NCAAF 2021 Week 02 SE Louisiana vs Louisiana Tech

[Music] good evening and welcome to reston louisiana tonight on espn3 on the memorable 20th anniversary of the 9 11 attack on america we present college football with louisiana tech from conference usa hosting southeastern out of the southland conference welcome to joe ia stadium with chris mykoski i'm lynn rollins louisiana tech a week ago came within a whisker of upsetting mississippi state in the season opener tonight the bulldogs meet one of the best teams chris in fcs and as disappointed as louisiana tech is and not leaving starkville with a victory they have to flush it and concentrate on the opponent today the number 13 ranked team in the country in fcs tonight we will see a quarterback matchup that has never been witnessed before and will never be seen again cole kelly is the defending walter payton award winner that's the fcs version of the heisman trophy and he's off to a hot start this year as well 263 yards passing in the opener last week versus north alabama on the other side it's former oklahoma and west virginia quarterback austin kendall just a few months ago he was working in pharmaceutical sales but louisiana tech coaches convinced him this would be a great situation for him to thrive and we will see if austin kendall represents good medicine for this louisiana tech offense over the next several games it's louisiana tx bulldogs hosting the southeastern lions it's next on espn3 [Music] welcome back to ruston louisiana i'm lynn rollins with chris mykoski it is the conference usa member louisiana tech taking on the southland conference member southeastern louisiana the bulldogs have won the toss chris they have elected to defer their choice until the third quarter so the lions will get the football first here and they are playing on the road for the second straight week and it'll be a long road trip for louisiana for excuse southeastern louisiana they've actually been in the florence alabama area for the last week and a half after opening against north alabama stayed there the rest of the week now here in ruston but we got some good news today lynn the southeastern louisiana campus which has been ravaged by a hurricane it appears that the team will be able to return to hammond in a couple of days thought they would have to spend all this week in rustin before leaving to their next game at central connecticut indeed and the schedule does not favor southeastern playing in hammond for the first half of it they've got several road games before they finally come home it'll end up being five consecutive road games to begin the season last week against north alabama was supposed to be a home game it was moved to u.n.a a home game on september 25th against northwestern state push back until later in the year if southeastern can succeed over these first five road games they'll be battle tested and ready to make a run not only at a southland conference championship but this team has what it takes it appears to make a run at an fcs national title louisiana tech in the blue jerseys the white head gear the white pants and southeastern louisiana in basic all white brennan dingle and ferlando jordan are back to receive the opening kickoff in the home season for the bulldogs this year this one is angled down to the three yard line and dingle will return it from there and did not get far excellent special teams coverage by louisiana tech as dingle tried to run it out from near the goal line and did not make it back to the 15-yard line mackie carabin delivering the big hit for louisiana tech great special teams effort to begin this one lynn and you mentioned louisiana tech with the white helmets well there's a special logo on there today on the 20th anniversary of the september 11th attacks red white and blue all through that louisiana tech mark so first down for the lions from the 14-yard line as they attack with the north end zone at their backs a man in motion for southeastern and the quick throw is complete it looked like the tight end was there well southeastern that's nolan given on the reception they went to the tight end early and often last week against north alabama that is a huge part of frank selfo's offense given as a san diego state transfer a 6-3 280 pound specimen out of berkeley michigan the line to make is the 24 for a first down this is a second down play for kelly he'll keep it he's a big lad a mountain of a man a six seven 260 pound senior from lafayette louisiana he started his career at arkansas his career has had many up moments and a few down moments a couple of years ago he fumbled at the goal line in the last second in a game that would have given southeastern a big victory over nichols but he has roared back from that negative and just had a magnificent season last year [Applause] third down cole kelly who's been given more leeway to audible this year he'll throw for the third time he pitches it out to the right side it is caught and there is some room to run as a receiver is tumbled over there is a penalty marker down that was tim wilson who made the catch and then was able to make the first man miss chris the junior out of plano texas a transfer from san diego state and nolan given both coming from the aztecs let's check the penalty marker illegal block in the back number 83 offense 10-yard penalty from the spot of the five repeat third penalties were a major issue for southeastern louisiana last week came away with a 49-28 win against north alabama but you cannot make those type of mistakes when you're on the road at an fbs opponent everything has to go right that penalty was assessed against the wide receiver cj turner and you are right chris the penalty markers flew very often against southeastern last week they started slowly they had some trouble against the lions but then turned it on offensively and defensively in the second half for the comfortable win kelly will throw he's flushed out of the pocket he is grabbed and thrown down at the three yard line southeastern has added some key pieces to their offensive line and they feel really comfortable about that group but this time louisiana tech getting a ton of penetration several bulldogs into the backfield including levi bell the junior transfer out of tyler junior college he's a 6-1 276 pounder and levi bell was the primary soccer there so after the first down catch was erased by a penalty louisiana tech comes up with the sack and now we will see our first punt of the game from austin dunlap dunlap angles it hits a nice kick it's a flat kick down to the 46-yard line returned across midfield and into southeastern territory by a few strides and louisiana tech will have an excellent position from which to start giving austin kendall great field position lynn to begin this ball game what an effort by the louisiana tech defense to turn it around and give their team this position starting on the 48-yard line of southeastern louisiana and clean up what i said earlier about the logo of course louisiana tech always has red white and blue in the helmet but on the t it's a blue field with white stars on it and then the state of louisiana silhouette has the star the stripes red and white here's the throw down field that is nearly intercepted by one of the best defenders in the country at the cornerback position for lando jordan a three-time all-america in the secondary is ferlando jordan yeah jordan's one of 35 players on the pre-season buck buchanan award watch list that goes the top defensive player in fcs of course buchanan had a stellar career just down the road at grambling louisiana tech will go to the ground with this one and the lions are all over the ball carrier marcus williams who took it to the short side of the field and was barely able to turn up field to get back to the line of scrimmage marcus williams a lot of fun to watch with the ball in his hand biggest memory i had of him when he played at appalachian state was in their bowl game last year closing it out with a 70 yard touchdown run in that myrtle beach bowl win over north texas third down and 10. kendall looking he'll pull it down gets a couple maybe before he's sliced off his feet right near the line of scrimmage that was herman christoph the middle linebacker who took down the quarterback so it's fourth and nine and after excellent starting position with this series louisiana tech can only gain a yard well herman came on like gangbusters in the spring for southeastern louisiana and played his way to all southland third team honors part of a great linebacking quarter coach selfo says the best linebacking corps he's had since he's been in hammond the end over end punt is away and a fair catch is called for and the ball bounces beyond the receiver and is downed at the 1 yard line [Applause] we will take a timeout and be right back louisiana tech has pinned the lions at the one at louisiana tech we do a little bit of everything we do some of this [Music] and we do a whole lot of this but most importantly we do this and this oh and this so what's stopping you from becoming a part of this apply today at lawtech.edu apply the teaching profession is such an important job in our country thank you miss hall for believing in me thank you todd levitan you will push me to be better miss wagner thank you for teaching me that life is about taking chances mr tremboli you are the one who taught me to always treat people the way that i would want to be treated senior hotel you taught me to attack every day with a positive attitude we are going big for teachers thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you teachers it's a big day for teachers great teachers change lives [Music] at louisiana tech we do a little bit of everything we do some of this [Music] and we do a whole lot of this but most importantly we do this and this oh and this so what's stopping you from becoming a part of this apply today at lawtech.edu slash applause touchdown you hear that that is the sweet sound of success conference usa student athletes know it's the grind that ultimately leads to success so they learn how to grind on the field in the classroom and most importantly in life it takes commitment to build the next generation of great college athletics programs so we'll continue the grind and be stronger together as we do it it's the sea usa way 99 yards after the punt which was down to the one yard line austin mitchell called for the fair catch let the ball bounce behind him and louisiana tech was able to get on it at the one so cole kelly wants the football from his own end zone and we've got a work stoppage before the snap it's a false start against southeastern that'll cost him about 18 inches half the distance to the goal and i don't even know if the official pick the ball up there's really no room to move it [Applause] kelly looks he flips it out to the left side it's caught for a gain of seven or eight all things considered [Applause] that's an excellent uh gain on first down cj turner the six to 186 pound junior from the floss on the receiving end and he was the lions go-to receiver last season all southland first team selection scored five touchdowns cole kelly has a lot of weapons at his disposal at the wide receiver position austin mitchell is probably the deepest threat but they have a variety of past catchers who are very good at what they do and a sophisticated offense being shown the last couple of seasons by the lions that pass winds up in the hands of austin mitchell he's out of plaquemine a 5-9 170 pound senior a former walk-on chris and what a career he's had well last week his touchdown catch against north alabama gave southeastern the lead that was three minutes deep into the second half one that slu held on to the rest of the way a first down for the lions as they started at the one and that ball is knocked out of the hands of the would-be receiver you talked about how much southeastern likes to spread it around last week kelly connected with 11 different receivers that's an incredible number bengal was the target there and it looked like the ball was on target but he took a ferocious blow [Applause] dingle somebody actually that louisiana tech is familiar with they saw him last year when he was playing for utsa [Music] kelly puts mitchell in motion fakes the play action now fires and that's just out of the reach of the tight end nolan gibbon kelly did a nice job of creating time and space and an angle and just could not connect with the tight end good opportunity wasted here now third down and ten and louisiana tech fans will have a chance to get loud for the first time the student section across the way packed to the gills [Applause] teron jones is in the backfield standing at kelly's left as a protector two wide receivers at the top of the formation one at the bottom kelly on third and ten faces pressure slings it out he's got a receiver that's jones and jones is able to turn up field and get the first down that's a critical third down conversion they needed 10 they got 13. when you need the big play you give it to your most experienced man in the backfield getting it to jones there what a fantastic fall camp he had that established himself as really the bell cow in that room and a key situation he gets the rock kelly has thrown on just about every down first and ten here's the running play and louisiana tech trips up jesse britt a former receiver is a junior out of lake alfred florida and started his career at umass southeastern louisiana thought they could utilize him better in the running back position but as you said former wide receiver they'll find opportunities to let him catch the ball too a versatile guy the line to make for a first down is the 41. second down and nine we are scoreless in the first quarter this is the second possession for the lions grit bounces around he took a hit stayed on his feet momentarily but then was cut down and a good play by broderick calhoun who made the first contact defensively right here great pursuit there by louisiana tech able to converge on the football and set up another third down and long play right here for southeastern let's see if louisiana tech's defense can buckle down this time [Applause] the lions have had two first downs in this drive which started at their own one-yard line mitchell splits out as a wide receiver on the left side kelly with an empty backfield fires it over the middle intercepted b.j williamson to the end zone touchdown louisiana tech williamson explosive right next door to us up here in the press box lynn the louisiana tech coaching staff and they are going wild after this young man picks it off and goes the distance he was first team all-conference usa a year ago he had three interceptions and here in the early going he comes up with another big int last week against mississippi state trey baldwin returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown [Applause] and v.j williamson doesn't get six for the defense 45 yards on that return mateo ringafo strikes it and it is good [Applause] so defense turns an interception into a touchdown williamson steps in front of this pass and here he comes as he runs the hash mark then runs the numbers then runs the sideline to the end zone 7-0 louisiana [Music] louisiana tech crowd excited over a interception turned into a touchdown by returning starter bj williamson he's a safety a sophomore out of dallas and defense gets to the scoreboard first for the bulldogs leading 7-0 over the lions and for cole kelly he threw four interceptions last season as he won the walter payton award that was his first pick of the year and tech turns it into six points barajas sends it tumbling down to the end zone and southeastern will return it and a little bit of room perhaps out to the 20. now a late flag is thrown well behind the play after the return by brennan dingle so we'll have another penalty marker to be concerned about and that usually is an illegal block of some sort when the penalty marker is thrown well behind the play yeah more than likely kelly will have even longer to traverse on this joe i a stadium field i have to during the return holding return team half the distance to the goal first down so that's the second major penalty which has provided a barricade to the southeastern offense can't afford those type of issues today they're going to leave ruston here with victor we have to clean that up in a big hurry this is a very plush artificial surface on which these teams are playing and thankfully chris although it's still warm the temperature has moderated