this one burn.

We need to feel this one because you're not going to win a college football game unless you execute, unless you stay ahead of the sticks.

Instead of getting third and 30 plus behind the sticks.

It's that simple.

End of the day, we need to we need to on this one, which we do, which I do.

And, we've got a really good Troy team coming into town, a team that plays together, a team that that works together, and a team that plays really hard and believes.

So.

Yeah, we've got our hands full.

It's that simple.

And we're not going to if we're not going to win.

But anybody playing like this, this execution offensively you're not going to beat anybody.

So we've got a long way to go.

And we got a lot of work to do in a short time to get there.

A bit of a quirky schedule for Louisiana Tech, one game between the beginning of the month and the 21st.

And that game was Thursday night when they lost at Kennesaw State, and it was not even close in that ballgame.

Next up for Louisiana Tech will be a Tuesday night game at home against Western Kentucky.

But during their full bye week, I had a chance to talk to Bulldog head coach Sonny Cumbie about a variety of topics with his Bulldogs team, including his outstanding defense, which has had a great year until that disappointing night at Kennesaw State.

Last year, you finished 11th in the country and defense so far this season.

To your point number one in turnovers in the country, number one in defensive touchdowns scored when I was on campus visiting with you up there in August, there was a lot of buzz about Tony Franklin and what he was bringing to the offensive side.

Maybe we should.

We talk about Luke Olsen and what he's done on the defensive side, bringing him in from Jacksonville State.

And you talk about just the system he's brought in and how your experience players have really taken to the system and shown it on the field.

Yeah I think you're right.

It's two fold.

You know you have a coordinator in Luke Olsen that has a really a new defensive staff, with Paul Randolph at defensive line Carlton buckles at corner.

You know coach Sam Carter and safeties Josh Creech and Courtney Arnett coaching our linebackers.

And I think that's where, you know, we have a tremendous defensive staff and our players.

I tell our assistant coaches that, you know, the goal of of you leaving your room is that your players should have an advantage because you're their coach.

And I think we truly do have an advantage, because of those guys that I mentioned as far as position coaches.

And then the other huge the biggest.

The other thing about it is we have some really good players.

And I think that our football IQ by our players on defense is really as high as it's ever again, as high as I've ever been around in terms of kids understanding football, understanding, you know, alignments, splits, learning concepts.

And being able to pick up what an offense is trying to do during the course of the week.

Our defensive coaches do a great job of teaching, and our players have a great job of learning.

And then when you have guys that are talented, you know, then I think that's a great mix.

And Coach Olsen, you know, from a structure of a defense standpoint, it starts out as the same structure as what we had last year.

But it's a lot more aggressive from the standpoint of the things that we do in terms of coverage and blitzes.

And I think that's where you've seen the increase in takeaways is as we've been able to to speed quarterbacks up.

And when you speed quarterbacks up and you put that on film, you know the quarterback the next week is watching that.

And he's seeing you know just how physical our defense is.

He's seeing how many hits we get on the quarterback.

You know he sees how many times we get ball balls batted in the air.

You know he sees how many times we get the quarterback out of the pocket because of our pressure.

You know?

And I think that gets in guys heads at quarterback.

And so we've been able to do that defensively with an aggressive style with great players and a great coaching staff.

And so you know, we still again, we have a lot of football games left to play.

And we've got to continue to elevate and continue to create takeaways.

Be great on third down.

You know the red zone defense has been really good.

And so we've got to just continue to do that.

And I know that we're going to be able to do that on offense as well.

In terms of finding our rhythm.

Because offense for me is there's such a rhythm to it.

And I think a rhythm and getting the pieces in the right place and, and we're in the midst of doing that on offense.

I want to ask for some more offense in just a moment, coach.

But you mentioned the names.

You mentioned a lot of football left to be played.

One of the mentioned names you mentioned, Colby Fields.

Unfortunately, you won't be with him after suffering a non-contact injury and losing him for the season.

Coach, in your press conference, as you have said, for those who know his story and that's why it hurt so much for those around the state who might not know his story.

Can you give us sort of a synopsis into the quick review of of why losing him has been so tough?

