No. 13/14 Southeastern (1-0) at Louisiana Tech (0-1)
Sept. 11, 2021 | 6 p.m. | Joe Aillet Stadium | Ruston, La.
Series History: LTU leads, 28-7-2
Last Meeting: Louisiana Tech 41, Southeastern 26 (Sept. 20, 2008 | Ruston, La.)
Television: ESPN3
Radio: Kajun 107.1 FM, Tangi 96.5 FM, WFPR 1400 AM
Announcers: Mark Willoughby, Robbie Rhodes and Allen Waddell
No. 13/14 SLU Continues Road Swing at Louisiana Tech
HAMMOND, La. – The No. 13/14 Southeastern Louisiana University football team will continue its season-opening road swing on Saturday, traveling to face Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium.
The game between the Lions (1-0) and the host Bulldogs (0-1) will be televised on ESPN3 and can be heard on Kajun 107.1 FM, Tangi 96.5 FM and WFPR 1400 AM in the Hammond area. Fans can also listen online at kajun107.net or tangiradio.net.
Southeastern moved up to two spots to No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and rose three places to No. 14 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 after opening the 2021 season with a 49-28 victory at North Alabama last Saturday.
Southeastern used a balanced offensive attack to pull away from the Lions. Reigning Walter Payton Award winner Cole Kelley, who was named the Southland Conference and Louisiana Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, led a Lion offense that finished with 495 total yards and converted 10-of-15 of its third-down opportunities.
Kelley threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 30-for-41 passing, as he completed passes to 11 different receivers. Nolan Givan, Austin Mitchell and Cephus Johnson III all caught touchdown passes for SLU. Givan and Mitchell led Southeastern with five catches, while CJ Turner paced the Lions with 52 receiving yards.
SLU finished with 232 yards on the ground – the highest single-game total for the program thus far in head coach Frank Scelfo’s four-season tenure. Taron Jones led the Lions with 85 yards on 11 carries, as he, Kelley and Johnson III all found the end zone on the ground.
Alphonso Taylor finished with a team-high nine tackles to lead a Lion defense that held UNA to 54 yards on the ground. Mike Mason, Arlen Williams and Tainano Gaulua all recorded sacks for Southeastern.
Ferlando Jordan etched his name in the record books in Saturday on the way to being named Southland Defensive Player of the Week. The two-time All-American and Buck Buchanan Award candidate returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter – his league-record fifth pick six of his Lion career.
Louisiana Tech dropped a heartbreaker in Saturday’s season opener at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs led, 34-14, in the fourth quarter before MSU mounted a furious rally for a 35-34 victory.
Austin Kendall led a Louisiana Tech offense that finished with 369 today yards. Kendall threw for 269 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 20-for-36 passing, while also rushing for a team-high 68 yards and a score.
Baylen Buchanan and Jaiden Cole led the Bulldogs with eight tackles each. Trey Baldwin was named the Louisiana Defensive Player of the Week after forcing a fumble and returning an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
Saturday will be the 38th meeting between Louisiana Tech and Southeastern. Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series, 28-7-2, and the teams will be meeting for the first time since 2008. LTU and Southeastern were former league rivals in the Gulf States Conference from 1948-70 and the Gulf South Conference in 1971. Southeastern is 0-25 versus Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents since the program returned prior to the 2003 season.
Southeastern will play its first five games away from home. Next Saturday, SLU travels to Central Connecticut State with kickoff set for 11 a.m. (CDT) to close out nonconference play.
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2021-22 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