a bit over what was sultry and oppressive heat in the three or four or five days prior to this game now it's downright pleasant now in comparison to a lot of september ball games in the state of louisiana cole kelly has an empty backfield he will throw it downfield and that is incomplete he tried to get his man down on the sideline intended for austin mitchell but thrown wide of the receiver yeah good job in coverage and louisiana tech's defensive coordinator david blackwell knows full well how well kelly's going to spread it around today kelly swings it out of the backfield and this is enough with some lanyap for a first down the reception made by austin mitchell they used mitchell in so many ways and he is the biggest deep ball home run threat among the lions receiving core another one of those great stories of a young man who came to campus originally as a walk-on coach selfo told us earlier this week that it took him about two practices to realize we need to put this guy on scholarship first and 10 from the 24. kelly fakes the run now throws it back and it's off the hands of his receiver at about the 30-yard line off the hands of damien dawson last week he had just one catch for three yards and unable to bring in his first catch of the day on that one dawson also is used on occasion as a fullback or a protector 235 pounds on a 511 frame second and 10 the line to make is the 34. three receivers at the top of the formation the throw goes that way and a stretching catch is made and it may be enough for a first down that looked like nick kobach's elijah hamilton another quality transfer that's come into this lions program but began his collegiate career at toledo able to leave his feet bring it in and gets past the sticks first 10-10 southeastern has had several first downs in the first quarter and with that catch by kovacs that's already six different line receivers to catch pass jones bounces off a couple of would-be tacklers to ron jones who is very good with a jump cut move at the line of scrimmage that's his strength as a running back he's also a good pass protector top rusher for the lions a week ago 232 yards a tremendous back for southeastern louisiana just so many great weapons across this roster [Applause] second down after a determined run of about four here's the little inside pitch and some room to run down into louisiana tech territory comes the receiver and that is terrell carter a junior out of san diego a very well designed play and we have seen chris variety and we have seen intelligence out of this southeastern offense and even though it trails seven nothing because of the interception return for the touchdown the lions are moving the football kelly swings it out to the left side he's got another receiver not a whole lot of running room maybe about three and that's cephas johnson the eighth pass catcher of the day for southeastern cephas is also southeastern's back up quarterback but he is not a young man that you can just leave on the sidelines he's a playmaker so frank celfo is going to find a way to get him involved he's also big 6'5 and two hundred and twenty pounds a junior out of mobile second down and long kelly finds an open receiver on the right side and he is bumped out of bounds right at the 25-yard line that's austin mitchell again he's been the leading receiver in the first quarter for the lions and we've given a lot of credit of course to frank selfo the head coach but it should also be given to greg stevens the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for southeastern louisiana he does his coaching from the booth on game day so he's just a couple of doors down from us guiding this offense it is a first down at the louisiana tech 25-yard line the lions are approaching the red zone kelly will keep it lumber ahead takes on a couple of tacklers and stretches his frame to near the 20 a gain of just about five he is very difficult to bring down at first contact he really finds a way to transform his body into that of a fullback when he barrels down and that huge force going across the line you almost forget the kind of cannon he has as well second down and five a lot of choices available to the offensive staff for the lions kelly looking throws it short he's got a receiver on an underneath crossing route and he's knocked down right at the 15. this is going to be very close to a first down ed mcgee a local kid from kentwood louisiana just up the road from hammond and it's a great mix of players for southeastern some transfers brought in from all around the country but then those local student athletes that they can keep close and allow them to contribute that was his first catch of this game it's good for a first down kelly's standing for the most part he has not had any pressure in his face and he finds a receiver near the 10-yard line on a slant pattern and we've got a couple of penalty markers down cj turner bringing that one in the junior from laplace let's check the penalty markers first of five defense half the distance to go automatic first down so the ball will be placed half the distance to the goal just inside the five yard line first and goal for the lions and chris cole kelly for the most part almost exclusively has been kept clean by the work from the offensive line now they're doing a tremendous job and for louisiana tech that's their first penalty of the day southeastern already has three for 19 yards text first for four yards first and goal from inside the five a little swing pass nobody is covering the receiver in the left flat tim wilson touchdown what a well-designed play tim wilson was running by himself with no defender within 10 yards now perfectly done by southeastern and the former san diego stack aztec all the way to pay dirt for slu and the lions now one extra point kick away from tying this thing up with four minutes left in the first quarter ringafoe will send it on its way [Applause] and we are brand new so a defensive touchdown for louisiana tech a long sustained a crisp drive to the end zone for the lions seven apiece in the first quarter [Music] louisiana tech got the first touchdown it came defensively southeastern louisiana has just converted a long drive into points 12 plays 91 yards in four minutes and some change and chris that was one of the most efficient drives we've seen in a while officially 91 yards but remember they were actually standing in their own end zone during the beginning of that drive the kickoff will be returned from the goal line and returning it out to about the 19 where the bulldogs with the return will take over right there he brings it out to the bulldogs 19 yard line and that's where they'll start their drive first to 10. [Music] well louisiana tech certainly has a ton of weapons to display right here and we've talked a lot about austin kendall delivered one of the biggest highlights of the season so far a 59-yard touchdown run against mississippi state that was the longest by a bulldog quarterback since 2016. let's see if he can show us off his legs a little bit on this drive he sets three receivers to the right side there is a penalty marker down penalty marker on the field bulldog pass there that had that long run in 2016 a 71-yarder ryan higgins did it against rice fall start number six offense five-yard penalty first down smoke harris got an early start the slot receiver who can be used in a lot of ways in this tech offense austin kendall who has played at west virginia he has played at oklahoma and now he's playing at louisiana tech he has sold pharmaceuticals marcus williams right there for a few years it really is an amazing story chris it's got kind of a storybook feel to it if tech is able to put together a great year and kendall ends up being their shining star that's a story that'll be told for a very long time but louisiana tech coaches convincing him to play so you have the rest of your life to live your normal life you just have one more shot to play college football and that might have been enough to convince kendall to give it one more chance came over to ruston for a visit had a very long talk turned out to be one of those four-hour dinners between skip holtz joe sloan austin kendall and austin's dad left there saying all right i'm gonna come here we're gonna give this one more shot let's see if tech can convert this third down kendall sends receivers everywhere he fires he's got a receiver for the first down and now the ball comes out the lions are saying it should be an incomplete pass the helmet was ripped off the receiver [Applause] that's a play that very well may be reviewed here certainly questionable as he went to the ground and we'll get one more look at it right here makes the catch didn't appear to ever have complete control before it came out of his fingers but tech gets the back to the line quickly snap off no review bob means on that last reception austin kendall goes right back to the air and finds a receiver on the right side for another first down that is trey harris a six to 204 pound freshman out of lafayette [Applause] [Music] so back-to-back first downs for louisiana tech as the bulldogs approach midfield two minutes and 40 seconds are left in the first quarter now the ball is moved back to the 45. kendall appeared to draw the lions offside kendall looks left throws it right caught at about the 37-yard line a leaping catch [Applause] that is trey harris again free play for louisiana tech after a lion got into the backfield no fear to throw it downfield no worry about impossible interception just give it a ride and it pays off for louisiana tech first and ten on three consecutive first down throws kendall calling for the football blitz coming from the right side and that ball is down on the turf incomplete trying to get it harrison that's right you were talking about austin kendall's pharmaceutical sales career now i have not monitored his tax return okay but we are told he was making six figures wow so when you factor that into it as well if indeed that story is true then he said you know what i'll just put a hundred thousand dollars plus aside if he was doing that well i imagine the job will still be waiting for him at the end of this season i think i might approach the pharmaceutical company about an nil agreement second and ten he looks he fires he's got a man at the 30. the pitch was low the receiver had to go down and get it taz marshall able to get to that football the freshman out parlin texas goes down to the turf and snags it both teams throwing on just about every down now the receiver is tripped up falls down no flag zai alexander definitely made contact there so all of the fans in red and blue in this stadium are going nuts after that no call and hard to blame him we'll take another look at it as he goes to the right side and it just seemed like he pushed him out of bounds right there pushed him to the turf and no call well it's fourth down right now and three to go [Applause] the bulldogs will attempt to convert it harris sets up in a slot on the right side the pass over the middle is caught for a first down and some lanyard a well-designed play the receiver on a little bit of a delay over the middle was wide open and now we've got some extra curricular activities and flags fly a everywhere pass right up the middle and then after he hits the ground a little bit hard some fisticuffs some bad blood a lot of these young men have known each other for a very long time through high school football and now of course an in-state game that means an awful lot to both of these teams especially for the lions as a win against an fbs opponent in the pelican state would matter a great deal trey harris 12-yard game but we'll see what happens after the flag a long discussion there from our officiating crew led by kevin mcnair kevin vicknair rather chad craig is the umpire stephen henley is the headlinesman the line judge is jordan whittington let's take another look at what happened afterward trying to rip that one out and then we've got the push right there and that results in a flag well that was kelton hollins the graduate student offensive lineman transfer from tcu who kind of seemed to start it with a shove they're two fouls on the plane after the play i was supposed to like conduct offense number 32. i'm supposed to be like congrats defense number 85 those penalties all set first out yes clarence cotton is the field judge byron adams is the back judge the side judge is andy lebo and josh larson is the center judge [Music] so offsetting penalties on the extracurricular after the completion to trey harris and trey harris has had a hand in the receiving game here in the first quarter he's had some good numbers chris yeah harris so far a couple of catches 31 yards a determined run by marcus williams as he kept the pinions pumping and was weaving between the hash mark and he gets inside the 10. see [Applause] right at the 10-yard line marcus the appalachian state transferred immediately getting noticed to pre-season also usa picks second and two louisiana tech goes right back to the ground it's marcus williams again he dives ahead it appears he has enough for a first down which will bring up first and goal for the bulldogs that's a young man that we expect to see in the senior bowl at season's end he racked up over 2 000 yards in his career at appalachian state told you about the major way he went out with a bang a 70-yard touchdown for the mountaineers and their bowl win should have had a 79-yard touchdown two but it was wiped away by a penalty a running play to the left side [Applause] a couple of yards perhaps that's greg garner out of euless texas by way of cisco college he's a six one two hundred eleven pound junior that trinity program in euless turns out great players every single year and he's really elevated his game since he got to rusty second and goal from the four an inside handoff again he's plowing to the one to the goal line touchdown louisiana tech well the biggest development in garner's game over the off-season joe sloan said it's been his physicality and he shows it off right there barreling through for the bulldog touchdown another look at him bearing down and finding his way onto the blue turf louisiana tech back out in front roselle and moat and delfin and hollins and fernier [Applause] doing the work up front the extra point is punched through we had a great conversation with louisiana tech offensive coordinator joe sloan and he said one of the biggest keys to this game is establishing the running game and louisiana tech starting to do just that a steady dose of williams and then garner comes in for some critical runs inside the 10 including that touchdown right there and once they get this run game established then they'll be able to get the ball on the perimeter a little bit more in the passing game and draw that secondary up maybe hit some deep balls but getting the running game established is key number one for sloane's offense and there are at least five ball carriers who have the confidence of the coaching staff for louisiana tech it's a deep core of running backs so louisiana tech which led 7-0 and then saw southeastern louisiana march downfield with a 91-yard touchdown drive louisiana tech has countered with a long touchdown drive of its own lasted three minutes and 27 seconds 12 plays 86 yards capped by a four yard score from garner brennan dingle and ferlando jordan are back to receive this kick and it is caught in the end zone by dingle for the touch back 33 seconds remain in the opening period here on espn3 from joe ia stadium on the campus of louisiana tech in ruston louisiana with chris mykoski i'm lynn rollins thank you for joining us in your living rooms on your portable devices wherever you may be watching espn3 and enjoying college football and i'd usually say a welcome to all of you watching back in hammond louisiana and we hope that the majority of that city now is getting its power back and gets internet back and can watch us on espn3 certainly wishing them all the best in their recovery a town that i love and hope to see it back on his feet 100 soon kelly fires it out to the left side he's got a receiver who chews up some big yardage that's cj turner cj turner 6-2 186 pounds he's physical he's fast he's maneuverable [Applause] turner's fourth catch on the day he's been the number one target so far for kelly cole kelly looks very sharp very collected and very poised another empty backfield britt sets up to kelly's right and that's going to be the end of the first quarter so an