Because of what his story means?

Well, I think he's from from Rummel High School in New Orleans.

Goes to southern South Carolina a long ways away from home.

Ends up transferring back to LSU.

He gets the LSU.

And I think that was right in the midst of the coaching transition.

I think when Matt House took over as the defensive coordinator, Colby got there before that and so, I don't know if it was a great fit or, you know, in terms of a linebacker and what they were looking for.

He played a year there and then was really just, I think, you know, it's kind of kind of, you know, it lost a little bit and, and, you know, went to the portal and, you know, as soon as, you know, we were alerted to that he was there in the portal.

Man.

It was a it was a no brainer for us to try to get him here to north Louisiana and to Louisiana Tech.

And so, you know, you go and you visit at his home, you know, during the recruiting period and, and, you know, I think the thing that, you know, that you get into coaching and I think people they get an education, which I consider coaching, you get an education because you're teaching people like you want to help people like you want to allow them to to to grow.

You want to help them be a better version of themselves.

And that help comes in a lot of different forms and a lot of different ways.

But that's where, like when you find a kid, you know, where, you know, Colby was, was, was was really down.

He was I think he was really discouraged.

And was really, looking for a new start and a fresh start.

And we were able to provide that for him, and he was able to open up his heart to allow us to earn his trust.

And, you know, he gets here and he starts working.

And since he's been here for us, he's been the hardest worker.

I told our staff, you know, you know, numerous times and there's other guys on their team that are like this.

But man, we're really lucky that our best player on our team, Colby Fields, works like he does, shows up like he does, prepares like he does, has the passion for the game like he does because everybody else follows suit.

And we're very fortunate we can't take that for granted.

As he comes here, does all that and then, you know, he gets denied the waiver in terms of being eligible to play.

Two years ago.

And so and this is right here in fall camp, you're about to start the season.

Everything that he's looking forward to in terms of playing now it's taken away from him.

He has this redshirt.

He sits out, he goes to the scout team and does absolutely whatever they team needing to do.

He played scout team running back.

He played scout team tight end.

He played scout team receiver.

Whatever the defense needed him to do that week to give them the best look.

He did that, he traveled with us to every game.

And Victor, we played some really bad defense that year, and then he had to sit on the sideline and watch it, and knowing that he could help us be a better defense, that made it even worse, I'm sure, for him.

And then and then for him to get the opportunity last year and, and to play the way he did and to continue to get better and better and better.

And then, you know, he has an injury at the end of the season last year and he can't play in their bowl game.

And you know, he chooses to stay here and chooses to to want to try to win a championship here.

He chooses to want to make this place, take it back to where we're winning football consistently here.

And just does it with, with such tenacity for the game.

And, and then when you look at him as from a football player standpoint, his instincts are off the chart.

His football IQ is off the chart.

I mean, he is a playmaker in every sense of the way.

And and that's where like his his physical presence, you know, we're going to miss his physical presence undoubtedly.

On our, on our team and on the field.

But I think that he has done such a tremendous job with our linebackers and our defense, building the standard.

And now they our kids know what that looks like.

And so now they can go out, and now other guys are going to elevate.

And I think that you'll see that with our defense.

And I think that once he gets back around our players, you know I always talk to our guys too, is that everybody gives off energy and gives off life.

And, you know, you can choose to give life to guys or you can choose to be, you know, a bump on the log and drain the energy of people.

And I think that's where, you know, yesterday Kobe was at our team meetings, in our position meetings.

And, and you could just see how much energy it gave him and then vice versa.

And so now for us, we're a true team.

And the standpoint of now we've got to step in and pick him up.

And the best way we can do that is to play great football, to continue to pursue a conference championship.

And then whenever we can get him back around the practices and around the facility, we're going to do that, you know, just the same as as we would, you know, any other guys, but, he means a lot to us.

He's done a great job here and just, meant so much to our team.

I know everybody looks forward to seeing that young man back on the field with your coach.

I'd like to go back, if you don't mind.

Just a second.

I want to go back to your one loss, Adele.

And.

And I don't want to talk about the loss.

But, coach, since that game, your defense has only given up 15 points a game, but your offense has accelerated.