action-packed first 15 minutes louisiana tech lead southeastern louisiana 14-7 when we come back the lions will have a first down near midfield as we continue on espn3 [Music] we're in ruston louisiana tonight the louisiana tech bulldogs playing their first home game of the year lead 14-7 over southeastern louisiana out of the south plan conference first and ten now for the lions and the throw down field snagged at the 30-yard line another tremendous catch by cj turner and you can just see the confidence kelly and turner have with each other fantastic work and yet gets it fully extends his body to make that grab and we'll take another look at it as kelly delivered a great ball to his left and watch that extension to bring it in that's the fourth catch by turner in this game austin mitchell his teammate also has four chris that's the 21st pass from cole kelly he threw 19 times in the first quarter he's on a pace of about 80 and he's not on a pitch count i promise you you know that time he finds cephas johnson who had a 13-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter his only reception tonight they've gone to him a couple of times already kelly looking very poised directing this efficient southeastern louisiana offense the 6-7 260-pound quarterback calling for the football on second and four he backpedals the offensive line again keeping him clean jones takes the shovel pass and wiggles his way to the 15-yard line and chris it's time to pat bell and allen and jones and mcmullen and mile's character on the back the left tackle to the right tackle those guys have done a tremendous job against the louisiana tech defense well a quarterback in fcs does not win the walter payton award without an outstanding line in front of him i'm sure that a time or two kelly said this is actually a team award and a lot of it goes to the big men up front first down at the 15 yard line kelly will throw again this time he's pressured but he finds jones out of the backfield he makes one man miss slips past the 10 and gets to the 7 yard line jones in the spring season just got three starts but it really feels like southeastern is going to find a way to utilize him a lot more here in this fall campaign moderately talented is how frank selfo described him but he's a hard-working young man and that's what puts him over the top and makes him a great college football player drew jones the center anchors the middle of the line a 6-1 300 pound senior receivers to both sides of the formation turner in motion a delay handoff by to jones and he's repelled before he gets to the goal line he'll mark him down between the one and two yard lines physical carrier getting closer to pay dirt and chance to tie this ball game up a few minutes deep into the second quarter but that louisiana tech defensive line able to get penetration this time two blockers flank the quarterback kelly first and goal to the goal line to the stripe touchdown southeastern end jones work to the left side got to the stripe and watch his effort as he just powers his way in [Applause] running behind bell and alan and jones up front is that his attitude is that effort that sets the tone for southeastern louisiana in the running game able to barrel through and score we've seen similar things from running backs on both sides tonight when that will to win an ability to get in the end zone mateo ringapo slaps the extra point through and with 12 11 to go in the second quarter we are brand new 14 apiece the lions of southeastern the bulldogs of louisiana tech on espn3 from ruston [Music] two long touchdown drives have resulted in 14 points for the lions louisiana tech got an interception return to the end zone for seven and then uncorked a long drive of its own we are brand new 14 apiece the lions changing the scoreboard in the last touchdown and with 12 11 to go in the first half it's 14 each here in ruston on the artificial surface [Applause] well out the back of the end zone and lynn we just had j.r teagues dropped by the booth the athletic director for southeastern louisiana and the week and a half that he's had of course you have to deal with the damage to your own property your own family what they're going through but he's responsible for all of the student athletes at slu making sure that they're safe and for the teams that are in season giving them what they need to thrive right now and for the lions they spent a week and a half in muscle shoals now they're here in rustin and thankfully we've got word that they will head back to hammond tomorrow with power now back restored to campus that indeed is very enthusiastic and welcomed news louisiana tech which did a nice job on its last drive in establishing the run goes back to the ground on the first down play chris and when when you're a leader of an athletic department in this part of the country you know you have to be ready for this situation but for jay and his staff you're never fully ready you just have to go into that mode of making sure everything's right running room to the left side and all the way to midfield and beyond that's the freshman harlan dixon getting the carry for louisiana tech as the bulldogs continue to spread it around a ray of riches in that backfield he's a 6-1 201-pound rookie from slidell down in the backyard of these lions the throw on first down is caught at midfield that's jack henderson defensive back from mandeville man on the spot kyle louisiana much maxwell made the catch second and eight the ball is just on the southeastern side of midfield smoke harris in motion [Music] a running play to the opposite side dixon again lowers his shoulder and is tumbled over near the 45-yard line [Applause] again louisiana tech utilizing a lot of different people on the ground dixon the latest they utilized him a few times here on this drive so lions make a defensive change they take middle linebacker kristoff out of the game and put another defensive back in austin kendall who is a capable runner stretches that as far as he can as a first down and then plenty of change so on third and about five kendall turns it into a big gain and here come the bulldogs again as they get a first down at the 29. watch sy martin track him down and try to chase him but kendall able to get out away from that pressure and turn it in to a sizeable gain for the bulldogs austin kendall looks to his right and gets perhaps a play change at the line of scrimmage kendall fakes kendall throws it to the left side that's harris he spins out of trouble gives a hip shakes it away and then his yank down on a good defensive play in open field it looked like harris might be able to turn the corner but he was ripped off his feet he ran a long way to get about two and a half yards a lot of effort for a minimal gain and more often than not harris will find his way out of situations like that [Applause] kendall keeps it bootlegs it around the left side and then slides safely to avoid contact but he came up short of the first down marker this will bring up third and about four and kendall doing a nice job on the play action really faking out a lot of people including our crew for just a moment but turns it into a game i think if he would have lowered his shoulder may have been able to get across the sticks but saving his body just under nine minutes remain in the first half on third and four louisiana tech appears to have come up just a little bit short on the running play brooks getting the carry the vanderbilt transfer he started five games for the commodores last year keown henry brooks out of powder springs georgia fourth down and less than a yard and the running play right up the middle results in a first down that was brooks again brooks has not been a focus just because of all the things that marcus williams can do but it shouldn't be lost on any louisiana tech follower you picked up vanderbilt's leading rusher from a year ago and added him to the roster austin kendall fires caught and moving down to the one-yard line [Applause] ripped away a piece mckee's uniform there i believe that's his first catch kendall keeps it bootlegs left and walks into the end zone touchdown louisiana tech back and forth we go and the bulldogs take a 20 to 14 lead with 804 to go on a touchdown run to the left side by austin kendall don't adjust the brightness on your screens louisiana tech has installed an led system with the lights flashing from above after every touchdown and by the time they're ready to snap for the p.a.t lights back at full jacob barnes swings the left leg and knocks it through so with 804 to go in the second quarter louisiana tech has retaken the lead it's 21-14 here in ruston we'll be right back with more on espn3 there is a flag on the field when we'll hear the call first successful and the p-a-t remains good it'll be time-out negated and louisiana tech will take a 21-14 lead with 804 remaining in the second quarter [Music] rounds in the second in the first half for louisiana tech two on the ground won by greg garner won by austin kendall the quarterback and the first score came on a pick by b.j williamson which was turned into a long touchdown return jacob barnes will strike it this one bites and will have to be returned and not much running room there that kick just started backing out on the artificial surface [Applause] it wasn't a lot that uh brennan dingle could do except pick it up and try to find some running room that is the nightmare for every kick returner you're back and just assuming it's gonna go into the end zone for the touchback and instead watch this golf shot right here and it bounces back to the five yard line that's a live football louisiana tech was close dangerously close to picking that ball up right here and the heart just leaping out of his body you imagine when that ball stops lin chris i think that was barajas on the kickoff and he did a great job kelly pulls it down and now flips it forward and completes the pass kelly has shown a great deal of improvement in mobility over the course of the last couple of years watch him here as he looks right pulls it down and then finds a man in the middle that's terrell carter out of san diego by way of college of san mateo carter's had a couple of big james 26 yards in the first one that one goes for 10. and cephas johnson the backup quarterback gets his hands on the football coach greg stevens the offensive coordinator for southeastern said that cephus is just one of the most talented athletes that he has ever seen he's grown as a quarterback and he's still the backup at that position but he's really comfortable anywhere on the field just a huge asset for slu he's got another year of eligibility left does cephas johnson cole kelly will be moving on after this year a first down at the 30. kelly looking fires it over the middle tipped and almost intercepted [Applause] dingle was the intended receiver that ball came out and hung in the air for a while before it hit the turf tyler grubbs making that tip right there breaking up the pass what a fantastic story he was last year as a true freshman pressed in to the starting lineup for louisiana tech and he's never looked back ended up being a freshman all-american last season kelly wings it again he threw it 19 times in the first quarter and he showed no signs of stopping the arm action here in the second quarter nice outlet pass to kovats to set up a third down in three situations nick kovacs one of many receivers who have caught balls here in the first half 11 receivers made catches a week ago in the opener for the lions third down and three kelly rolls to his right pumps now will send it deep intercepted b.j williamson again b.j williamson picks it off for the second time the first time he took it to the end zone this one is turned into a nice return back down to about the 36-yard line near the line of scrimmage number two on the night and for louisiana tech they just have a great habit of taking the ball away the bulldogs have forced at least one turnover now in 91 of skip holtz's 104 games as head coach and with that turnover multiple turnovers in 60 of those 104. that's better than 58 of the time lin so one of the many returning starters defensively for louisiana tech bj williamson has turned in a couple of interceptions here in the first half from the 35 louisiana tech puts its offense on the field williams runs to the left side williams has five williams has 10. williams has perhaps 12 first down louisiana tech on a run to the wide side louisiana tech again utilizing a bevy of running backs but one more point about while we're on the topic of his interception earlier today that pick six nation leading 15th interception return for a touchdown for louisiana tech in the time since 2005 2017 rather here's williams again and he's dumped at about the six yard line but he just burst into the second level right up the so middle williams riding the good work up front of his offensive line you can see the gaping hole no contact was made ten-yard penalty for the spot of the five but they'll bring it back holding for louisiana tech and joshua moat correction first down repeat first down here we go one of the most consistent linemen in this conference in the last three years really helps louisiana tech establish the run game but he's flagged in that situation he's a returning starter he's the left guard first and 15. williams gets about three he stopped near the 25. it will be second down with the clock moving and 5 42 to go in the second quarter williams leaves the game now the line to make for a first down is the 13. garner checks back in he had the touchdown run earlier kendall is flushed and he slides down just before he gets to the 26-yard line that's right about at the line of scrimmage so third and long coming for the bulldogs kendall's been good at utilizing his legs and he's broken off some nice long runs but he's also smart enough to know when to slide and avoid that abuse to his body [Applause] kendall appears to be altering the play [Applause] he looks he dumps it short it's incomplete intended for greg garner he was the second perhaps third option in that play for louisiana tech everybody else was covered that's a good job by the secondary of not allowing austin kendall a clear target and this is going to bring up a 44-yard field goal attempt by jacob barnes barnes is a left-footed kicker slight angle left side barnes's kick is away it is long enough and it is good [Applause] jacob barnes bangs it through 24-14 bulldogs [Music] louisiana tech has scored two rushing touchdowns one score on an interception return to the end zone and a field goal 24-14 this is louisiana tech's biggest lead and the kickoff is fumbled momentarily and a flag goes down behind the 30-yard line dingle on the return let's check the penalty marker which is on the turf at about the 30-yard line chris i've been surprised that dingle in particular has not gone ahead and taken the touch back because louisiana tech's kick coverage team has been really good and southeastern has not helped itself in starting position there's always the temptation to want to make an explosive big play for receiving team half the distance to the goal first down and no matter how good that louisiana tech kick coverage team is certainly southeastern coaches have found some things they want to exploit in it so the more opportunities you give him better chances he has to actually utilize what the game plan has been but so far hasn't worked out too well for the lions when we get a chance let's check cole kelly's numbers he threw 19 times in the first quarter alone let's see what he does here on first down with the line of scrimmage at his nine yard line he will throw again looking now whips it out and overthrows his man that's one of the very few errant tosses in the first half by kelly as terrell carter was the intended receiver well that was his 27th pass attempt he's completed 19 of them already over the 200 yard mark 202 to be exact the one touchdown pass and the two interceptions both of them picked off by b.j williamson the last time tech had a multiple interception game bj williamson did it as well he had two against uab last season a play to the inside had louisiana tech fooled for the moment a lot of contact with the pile being moved for just the one young man to have two picks of his own tremendous effort and the fact that the same player has done it two times in a row for this team against the blazers now here against the lions still plenty of time left to go just over four minutes remain in the second quarter the clock is moving [Applause] [Music] third down and four [Applause] kelly throws it over the middle it is caught for a first down a short pattern but a safe toss into the hands of the tight end nolan given given has four years of fbs experience with san diego state comes to hammond and starts to pick up the scheme quickly and frank selfo has always loved to use tight ends on a regular basis with probably more frequency than most fcs coaches they they go to the tight end quite often in this passing game first and ten the drive is extant kelly has some room in front of him he'll keep it big fellow lumbers ahead he's got 10 he's got 11. he's got another first down we're talking about frank's cellphone and offense for years and years and years he's been known as one of the more creative offensive guys both in the nfl as offensive coordinators and nfl quarterback coaches and as offensive coordinators passing game coordinators and other offensive duties in several college environments as well so he's been around the block a few times and brings a great deal of knowledge especially offensively the resume is just extensive and the fact that he was able to bring this knowledge to hammond you already see the results of it with the student athlete in kelly winning the walter payton award as that one is incomplete to damien dawson but stops including utsa where he was offensive coordinator most recently before coming to southeastern but in the nfl time with the jacksonville jaguars and that nfl coaching style certainly has translated well so far we asked him what nfl quarterback cole kelly reminded him of and he said nick fultz compares him physically and with the work ethic and off-field achievement as well so that's a pretty high compliment kelly looking throws it short he's caught for a four or five yard gain by tim wilson we just finished talking about nolan given the former san diego state aztec and here's another one and wilson junior picking up the gain and brings up a third down and five play two and a half minutes to go southeastern trying to avoid giving the bulldogs the ball back and a chance to extend their lead before the break the line to make is the 43. both teams have their full complement of timeouts remaining kelly has time throws it short on a crossing pattern there is room to make the yardage to make up and i don't think that's going to be enough it is not as cj turner on a crossing pattern actually was coming back to the line of scrimmage a bit and just didn't have time to turn and get the first down turner averaged seven and a half yards of catch last season this one will fall short of five the necessary yardage to pick up the first down and the lions will talk this one over but they will have to punt it back and the bulldogs will have about two minutes left on the clock to drive down already up by 10 here against the lions on espn3 [Music] fourth down kelly fakes the run now throws it to a wide open receiver on the right side it is caught for fine yardage it's fumbled out of bounds a first down and then some how about that gutsy call on your side of midfield on fourth down and kelly was able to buy time and certainly there was a wide receiver open in the moonlight on the right side what a huge roll of the dice for southeastern louisiana amazing to make that play call thought for sure they would punt that ball away but greg stevens the offense coordinator deciding this is the time to take a chance [Music] once again the throw over the middle for about seven yards by the way that was damien dawson i believe on the reception on that big play here's the peg over the middle into the hands of carter [Applause] now on outside to austin mitchell we haven't heard from him for a while he was a very frequent target a successful target in the first quarter when he caught four balls [Applause] this southeastern lions offense is irrepressible first and ten in the red zone kelly continues to have plenty of time fires it inside the ten caught for a first down austin mitchell keep going to the big man big difference maker for louisiana tech and excuse me for southeastern louisiana and getting them closer and be a lot of momentum for southeastern going into halftime if they can get across the goal here the sophistication the elegance of this offense is impressive first and goal from the six kelly puts mitchell mitchell in motion sets up behind the tight end on the left side kelly keeps it and the big guy bangs his way down to the one yard line they will mark it at the one with 50 seconds to go the lions have timeouts to use and it appears they may take one right here or somebody did louisiana tech may have taken a timeout no matter 48 seconds left in the second quarter 24-14 louisiana tech southeastern to this point it certainly held its own but if you can go into halftime down by just three on the road the confidence that will be in that room will be tremendous clock operation please put 51 seconds on the game clock thank you three seconds will be added to the game clock so 51 seconds remain the lions have three timeouts at their disposal louisiana tech just took its first one lynn i went down to the tailgate area here in ruston before we started getting prepared up here in the booth just to get a feel i love to take in the atmosphere here on game day southeastern fans that chatted with me were confident you're always going to have confidence from the visiting team in this kind of games but you know i told them it was reasonable to be confident you're this is a great ball club it has a fantastic change has taken their second time out of the hat fantastic opportunity to pull off the upset given the fact that they're so road weary as louisiana tech able to deny cole kelly just short of the goal line [Applause] and he'll have another opportunity here on second down second down and one [Applause] three feet separate the lions from their third touchdown in the first half kelly keeps it he is leaning he fumbles it but i believe they're going to mark him down that was the initial call and southeastern is going to try to get back to the ball quickly before the replay can be looked at but we can take another look at it right here i think it's the right call but they did were able to get a timeout call where the bulldogs and that'll give the replay efficiently replay officials a little bit extra time 30 seconds take a glance at it why not use that timeout here and give the officials you know we want you to look at this a little bit more extensively than the five seconds you had before cole kelly got back to the line of scrimmage this is our first replay review well it's not officially review yet lynn it's louisiana tech calling a time-out in hopes that the officials will say we need to take another look at this one the ruling on the field was that cole kelly was down before the ball was ejected there's so many bodies between the camera and the ball carrier it obscures the view and that would be really tough to overturn and say that that ball came free before the knee hit and i think the initial ruling that he was down just prior to the ball being coughed up will stand it appeared that uh what we saw verify the initial field that the runner was died prior to the ball coming the previous planes are deferred to review now we will get the official look at it heading over to the headset and we will take a look at exactly what our replay officials are looking at we are tuned into that dv sport equipment and kelly this is a flip a coin call this is probably the best view we have of it lynn and i think the knees down that last replay raised a little more doubt in my mind though but i think they're gonna go with the initial call that he was down that was the first one that i thought gave us a really clear view though they'll look at that frame by frame the others again just too many bodies in between to get a good look at it but that overhead angle this is the one where too many men and kelly's about to go down there and we lose him out of frame for a half second come back and a lot of interference but then from the overhead watch the ball and you see trying to get ripped out there as desean hall attempts to take that ball away from kelly all right i'm going on record that the play will stand i agree meaning southeastern will own possession inches away from the goal line after further review you're really going to feel that the runner was down before the ball came loose stands third down on the one-yard line so the lions have third and fourth down with which to work here you and i called a large portion of the conference usa baseball tournament here in rustin for espn and had a contest going over official reviews i can't recall who won though there was no payoff wall-to-wall baseball for five days at the new ballpark just across the street from joe ia stadium [Applause] 25 seconds remain the lions can stop the clock twice with timeouts third and goal from the one and we still have some palaver going on chris we've talked about it a couple of times but one of the story lines that might escape most observers in the first half is how well this offensive line for the lions has protected cole kelly on only a very few occasions has he been in trouble and for the most part he has had a lot of time to survey the field they did a consistent job of doing that well last season but that was all against fcs competition that you step up to fbs foe here with louisiana tech and certainly it's a lot tougher and southeastern's linemen have shined today allowing kelly to do a lot of good things of course some pressure kelly has thrown a couple of interceptions and you have to credit the louisiana tech defensive line for getting into the backfield on a couple of those i'm still not at all even remotely understanding what's going on on the field here kelly stands 6-7 and so does samuel williams it's third down there he died a backup right guard for louisiana tech they are the two biggest players on the field from a height standpoint confusion over the down call will be third and goal from the one kelly hesitates bangs forward he's in touchdown from the one-yard line cole kelly that's the southeastern line winning that battle right there drew jones in the middle for slu john allen also doing a fantastic job on his block kelly loses his helmet as he hits the turf and southeast from louisiana with this extra point should go into halftime down by only three at fbs louisiana tech ringapo [Applause] sends it on its way and it is so a good big touchdown just 22 seconds before the half by the southeastern louisiana lions and chris they have certainly been impressive offensively in the first half against louisiana tech with 21 points louisiana tech has won seven of its last eight home openers here in the skip holtz era but this may be the toughest opponent they have seen in recent memory to start things at joe i stadium scheduling's done so far in advance lynn we talked about this with skip holtz that if he would have known that southeastern would be this good in 2021 maybe he wouldn't have allowed them to be on the schedule but it's been set in stone for years and years no way to know and louisiana tech for the most part likes to spread around their fcs game they always play one of them and typically it's against an in-state opponent like to go to play like to bring in nickels in northwestern state southern grambling and this time it's the lions turn and they plan to take full advantage of it the lions and bulldogs have not played much in recent years they've met just once in the last 36 years and that was 2008 in ruston a 15-point victory that night there is room to run and finally the ball carrier is knocked out of bounds inside the 10-yard line that did not work out for southeastern taj magee completely changes the storyline southeastern louisiana looking to go into the locker room down by just three but louisiana tech thanks to that huge return by mcgee another chance to score extend the lead back to 10 points before the break and look at the room that he finds nothing but green grass before he's finally pushed out inside the 10. and i'm not exactly sure what that kick was intended to do it was not intended to give louisiana tech first and goal at the seven yard line [Applause] the lob to the right corner intercepted a tremendous interception in the corner of the end zone climbing the ladder [Applause] alexander mann what a play by the 6-3 freshman cornerback from laurelville this game just has been a huge roller coaster over the last minute or so in real time lin and wow going up and getting that ball with the right hand bringing it back into his body probably should have just stepped out of bounds and taken the touch back instead he goes out and southeastern will start from its three and likely will just kneel the ball to get to halftime here but what an incredible effort to again shift the momentum right back to the slu side zai alexander went to the top of the ladder and jumped from there and was able to rake that in as he was falling down he stayed on his feet he returned it a few yards and that's exactly what the lions will do they will close things out but there appears to be a little bit of post snap pushing and shoving and the officials probably will not throw any flags here they'll just try to get both of these teams to the locker room we have had a very entertaining first half louisiana tech on its home field opener will carry a three-point lead into the break the bulldogs 24 the southeastern lions 21 on espn3 [Applause] [Music] it's halftime in reston louisiana and what an entertaining first two quarters it's been welcome to joe ia stadium with chris mykoski i'm len rollins chris we saw a back and forth game we saw defense score the first touchdown for louisiana tech on a williamson return of an interception then we saw the lions tie the game on a touchdown catch by wilson and from there it was louisiana tech and then southeastern and then louisiana tech twice and then southeastern at the end of the second quarter and we've got ourselves a barn burner here in this match between louisiana tech out of conference usa and the southland conference's favorite this year the southeastern lions well any time you come into a game with a highly ranked fcs team and let's say not a top 25 fbs ball club you think that the fcs team certainly has the opportunity to do big things but most of the time that's taken away quickly and we realize the difference in talent the difference in scholarships usually makes a big difference for the fbs squad and after that interception returned by bj williamson my first thought was okay here we go louisiana tech taking advantage of the mistake they're going to jump all over this and they're going to get out to a big advantage but southeastern louisiana kept its cool kept the game plan going really found a way to execute that offense and right now they are in prime position to pull off an upset and it hasn't been in too distant of a memory for southland conference team to come in here and win i was in the building in 2014 when northwestern state won on a last-second field goal 30-27 to beat louisiana tech what a tremendous day that was for the demons and the lions can have a signature win like that today if they keep this up one of the reasons that perhaps the cliff did not fall for the lions was the play of cole kelly he threw 27 completions in the first half alone with 36 attempts couple of interceptions yes one return for the touchdown but cole kelly's presence his accuracy his ability to create plays and his ability also to carry the football have been monumental and and the intelligent play the poise he has shown the offensive line in front of him which has kept him clean most of the time certainly has been a big big factor he is showing you why he was the walter payton award winner a year ago and that's exactly what i was going to say lynn as advertised he's made a couple of mistakes a couple of touchdowns a couple of interceptions thrown one of them returned for a touchdown by b.j williamson but he's fantastic he's going to make some great adjustments at halftime and i'm really looking forward to this final two quarters of football meanwhile louisiana tech especially in the second quarter got its running game going and that proved to be offensively a plus for the bulldogs we'll be back in a moment with more we've got highlights coming your way when we return louisiana tech leading by three at the break it's game time from ruston louisiana it's been a teeter-totter first half