You don't have to 36 points a game.

From there, you grow from wins.

Coach, you say you learn from losses.

What do you think your team lost or learned rather from that loss in Baton Rouge that has now kick started?

What you've done the last three weeks?

I think that, you know, our guys are fighters and they don't back down, they don't flinch.

And they have a lot of confidence in themselves.

And I think that, that was evident in that game, in terms of how they played, and I think that they just have grown from that, you know, it was a it was a huge challenge across the board in every area.

And, you know, I think that that that's the biggest thing that our kids took away from that game is, is, their belief in themselves.

They validated that in terms of being able to compete, you know, with some of the best players in the country and go out and do that.

And so I think that's what we took away from it is, you know, we want to try to win every game.

And we weren't able to do that.

And then, you know, we've been able to to learn a lot in terms of our wins as well.

You know, I think our offense, you know, again, like I said, has played some really, really elite offensive football, you know, and throughout the course of this year we just got to do it more consistently.

And then defensively continue to get you know to get the takeaways.

But special teams is also an area you know where I think our team can continue to grow.

And and that's where like the maturity maturity of our football team, you know really has to kick in now.

And because you have had, you know, just a little bit of success.

And again there's so there's so many football games left to be played.

But they have to understand the process every week that it takes to be successful or to allow yourself the chance to be successful in terms of our preparation, I know one of the concerns your head coach was coming out of halftime, the consistency in the second half, do you feel like that's been addressed and they're a little more comfortable now with what you're trying to do to finish off games in the third and fourth quarter?

Now we got a lot ways, a long ways to go there.

Victor.

I've been really, you know, the, you know, we have not finished games in the fourth quarter.

You know, you talked about, you know, Southern Miss scored a touchdown right at the end where we didn't finish up play and man coverage.

The ball was tipped in the air similar to the play we had against us in Meyer where the ball gets tipped in the end the free safety, the route player is finishing the play and ends up gets the interception.

Similar player against Southern Miss and we give up a touchdown on the last drive.

And then again against UTEp we give up a touchdown on defense there.

And it late in the fourth quarter which they should not have had.

And so from a defense that's really playing stingy.

You know we we let the foot off the gas there.

At the in the fourth quarter, we've had some really foolish penalties in the fourth quarter on special teams, on our punt and punt defense, where we from a mental standpoint, you know, we botched a snap, last week after a sudden change in the fourth quarter on an extra point, which should never happen.

Those are layups.

They should be automatic.

And then you know we've you know offensively you know for the times where we search for consistency.

We have done a nice job at the end of games.

If in terms of controlling the football, you know and getting first downs and keeping our defense off the field when you have a game won.

But our, our mentality to, to to just finish people and to finish games, with the same fervor as which we start has got to be better.

As we go down the stretch here in conference, it certainly has been our pleasure covering the Bulldogs here on game day.

So I really appreciate your time with this oddity in the schedule.

One game between now and October 21st between two byes and midweek games.

Well, you're very kind of join us and coach, I appreciate your time.

We wish you the best of luck and we look forward to coming to you the rest of the season.

Hey Victor, I appreciate it.

I appreciate what you guys are doing in terms of of coverage and getting the story out about our football team and about our players.

We've got a lot of great young men.

I think we've got a really good football team.

We've got to continue to prove it.

But, I really appreciate you taking the time out and your commitment to, to cover us.

I appreciate it, coach.

It is our pleasure.

Sonny Cumbie, the head coach of Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Coach.

We'll see you again soon.

Thanks so much for the time.

Hi.

Thanks a lot, Victor.

We've done just about everything we can do here, but another full week of football next week and we look forward to seeing you then for everybody at LPB, I'm Victor Howell, thanks for joining us on Game Notes.

And we'll see you next week.

Major production funding for game notes is provided by Southern University and A&M College, and Hargrove engineers and Constructors, and the Rob Pugh Agency, with additional support from Lafayette Travel, the LSU Alumni Association, and the Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU, Louisiana Tech University, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, Northwestern State University, Red Stick Sports, the U.S.

Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion, the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and viewers like you.

Thank you.