as louisiana tech is clinging to a 24-21 lead over southeastern louisiana with chris mykoski i'm lynn rollins chris let's roll some highlights there were plenty of them in the first half we start with tim wilson wilson one of 10 pass catchers for southeastern louisiana they had 11 a week ago they really love to spread it around and then the running play by louisiana tech greg garner finds his way to the end zone garner just such an impressive player out of euless trinity in the dallas fort worth area a nose for that end zone able to get behind his offensive line and grind it out for a score for the bulldogs talking about grinding it out louisiana tech barrels its way in one more time i beg your pardon that was jones on the touchdown for uh slu and kendall able to get it done he has a couple of running touchdowns already this season he only had one in his entire career at west virginia and oklahoma but here's the big guy cole kelly six seven 260 pounds he's a freight train on the move at the goal line yeah he can really bear down and turn himself into a fullback in that situation again the walter payton award winner this past season the best player in fcs football it's that offensive line that allows him to do it you see him brushing himself off saying yeah i'm a little dirty but man i feel good right now well it's been back and forth louisiana tech has led by as many as ten right now it's a scant three and we'll take a time out here from russell 24 21 the bulldogs over the lions on espn3 it's the 2021 home opener for the louisiana tech bulldogs and it's been a back and forth first half against the lions of southeastern louisiana tech leading 24-21 chris the lions of course or southeastern known as the lions that's been their nickname since the get-go but nickname number 1a this past couple of weeks may certainly have been the vagabonds well with hurricane ida bearing down on southeast louisiana players had to scramble they went home they found another place to be anywhere but hammond and hammond ended up taking a direct hit from that storm it wasn't until three days after the hurricane rolled through that players were able to reconvene back in hammond loaded up on the bus and headed to north alabama early they were supposed to host north alabama in the season opener things changed and the game moved to florence the lion players got there a few days early and they have been there in the muscle shoals area ever since wednesday through last wednesday played a game saturday and then stayed there up until yesterday a week and a half in a hotel and they came to ruston yesterday treated it like a normal road game and lynn right now they are shining they're hoping to get back to campus tomorrow they'll see for the first time since the storm rolled through all the damage and thankfully all the cleanup that has happened so far which there has been a lot of it everybody around hammond working hard to get things back up and running and we'll pass along as a favor by the lions football team their uh their gratitude toward the people and muscle shoals and a couple of churches in particular which fed the team meal after meal after meal after meal and to the man the lion's traveling party almost with tears in their eyes asked us to pass along how grateful they were for the hospitality they received and thanks to so many people at the university of north alabama starting with head coach chris willis louisiana tech leads southeastern louisiana it's 24-21 for about three minutes from beginning the second half here on espn3 [Music] louisiana tech will receive the third quarter kickoff and will bring a 24-21 lead to the start of the second half chris let's look at some numbers that were impressive in the first half for both teams quarterback comparison for louisiana tech austin kendall seven completions on 12 attempts no touchdown passes in the one interception 83 yards total cole kelly with huge numbers in that opening half of play 27 of 36 276 yards a touchdown and two picks receiving wise trey harris the leader for louisiana tech with two catches for 31 yards cj turner the best for slu five catches for 59 yards on the ground louisiana tech led by williams he has eight carries for 52 yards cole kelly is the leading rusher for southeastern louisiana seven carries 23 yards gained so here we go southeastern in white kicking to louisiana tech in blue and the kick comes deep into the end zone it's going to be returned bub means might regret that decision means took that one five yards deep into the end zone and gave up 10 by not letting it just pass through for the touch back we have a tennessee transfer trying to make a big play to start off this half of football as you said he ends up about nine yards short of where he would have been had he just taken a knee as we go through this third quarter we'll take a look at scores from around conference usa and the southland some other interesting games for southland teams as they take on fbs opponents tonight kendall fakes into the line now throws a short pass out on the left side that is caught for a few yards by smoke harris start with some conference usa scores half time for charlotte taking on gardner-webb 28-10 in favor of the 49ers utsa up 34 to nothing on lamar at the half harris on the previous play made his third catch of the night [Music] and that's a first down for louisiana tech midway through the second quarter marshall leads north carolina a t 20 to nothing means on the receiving end it appears above means gets 10 plus more louisiana tech now in an uptempo offensive series getting back to the line of scrimmage quickly finding receivers in a hurry kendall these are the scripted plays coming out of halftime after the adjustments and so far that script is looking awfully good first and ten from the 44. williams weaves his way through stays on his feet for some extra yardage and is twisted down maybe a yard and a half short of the first down territory the correction on one of those scores marshall fate playing north carolina central tonight heard leads 30 to seven nine minutes left third quarter three receivers at the top of the formation instead tech goes to the ground and getting just enough for the first down is williams again williams the transfer of appalachian state getting it done conference usa's rice owls taking on houston tonight the crosstown rival four minutes left in the third quarter cougars up on the owls 24-7 florida international leads texas state 14-10 13 minutes left in the third to the left side the offense goes for a gain of two or three that was a melis on the receiving end he's an interesting story chris he's from montreal quebec canada a graduate student at louisiana tech by way of umass he's been traversing this country and hopefully has enjoyed his time so far in wrestling smoke harris scoots between a couple of would-be tacklers and he stays on his feet long enough to motor past the 35 down to about the 33 for another first down and louisiana tech appears to have filled its gas tank with high octane stuff at halftime yeah no doubt they found some deficiencies in this southeastern defense and the lions will have a lot to talk about when they get back now it's time to bear down and see if they can find a way to make this work here's throw for the lateral and a lob pass to the end zone and there is contact and a catch it appears touchdown my goodness greg garner on the receiving end of that overhand lateral and then the peg down which took forever to come out of the heavens greg garner got his hands on it survived a hit at the same time touchdown louisiana tech what an unbelievable grab right there for garner unloaded by maxwell brought down by garner and he felt those footsteps coming he heard him bang and still holds on to that football [Applause] wow lynn what a grab what an incredible effort that's the play of the night so louisiana tech for the second time can take a 10-point lead i'm going to try to track down if maxwell played qb at ameet back in the day jacob barnes strikes the extra point and it is good two passes on the touchdown play one was an overhand lateral the other one was way downfield into the hands of greg garner who holds on and survived the smack defensively from jordan a 10-point lead for louisiana tech kyle maxwell is a redshirt freshman receiver for louisiana tech he had a couple of touchdown passes last year touchdown catches last year yeah and chris i think if you would have asked him before the season or anybody associated with the louisiana tech program and said here's a bet will maxwell throw a touchdown pass or catch one first this year well louisiana tech figured out that he has a heck of an arm able to deliver it there but the most amazing part of that play is the way he was able to hold on to that football with the hit bearing down greg garner the junior out of euless texas the cisco college transfer with the catch of the season so far for louisiana tech the fair catch of the kickoff is made at the goal line and southeastern will put its offense on the field at the 25 early in the third quarter the tech bulldogs lead at 31-21 [Music] well i was going over the scores from around conference usa and one of the more interesting games on the schedule tonight is between the next two teams that louisiana tech will face north texas out of the usa and smu out of the american they're playing tonight in dallas it's halftime and the mustangs are up on the mean green seven to six first and ten for cole kelly and company quarterback draw in route he's got 10 he's got 12 he's got 13 and the big fellow bowls a few people out of the way and runs for good yardage on first down that's the first true quarterback draw we've seen from kelly given his track record and what he was able to do last season saw plenty of them on tv last season but this is my first chance to see mr kelly with my own eyes and he is just as good as advertised what a fun player to watch a smart player he can do so much for this ball club now he's under center play action and can't throw it long but he does throw it across midfield into the hands of a receiver let's see nick kovacs oh excuse me i thought that was number five it was in fact number six kovats as southeastern louisiana continues to spread the ball around the field kovats making his fourth catch on the day kelly has found 10 different receivers tonight first and 10 for the lions southeastern making an attempt to match the touchdown drive by louisiana tech on its first possession of the half kelly fakes to the left flat now fires it over the middle he's got a man at the 20 to the 10 to the five touchdown southeastern louisiana the touchdown grab hauled in by c j turner all-conference first team selection last season he was slu's go-to man all year long one of the best receivers in fcs and shows off exactly why right here taking that ball just off the right hash nothing but green grass until he reaches the blue end zone of louisiana tech the poise by kelly to set up the length of the play with that fake to the left side and then he made a little move to find the throwing angle and delivered a strike into the deep crossing pattern for cj turner an impressive play one that takes a while to set up and again the offensive line kept kelly clean the extra point is good as we take another look at it a laser on its way to cj turner and he winds up in the end zone 31-28 louisiana tech [Music] back and forth we continue to go louisiana tech 31 southeastern louisiana 28 with 11-12 to play in the third quarter already less than four minutes into the third period we've had each team score a touchdown and what a couple of highlight plays for those touchdowns lynn i'm just looking forward to the last 11 minutes 12 of this quarter in the final 15 of the fourth this is everything we hoped it would be when an fcs team comes into an fbs stadium a lot of times you might expect a close one ends up being lopsided but southeastern louisiana this is an incredible ball club and i'm really excited about what they can potentially do in the fcs this year but tonight if you're able to beat an in-state foe that's in the fbs that might be even bigger for this program than a conference championship or i wouldn't say a national championship but it'd be huge a landmark victory right now trailing by just three and louisiana tech needs to grind out a good drive here austin kendall hands it off and running left and right into trouble is the ball carrier for louisiana tech so that first down run by harlan dixon got nothing the lions were waiting for it sai martin and alfonso taylor all over it for southeastern louisiana [Music] frank selfo told us a couple of days ago that he firmly believes this defensive line for the lions is the deepest one that he's been around in a long time said they'll rotate seven or eight players up front with very little difference in skill sets that's a catch it appears by samuel m [Music] kendall solid ball nice sliding catch there kendall rolls to his right fires and that is incomplete at midfield [Applause] that's a very difficult throw the angle is tight and the throw on the run intended for means never hooked up it means trying to haul in his third catch of the evening he's already caught two balls for 22 yards that's the fifth time he's been targeted tonight second and ten the line to make is the 49 or make it the 44 in southeastern territory and getting a lot of that on the ground comes louisiana tech dixon on the carry their second year player mainly played special teams last season just nine carries a freshman but considered a second year player because of the the so-called bonus year right but officially a freshman all of the classifications are going to be so muddled for the next few years it's it's really going to be confusing you're going to say a fifth year on campus but a senior and again sophomore that's been here for three years and whatnot it's all very jumbled right now and you throw in the extra year you throw in a red shirt year and a louisiana tech roster actually has added a column here on campus in addition to their classification imelis with the last reception a first down and the bulldogs go right back to the ground and weaving his way up field for great yardage [Applause] yeah harlan dixon now has been a favorite target for louisiana tech on this drive that's his sixth carry so far tonight he'll try it again left side powers his way to the 20. getting back to your point about the veteran players there are many many sixth year seniors on both of these teams the veteran leadership and sometimes you lose that up at perhaps a power five school where not a whole lot of guys stick around for that entire time they're trying to get to the league here obviously you have players who end up in the nfl but not as big a number so you get those veterans who've been around here for a very long time and can do a great job helping these younger guys second down and a short six the peg over the middle caught near the goal line and the receiver is ruled down at the one the catch trey harris calling it in and louisiana tech is trying to speed things up trey harris just came up short of an accurate throw by austin kendall made the catch and couldn't quite get to the stripe and the officials will take another look at this see if he in fact did cross the plane our green vested replay man down on the field at the 20 is going to give the headset to one another the goal line is on the further review that's very close we have the red hat and we have the green vest i'm not sure we have an official name for the person that goes out and gives the headset to the referee to speak upstairs to the replay official chris i think the first replay we saw is going to be this this one is the better angle i think he scored i did too let's see we'll slow it down both times right a tiered yeah at the tip of the football i agree got to the front part of the stripe yep we're one for one tonight we are i don't think this should take long unless they're having trouble with the headset look like they're hitting a few buttons having a little trouble getting communication upstairs but once they do i think they'll establish quickly and when those of the football got over that white stripe you're pretty confident i am i'm certainly not a gambling man i listen when the ncaa says don't bet on it but i am [Music] you know getting back to the storyline about the veteran player there was a huge jump nearly double the number of uh graduate students who are playing football this year at all levels not just not just uh fbs fcs but but division two in all levels but a huge jump nearly doubled from a year ago well for louisiana tech they're a huge beneficiary as we're about to get the call and i've been warned that we're gonna end up one for one one and one rather [Applause] having trouble with the microphone but he will be he will be marked short of the goal line so we can't be perfect lin in our view uh he was in but by the view of the replay officials who are much more well-versed in all the intricacies he's just short so louisiana tech will have to go again first and there's that whole term we've heard a million times indisputable evidence but we're talking about the veterans louisiana tech adds a graduate student in austin kendall this season somebody who had experience at oklahoma and west virginia bring him into the quarterback room and it's not just what he does this year it's what he does to instill that knowledge to the younger quarterbacks for louisiana tech and how much that's going to pay off in future seasons and for a while there again you mentioned it earlier he was making good money in pharmaceutical sales in dallas thought about taking his name out of the transfer portal and saying his football career was over it took a lot of convincing from skip holtz and joe sloan to get him to come back to ruston and play college football had a four hour dinner over at bovines here in reston try to talk him into playing here come the bulldogs first and goal from just inches away and this time touchdown greg garner got the ball in his hands powers through for the second time tonight and louisiana tech pads its lead add the p-80 and it'll be a double-digit advantage for the home team as these led lights swirl after the touchdown a really cool added feature here at joe i a stadium and before the p-a-t back full again so louisiana tech a point away for from leading by 10 for the third time the kick is away and it is true 8 10 to go in the third quarter every time somebody has touched the ball they have scored offsides number two defense and the neutral zone at the snap puritans decline this third quarter has been full of action we have yet to reach the halfway point in the third period and louisiana tech leads at 38-28 to give to the trinity product barreling through louisiana tech able to bear down that offensive line winning the battle in the trenches [Music] 38-28 louisiana tech on its own artificial surface leads with 8 10 to go in the third quarter over southeastern louisiana the latest drive lynn lasting nine plays for 75 yards it took three minutes and two seconds garner caps it with a one-yard touchdown run his second score of the night louisiana tech is looking for its 29th overall victory against southeastern louisiana it has lost seven times to the lions and there's been a couple of ties this drive will start at the 25. well if the bulldogs are able to hold on here tonight lynn it would be the 150th win as a head coach for skip holtz that first victory we talked about those memories with him earlier this week a lot of fun to look back on it he was 29 years old when he was a head coach at uconn it was against richmond got the team all fired up ready to go out try to pick up that first victory and immediately before kickoff a lightning delay first and ten cole kelly throws it short underneath and a fine cat a fine tackle in open field the tight end was there to make the catch but no gain after that open field tackle and trey baldwin getting in on the stop oh he's a good one louisiana tech he's absolutely fantastic one of the players i was really excited to see tonight he had a pick six in the third quarter last week against mississippi state nolan given on the reception but no yardage the pitch back to kelly he's looking his own man bumps into him and now he is sacked kelly on the pitch back was looking deep [Music] keevy rose getting into the backfield for louisiana tech as the lions drew up the trick play and it does not work according to plan watch number 94 in blue a red shirt freshman but a returning starter able to barrel over tehran jones and caused a big loss levi bell was also there third down kelly looking needs a deep completion and he gets one a leaping catch in traffic tim wilson survived the hit kelly threw a strike wilson twisting in the air after leaving his feet made the catch now wilson's been really impressive tonight four catches now for him [Applause] he was dumped by jaden cole the safety but wilson held on first down at the 42. six minutes and some change remain in the third quarter the running play and maybe a yard for jones southeastern louisiana not the only southland conference team trying to pick up a win against an fbs opponent tonight two other really good chances this evening squads within us one score nichols trails the raging cajuns of ul lafayette 17-10 early in the third quarter and early in the second mcneese down just seven to nothing at lsu [Applause] kelly gives up a lot of ground there's a penalty marker down back where the quarterback was the catch made near midfield but let's check the marker i think this might be coming back holding number seven offense 10-yard penalty going through this spot repeat second half ethan mcmullen the right guard was charged for the hold he's from decatur mississippi who started his career at north alabama for southeastern that's the fifth penalty for them now with 40 yards penalized louisiana tech three for 19 yards the line to make for a first down is the louisiana tech 48. [Music] kelly steps into the pocket slings it it's caught kelly showing some terrific heat on that pitch there was a very thin window and austin mitchell was waiting for it this is not an easy hookup for the reception you see kelly on the move kind of a sidearm sling and right where it needed to be able to get it to mitchell the man who gave southeastern the lead that they never relinquished in the second half last week at north alabama setting up another big third down play the louisiana tech student section the band making it loud down there third and three empty backfield four-man rush kelly's going to keep it and kelly made the wise choice as he barrels his way for first down yardage we've seen him be very smart in different situations tonight he knows when to slide knows when that's necessary to protect the body but he is not afraid to lower that shoulder lower down a boom on a defensive player if he needs that yardage to get the first down when you're 6-7 260 those numbers sort of add to your confidence his play on the field and those intangibles those measurables that's something i think nfl scouts are going to like he's right now projected as a late nfl draft brit on the move jesse britt finds a bit of running room out to the 39-yard line that's about three yards short of a first down well there's no question chris that cole kelly will have an opportunity to uh latch on next spring and whether it's a draft with an nfl team or undrafted free agent situation you're absolutely right he'll be in a camp one way or another kelly looks over the middle fires it to the left hash mark has a receiver who comes to the near side hash mark and again a very very smart choice on both ends this upcoming draft class is probably the biggest mystery that we've had in a very long time since nfl scouts weren't able to get out and see guys in person last season this year not only it's what you see on the field but it's during practice times during interviews and that'll finally get back on track my more clear picture here in a couple of months tim wilson on the preceding catch we'll check his numbers he's had a big day he's been a frequent target nolan gibbon makes a diving effort and comes up with the football at about the 13-yard line that's gibbons fourth catch 20 yards for him so far in the day the leading receiver for southeastern louisiana is turner six catches 106 yards and one score mitchell also has six catches for 53 yards drew jones will put it in play the senior center mitchell swings out of the backfield he's got it and he's dumped out of bounds at about the 13-yard line that should be enough for a no it will not be enough of course for a first down only a gain of a couple the line to make is inside the five to get a reset of the down marker ben bell the second year freshman out of cedar park texas able to knock mitchell out of bounds drive him into the turbo [Applause] taron jones stands at kelly's left three receivers bunched at the top of the formation jones on the handoff swings three at the ten cuts back inside the ten to the nine [Applause] and that will be about four yards short of a first down so we'll see chris if indeed the lions consider this four down territory trailing by 10 28-38 lions on the short end of that score with two minutes remaining in the third quarter with this much time left and the deficit only ten i think if you don't make it here you kick it and get the three points [Applause] kelly throws it out to austin mitchell he dives for the pylon he's got a first down did he get the touchdown yes he did a bit of a delayed call but austin mitchell is awarded the touchdown as he came out of the backfield on the near side and was able to get a head of steam up to make the dive for the score a couple of officials had to converge before they finally made and right on the pylon i think it was more the official right there who had his best eyes on it fell down as that play was transpiring and that's why we had to wait a little while for the two arms to go up in the air but ball on pylon clear touchdown so austin mitchell brings the lions even closer the extra point is in the air it is good 1 33 to go third quarter 38 35 and chris every time louisiana tech cranks up its offense and finds itself with a 10-point lead and they've done that three times on all ensuing offensive efforts for southeastern the lions have come back to cut the gap back to a single field goal now in this war of attrition it seems like the lions would eventually fall by the wayside but instead every single time they find a way to counter to pull within three again of louisiana tech and with 90 seconds remaining in this quarter louisiana tech could certainly put together a quick drive but we're in for a whale the final 15 minutes here southeastern has executed its game plan perfectly cole kelly has been absolutely fantastic and you know frank selfo said that after a really good year like that he's seen guys kind of just take it for granted that i'm going to go back out and repeat that performance but for kelly he got back in the film room he got back in the weight room and made sure that 2021 would be even better and when you're labeled as the top player in fcs and you think you can get even better what a tremendous season he has in front of him bub means starts the kickoff return from the end zone and moves out to about the 23 maybe the 24. the lions have never led in this game there have been a couple of ties at seven a piece and fourteen a piece three times there has been a ten point lead for louisiana tech but on each of those occasions southeastern has come back with a touchdown it's cole kelly guiding the way you know he did it all really the past couple of years on that talent but cellpho really likes the way that he's found he's made himself a student of the game now before he just played and now he really understands it knowing how to play the position at that level that's going to be trouble austin kendall thanks to harlan dixon and then runs to the left side and slides for a yard gain now we pointed out earlier that both nichols and mcneese have a chance to win games against fbs opponents tonight as well as southeastern tries to complete a comeback and beat louisiana tech but southeastern is going to see both of those teams twice this season an odd scheduling aberration now in the southland kendall looked right he looked left he couldn't find anybody he liked and he finally is so dumped loss back inside the 20. as kendall finally was surrounded by lion defenders yeah it was tynano galua making the tackle for southeastern the young man out of honolulu i hope i pronounced that right lynn i tried my best i noticed you didn't even give it an effort so one of us has to attempt to pronounce the hawaiian name third down and long [Applause] not much pressure this time but the throw is underneath a very short reception there were a couple of defenders there [Applause] to get on the ball carrier harlan dixon very quickly alexis ramos leading the charge a two-time all-southwind choice he's a good one that brings us to the end of the third quarter what drama awaits we've got 15 minutes left 38 for the bulldogs 35 for the lions on espn3 a week ago louisiana tech scored 34 points against mississippi state and came up one point short in a 35-34 fourth quarter defeat tonight through three quarters mississippi the bulldogs have 38 points but they can't shake southeastern which is only three down a punt coming for louisiana tech and a wobbly one takes a left turn it goes out of bounds at the 41-yard line that's a kick of about 42 yards or so and chris this is now an opportunity for the lions to take their first lead of the game as louisiana tech defense returns to the field after seeing their lead go by the wayside last week as mississippi mississippi state launched that big comeback that you mentioned to end up knocking off louisiana tech and the defense coordinator david blackwell said the players really were more resilient than the coaching staff was coaching staff may have been down in the dumps a little bit longer than the student-athletes after letting that one slip through their fingers a week ago was tremendous opportunity for this football team and now louisiana tech defense needs to respond better when they're put in that type of situation especially with short field kelly directing traffic now swings it out to the left side it's incomplete as he overthrew the receiver at about the 45-yard line that was cj turner the intended target he would have had nowhere to go had that ball been on target and there is a penalty marker down this is not the way you want to start a drive number 74 offense 10-yard pitcher for the previous spot that's the left tackle jalen mordell who has played a very good game along with his teammates allen and jones and mcmullen and miles character in particular [Applause] [Music] the louisiana tech has obviously had a week to look at this film of kelly and everything that he has to offer knew he could make all the throws knew that he had some speed with his legs as well the fact that he's able to spread it around to so many different receivers has been the biggest problem of the night kelly whips it over the middle it's slightly behind the receiver at the 45-yard line intended for tim wilson [Applause] if wilson would have brought that in would have been his sixth catch on the night he's been targeted eight times now well chris this drive started in a very advantageous position for the lions at their own 42 but a penalty and an incomplete pass has moved the ball back to about the 32-yard line the line to make is the 48 in bulldog territory blitz coming late the peg outside wilson on the catch my goodness the arm strength and accuracy of kelly on display right there in a good route by tim wilson what a cannon this young man has but with so many yards to go it's still going to be a third down and five situation and louisiana tech trying to buckle down get this drive stopped get their offense back on the field here with a three-point lead [Music] the line to make is the 48 in louisiana tech territory third down kelly has time now fires there was late pressure that ball sailed over the head of the intended receiver and now it's fourth out solid pressure into the backfield a much needed stop for this louisiana tech defense they're fired up after holding kelly but you go back to that early in the series penalty which put the lions well behind the chain yep and louisiana tech is winning that battle in penalties right now in fact southeastern has doubled them up six penalties for 48 yards louisiana tech has three for 19 yards and that has been key the kick is away and it is a beauty smoke harris fielded that punt inside feeling that football the one-yard line and he's dumped at about the six a very dangerous play and a tremendous kick well over 50 yards on the boot by dunlap we'll step aside here we've got 14 minutes of exciting football left from ruston louisiana the lead is a scant three 1408 to go in the fourth quarter louisiana tech starts this drive at its own seven-yard line with a three-point lead against southeastern and a running play will get things started marcus williams wiggles his way for a feud this is the first of three consecutive home games for the bulldogs next week 2 30 the start time central time smu is the opponent the week after that north texas comes into town on the 25th of september that's a six o'clock start skip holt said he wasn't sure if that's ever happened before since he's been here three straight home games for the bulldogs the running play comes up a couple of yards short a lot of late activity and it appears one of the lions is hurt or slow getting up i mentioned that those next two opponents for louisiana tech are actually playing each other tonight in dallas as you see the tussle there marcus williams thrown down smu is leading north texas 21-12 two minutes left in the third quarter at ford stadium in university park [Applause] third down and two back to the ground for the third time and a good result as marcus williams has taken over the ground game lately [Applause] now williams was not seen for a little bit it was a lot more of dixon and garner carrying the low but now we get back to the appalachian state transfer for louisiana tech somebody who rushed for 500 yards in each of his four seasons for the mountaineers he's from rocky mount north carolina first down at the 25. a long throw on the numbers incomplete broken up thrown into double coverage at about the 40 yard line that one intended for bub memes you know and bub that was going to be a great battle there one on one trying to get that football but popping up to knock it away as i alexander the freshman so kendall and offensive company took a shot down to means second and ten from the 25 12 12 to go garner works his way for some good yardage but there are two penalty markers on the artificial surface making three markers down a lot of laundry on the field now then as we mentioned louisiana tech has not had much trouble with penalties so far this evening that's been a big key to them still leading this ball game and southeastern having trouble with penalties has stalled out some drives the option appears to rest with the lions hoading number five offense 10-yard penalty from the spot of the five repeat that's griffin a bear the tight end who really has not been part of the receiving game tonight no he has had some huge games in his veteran career at louisiana tech we have not seen him haul one in and louisiana tech typically will use him in tough situations so 12 minutes left the lead is only three this is certainly one of those the line to make is all the way out to the 35 second and 19. wiggling his way to the 20 is the quarterback austin kendall kendall had a touchdown rushing last week against mississippi state he threw for 269 yards a couple of touchdowns and an interception against the sec opponent third and 15. garner in the backfield for louisiana tech has a couple of touchdowns on the ground one as a receiver now he goes out wide means makes the catch and i believe that's enough for a first down he ran a very clever route now they're gonna mark it a little bit short of the 35 but i think that's still good enough by a couple of inches there may have been too many men on the field for southeastern but i don't see a penalty marker now i do meanwhile the run to the right side and another flag which is probably going to be a face mask penalty so i think there'll be two penalties called against southeastern yeah you see at the top of the screen somebody didn't get off quickly enough you're right and then at the end of the play to the near side it's ogbana dragging him down by the head gear you had just mentioned greg garner they like to use him in a lot of ways don't they chris and garner tonight with his three touchdowns the first time since 2019 that the bulldogs have had one individual score three times that was justin henderson getting it done for him back on october 12th that season against the umass minutemen lengthy discussion as they discuss what we expect to be a pair of penalties against slu and now we'll get the call there are three fouls on the plate all by the defense all sides defense with his decline [Applause] defense that's decline first of dollar tackle number 17 defense that 50-yard penalty is enforced from the end of the run automatic first down i'm impressed he was able to remember all that and not look at notes i'm not impressed though that it took him four minutes to figure out that the first two penalties would be declined now you can't take them all and that last one again from our vantage point we thought it was brought down by the face max but instead a collar tackle obama called for the illegal horse collar tackle he's from marietta georgia previously playing for umass that transfer portal such a huge change in the way these teams have to be put together now we talked about it at length with skip holds this week garner in motion a running play comes the other way and moving the pile to about the 20-yard line is the louisiana tech offense and a lot of that lynn was just for a greater understanding for the two of us and knowing what coaches have to go through to build these teams but it's so complicated now louisiana tech doing a great job finding some key additions austin kendall at the top of that list the best quarterback available when they realized they needed to add another quarterback to the room second in short they can take a shot at the end zone if they want to they do it is port touchdown it took a while for the officials to determine that the catch was legally made we'll show it to you coming right into your living rooms well trey harris better be thankful that that was ruled a touchdown he was already blowing kisses to the crowd before the official's arms went up signaling that yes in fact it's good for six points great grab and louisiana tech should extend its lead back to double digits it was second and short and kendall took a shot at it and hit the bullseye trey harris has had a big day the freshman from lafayette the extra point is lifted into the air by jacob barnes and it is good so louisiana tech once again for the fourth time in this game as a 10-point lead it's 45-35 with 9 51 to go in the fourth quarter for the fourth time tonight louisiana tech enjoys its biggest lead a 10-point advantage 45-35-9 51 to go as louisiana tech gets its latest touchdown on a reception by trey harris the bulldogs in blue the receiving team in white southeastern louisiana mitchell calls for and makes the fair catch in the end zone and the ball will come to the 25-yard line louisiana tech where he's wearing a special helmet decal tonight on the 20th anniversary of the september 11 2001 attacks we talked to skip holtz about his recollection of that day he was an assistant at south carolina at the time and like many of us got word about what was happening turned the tv on and was just glued to it the next day and really the next week two weeks later it was a thursday night and south carolina flew to mississippi state that was one of the first college football games back after the attacks and a lot of guys in the team lynn he said were worried about flying and who's to who could blame them the pre-game ceremony there in starkville very emotional just silence in the stadium and then they were back to the business of playing college football and sports at that time were a big part of uniting us as a country and we commemorated then and today again we saw a great pre-game ceremony highlighted by so many young men and women here on this campus who were not even alive when the attacks occurred duran jones on the preceding reception for a couple of yards kelly hands it off and not much running room there for a new ball carrier that's cephas johnson so two quarterbacks by trade in the game now kelly and johnson cephas johnson is a big fellow 6'5 200. and baylen buchanan able to get in on the tackle wearing number zero for louisiana tech the tennessee transfer so long yardage to go the flag here in the north end zone is at half staff [Applause] personal foul late hit number 74 offense after the play for donald trump that's jalen bell third down left tackle late hit offensively and the lions simply cannot afford there's the the shot of the previous play is on the review at half staff and you and i driving in you yesterday me today we saw that across the country you coming in from your home in alabama me coming from my home in texas seeing those flags at half mast as everybody today looking back if they were alive looking back on where they were and thinking so much about the victims and you know for me on my way here i gave a call to my sister stephanie she was going to school at nyu at the time so that campus being so close to the towers that's how i remember that day more than anything else is trying desperately to reach her and make sure that she was okay thankfully late into the night finally got word that she was able to get a phone call out and let us know that she was in fact safe [Music] they'll take another look at this one the official replay 74 in white jaylen bell is called for the foul they're taking another look at it to see if perhaps there was a spearing of some sort the hit by bell against tyler grubbs the linebacker a returning starter still listed as a freshman even though he played the whole year last year [Music] as i mentioned on the roster now for louisiana tech they actually list a column of years playing and classification i think this is going to be targeting that second contact is grubbs had hit the deck watch watch 74 in white well that might be called against baylen buchanan zero in blue after further review it was a late hit targeted on number 74 offense number 74 is disqualified for further participation [Applause] there are a lot of heads and bodies flying around there this is clearly it's going to be kind of a second contact there's jalen bell working against grubs pushes him down now watch the head gear to the back of the head very very good lynn my concentration was on the football and i figured it was somebody who was in on the action there and you had your eyes in exactly the right spot and our cameras obviously picked it up on the edge of the frame allowing the officials to make that call so jalen bell has been disqualified he's out of amory mississippi by way of copiah lincoln community college jay orgeron normally plays behind him but they've got a lot of depth on the defensive line do the lions [Music] frank selfo told us during the week that he is so comfortable with his ability to rotate quality defensive lineman and he feels like this is the best defense potentially the best defense in a while down in hamlet yeah very deep [Applause] [Music] deep group a lot of talent this play is going to have to get past the 35-yard line to result in a first down third down from the 15. kelly calling for the football rearranges jones late blitz coming the throw deep there's a man behind the secondary it is caught for the first down and a big chunk of yardage pulled down as kelly is able to get it to austin mitchell we've been talking about his big play deep threat potential and you saw it right there and what a throw by kelly this is coming back though lynn what an amazing throw and catch you're absolutely right but it's a hole for southeastern louisiana nolan given called on that penalty and the lions on what would have been such a huge play burned by the yellow laundry on the field again [Applause] [Music] just a tremendous delivery and a great grab that would have allowed southeastern to be deep into louisiana tech territory and instead they're all the way back on the 12 and frank selfo is livid [Music] the scrimmage line is the eight they've got to get to the 35 little swing pass out to the right side jones on the move and he's turned down and there's another penalty marker and immediately you see drew jones the offensive lineman for southeastern pop-up and with a look of are you kidding me another and that discussion is continuing the play came up short of the line to make for a first down and jones the center and made his way all the way down field and could not believe it when a flag came in his direction and everybody unleashed their yellow hanky you see them all over the field right now [Applause] personal five illegal block waste defense 15-yard penalty from the end of the run automatic first down now what a change of events there a defensive illegal block and the body language of southeastern certainly made it seem like that flag was coming against the lions but there you see it in the backfield [Applause] and southeastern will pick up a first down here a chance to continue the drive as we near the eight minute mark so a bizarre turn of events a defensive illegal block and we saw it clearly blocking below the waist on the offensive player the defensive player gets the call and that extends the drive kelly once again throwing it out to the right side this offense just with so much precision carter on that reception the junior from san diego kelly continues to spread the ball to just about every available receiver ten different ones tonight lynn [Applause] and a first down run as jones tried to hurdle the defender he didn't get past the tackler but tyrone jones was able to scoot through on the left side first down southeastern from the 44. here's jones again and he snagged right at the line of scrimmage well done by louisiana tech [Applause] jones hasn't been able to put together much production this evening just five carries for 15 yards kelly's the leading rusher 11 times he's gone on the ground for 26 yards second and 10. kelly is pressured from the right side the ball may be out and i think the lions might have recovered but let's wait until we find out officially trying to peel bodies off right now the officials not getting anyone to budge the ball did come free but the question is who is on top of it and looks like it's going to stay with the lions but some jostling there at the bottom of the pile sometimes some nasty stuff can happen down there joseph mason is trying to get that ball away and you're right some biting and spitting and whatever it takes to get the other man to let go of the pigskin that's one experience i've i'm thankful i've never had is to be at the bottom of a pile after a fumble chris i don't know i've ever seen it take this long for the players to disengage [Applause] and it does remain with southeastern louisiana but it will be a loss and a lengthy third down try coming up for slu third and 13. the line to make is the [Applause] 34. louisiana tech puts an extra defender in the secondary kelly has converted several of these tonight down and distance has not made a difference on several occasions he fires it short over the middle it's incomplete intended for given it appeared the tight end that one was even had it been caught gibbons still had seven or eight yards to go for the first down now he had several louisiana tech players between him and that marker not a great play call there for slu but given was the target a steady tight end would have been hit immediately had he caught it and ended up short smoke harris is back to receive the punt remember last time he was receiving a punt he backpedaled and caught it as his momentum carried him into the end zone i'm sure he got it talking too [Applause] and the punter cuts to the left side he's going to need one more stride and he gets it my goodness what a change-up play called by southeastern louisiana the guts for austin austin bring it down and carry that one to the first down you see from far away slu players all in on the fake and louisiana tech defenders bit on it as dunlap looked he took those first two steps very slowly looking like he was going to punt that ball away and then he saw the defense turn their backs and get away from the play knew he had open field he had to turn into a nifty runner though because he was going to be cut down short of the first down marker this throw is on the money for a completion and a first down to cj turner the read on that i'm curious if dunlap had the option if he would have seen i don't have a shot he's going to go ahead and punt it away or was it no matter what you are carrying this football post-game question for frank silva i think that was a called special teams no matter what yeah i think so kelly throws it short he's got a receiver first down for some decent decent yardage let's go back and look at the fake punt again looking at it one more time as dunlap that's it you see the defenders backed off and regardless whether it was a read or whether it was i'm going to do this no matter what it was perfectly set up for him they were not rushing at all he had all the room in the world and yeah he had to turn on a burst of speed but was able to get it done wilson on the last catch for about four second and six inside the 15-yard line [Applause] carter in motion to the right side kelly throws it tipped and almost intercepted but it falls harmlessly at the four yard line [Applause] that's killer louisiana tech having the opportunity to really make this tough for southeastern louisiana if any of those young men is able to come up with that football tech getting the ball back with a 10-point lead and under five minutes to go but now you're putting the ball back in the hands of kelly louisiana tech has a two score lead this is four down territory we presume kelly fires it over the middle caught inside the five first and goal coming after the reception by carter it's that poise in the pocket it's mitchell on the catch first i beg your pardon it was awesome the all southland third team selection in each of the past two years and a former walk-on with this program and a guy who can catch the ball in traffic he's not a big fellow five nine 170 pounds but he is slippery first and goal from inside the five kelly is a threat to run from here and he'll do it this time and he waltzes into the end zone just split that defensive line perfectly executed by the offensive lineman of southeastern louisiana and nobody laid a finger on the defending walter payton award winner watch the offensive line they had the gaps set up even before the snap parting the blue sea [Applause] gringapo will attempt to bring the lions to within three and he does 4 22 to go 45 louisiana tech has a three-point lead in rustic [Music] four times tonight louisiana tech has taken a double-digit lead a 10-point advantage four times tonight the lions have come back to chop it to three and that's where we are right now in the fourth quarter with 4 22 to go and chris both teams have their full complement of timeouts i want to go back to something that offensive coordinator joe sloan of louisiana tech told us when we visited yesterday said in times like this tight ball games you have to eliminate emotion focus on what's in front of you there's no need for anxiety you control what you can and that's your attitude and your energy i think he probably reminded louisiana tech players of that before they came out for this series bear down lined some clock positive drive right here and you can soak this one away but you need to if you don't score you have to drain at least a lot of time off the clock and get as close to zero as you can before kelly gets the ball back in his hands because you know what he can do no matter how much of the field he has to travel louisiana tech will go to the ground on the first play and perhaps a gain of three this is the 38th time these two schools have met louisiana tech leads the series 28 wins seven losses and two ties bulldogs have won eight straight in this in-state series marcus williams wedged his way for four second and six williams is standing at the left of the quarterback austin kendall [Music] [Applause] williams again maybe a yard to the 30. [Applause] southeastern defensive line doing a really nice job on the push there not allowing williams to do much of anything and now tech in danger just after i said they need a long extended drive to drain a lot of clock in danger of going three and out and there is an injury timeout it's a southeastern player down we'll try to get a number on him it looks like that's jack henderson the freshman defensive back out of mandeville louisiana one of several freshmen that we've seen do big things tonight and whether they're true freshman first year or whether they're what we'll label as super freshmen young men who played all of last season but because the ncaa did not cost anybody a year of eligibility they're still technically freshman year in their second season and you could be a freshman in your third season very true [Applause] third and five a pivotal play for both teams [Applause] kendall calling for the football he looks he throws it left he's got williams in the flat williams fighting for the yardage and he's got enough critical first down pickup there for williams just past the sticks louisiana tech was in danger of going three and out giving the ball back to kelly down by just three points and now they'll have a chance to drain off a lot more time here and kelly won't have a ton to work with if he's able to regain possession and now the lions have to start thinking about using those timeouts they have three remaining haven't burned one yet the first one may come after this play louisiana tech probably will burn a few more seconds before calling for the snap they'll take it down under five [Applause] nothing going that play knocked down behind the line of scrimmage and a timeout by the lions [Applause] and immediately frank selfo calling for the timeout but some fisticuff says these young men are still jawing back and forth a couple of elbows maybe being thrown right now though it looks like words are the worst weapon if either one of these teams collects a personal foul penalty at this point that's a clear indication that the players are playing for themselves and not for their teams because they're southeastern first time there is no room 30 seconds in there easy yardage to be given or yielded in any fashion right now it goes back to what i just mentioned from coach sloan eliminate emotion concentrate on the job at hand these are just these personal fouls that's not because you're executing incorrectly that's your emotions getting out of hand and you absolutely cannot do that here in crunch time you shouldn't do it ever but when your team is depending on you in this close of a ball game in this clutch situation maintain your faculties so the lions will dig in after a loss on a running play second and 11. louisiana tech holding on to a tenuous 45-42 lead 218 to go in ruston [Music] the lions have certainly been a gritty prideful team yes pun intended and chris even though they've trailed four times by ten points four times they have responded well i have no doubt they are making a lot of people happy back in hammond regardless of the result tonight given the effort kendall throws it out into the flat a safe reception and now we've got a flag down and another one on the other side of the field and try to track down where the penalty comes from smoke harris on the reception he turns up field the penalty was way back behind the play perhaps on the other side of the far hash mark maybe we can see it from this angle as players oh we're not going to tie it up not going to see either it's it's it's two hash marks away right now lengthy discussion critical call here with just over two minutes remaining as louisiana tech if the play stands they'll be about an inch short of a first down if not a good spot may give them that fresh set of down one flag is dropped on the numerals nearest the lions bench and the other one is on the hash mark on that first of five number 94 defense participated after his helper came for 15 yard penalty from the run automatic first down that's brendan kelly a sophomore from franklinton and that is a major penalty against the lions that's one of those rules of the game that may not be discussed regularly not continuing to participate after your helmet comes off i can't fault him too much for not knowing that rule that's actually that's not been in place for that long but unfortunately it cost the lions here fresh set for louisiana tech and now have the opportunity to drain the rest of this clock although the lions still do have two timeouts remaining running play left side garner puts his head down he gets back to the line of scrimmage and no more at least the nfl level i'm remembering a play by jason whitton where he lost his helmet kept going for another 10 or 15 yards at the collegiate level i'm not positive when that came into play but now regardless of where you are you lose your helmet you can't keep playing the lions take their second timeout we will return in a moment [Music] 103 seconds remain in a topsy-turvy back and forth game here in ruston louisiana with chris mykoski i'm lynn rollins the bulldogs have second and ten facing them the lions have one more timeout remaining the bulldogs bulldogs have three to use should they need them austin kendall who has taken every snap in shotgun formation wants the ball he'll throw for it he's rolling right he's looking and he throws it out of bounds [Applause] well this one lynn has been just slightly more exciting than the first time these teams got together i know you had the call of it their first meeting back in 1938 there was a scoreless tie between the lions and the bulldogs and tonight they put up a total of 87 points and potentially more to come [Applause] 45-42 louisiana tech clinging to a scant three-point lead third down that incomplete pass stopped the clock at 136. austin kendall should have just taken a seat instead of throwing it away and stayed in the field of play and the clock would have been able to southeastern would have had to take another time out yeah that that's a surprising occurrence from a veteran like kendall you he would think he'd go into that play realizing no matter what don't throw an incompletion do whatever you can if it's an easy pass that you know you can hit the target run clock fine but if you're in trouble absolutely just sit down i don't mind the play call i don't mind trying to hook up on a an easy completion first down absolutely but under no circumstances do you stop the clock by throwing it away to avoid a sack or avoid loss of yardage exactly lost yardage is just fine the seconds coming off the clock forcing the lions to call a timeout much more important but now slu is out of timeouts fourth down 12 to go coming up for louisiana tech [Applause] minute 31 seconds remaining on the clock cole kelly waiting on the southeastern sideline knowing that he will now have the opportunity to drive his lions down the field cesar barajas will be kicking it reeves blankenship will snap it [Applause] and the kick is away a tumbler and a fair catch is called for and the ball backs up and is downed at around the seven yard line barajas kept that in the field of play they'll mark it closer to the eight and that's where kelly and company will start this final drive 92 yards to cover but he doesn't need it all just needs to get southeastern into field goal range for a chance to tie this one [Applause] coach frank selfo told us earlier in the week if the lions can get down to the tech 35 he would be comfortable with attempting a field goal from that range kelly throws this one out to the left side it's caught for some yardage [Applause] by cj turner so watch for that that 35-yard line of louisiana tech that is comfortable field goal range for southeastern get to that line and they'll have an opportunity a good one to tie this game 11-yard hookup to turner first and 10 from the 19. no time-outs for southeastern with 75 seconds to go kelly looking pressure throws it incomplete and that's okay if you're a lions fan kelly could not afford to take a sack absolutely and he was able to get it out over the jumble of humanity to dump it off incomplete i think at the last second there he realized he needed to aim that one a little bit closer to the ground trying to get it to his receiver they may have very easily ended up in the arms of tyler grubbs 71 seconds to go second and ten from the 19. the lions need three to time six to win kelly lobbing it and it is juggled and it falls incomplete the catch by mitchell just came up a little bit short he was battling for it as best he could but could not reel it in on the sideline third down and 10 coming up southeastern louisiana the vagabonds they've been away from hammond for a week and a half after that city took a direct hit from hurricane ida it would be a field good story for everybody in that part of the state but up here in north louisiana louisiana tech trying to shatter those dreams kelly retreats he'll try to get the first down which will stop the clock he does get the first down the ball is out apparently the play is alive kelly fumbled the officials did not stop the play now this one can be reviewed of course and most likely will right now louisiana tech owns the ball [Applause] another look as kelly has that ball knocked i think he's down but if you're not sure you let the play continue because replay can come back and sort it all out for you this will be a frame by frame breakdown by the official up in the booth watch the knee watch the ball watch the knee does he have control of the ball i don't think so i don't think so either popped out that's a second look i believe you're right i believe you're right it's holding number 79 often for the ever the defense pin your penalty for the previous spot repeat now this may be and it will be but i think that last replay we looked at chris showed that kelly had lost possession of the ball before he hit the ground very very close but i think you're right i think it popped out before the knee hit the turf and you hate to see that for that young man and cole kelly but he's gonna go on and have a tremendous season if this is back the end of his night and again we get a look at this one from behind and i think again i think that ball came free before the knee hit it was not loose on the turf that it appeared that he had lost control of it next to his chest and then of course it was recovered by louisiana tech cedric woods on the recovery he's a freshman from monroe the story carol program well this is this is what's interesting woods is a freshman but he's also a returning star former recovered by the defense is confirmed the holy chemical and number [Applause] they had this call right here exactly what we saw that the ball popped out before the fumble before the knee hit excuse me and louisiana tech will escape with a victory that's the key word here this is a fantastic fcs ball club came into rustin and nearly pulled this off and tech was happy to survive and advance out of this game and they'll face smu next week the second of a three-game home stand for louisiana tech how about this for a couple of nail biters a one-point loss last week to mississippi state in starkville and a hard-fought gritty three-point win tonight against southeastern louisiana for louisiana tech that roller coaster they're going on here lynn the lowest of lowes last week after seeing that one against mississippi state slipped through their fingers and then the fumble right there and it was ezekiel barnett by the way who knocked that ball free for louisiana attack he is the hero for louisiana tech tonight there will have to be one more snap [Applause] i believe [Applause] i think there'll be a one second difference this will be the final snap of the game barring penalty and louisiana tech will win it the clock at two at one at none and it's a 45-42 [Applause] narrow win in an exciting ball game for louisiana tech now 1-1 southeastern louisiana also 1-1 and that sets up a really good group of five game next week lynn louisiana tech and smu the mustangs will come in here a 2-0 record and of course a lot of history there for smu and their head coach coming back this direction so looking forward to that ball game next week but and this was every bit as good as we had hoped for between these two teams southeastern has a lot to be proud of and next week after finally getting back home to hammond they will head on the road again to central connecticut but after one more night in ruston they will head back to their hometown and see the damage and see the recovery that is just underway there in that city 87 points were scored in this game louisiana tech had 45 of them and that's the story from ruston louisiana for chris mykoski i'm lynn rollins so long from ruston where the final score is louisiana tech 45 southeastern 42 all games airing on the espn networks are streaming live and archived on the espn app this has been a presentation of espn the worldwide leader in sports [Music] you

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 4,415

Keywords: SE Louisiana, Louisiana Tech

Id: 8CqVE5CQ2W0

Length: 182min 0sec (10920 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021