HAMMOND, La. – After helping the No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana football team to a 63-7 victory over Incarnate Word, Lion senior quarterback Bryan Bennett was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week in an announcement from the league office on Monday.
 
Bennett, a Granada Hills, California native, received the honor for the first time this season and the third time in his career. Bennett is the third Lion to claim Southland accolades this season, joining senior linebacker Isiah Corbett (Sept. 1 and Sept. 15) and senior kicker Ryan Adams (Sept. 8).  
 
Bennett, a Walter Payton Award candidate, engineered a Southeastern offense that tied a season-high with 564 total yards. The Lions set a new single-game school record with seven rushing touchdowns and also rushed for a season-high 337 yards – the third-highest single-game tally in school history.
 
The 63 points were the most ever scored by SLU versus a Southland opponent and tied for the ninth-most points scored in a game in school history. The 56-point margin of victory represented the most lopsided ever versus a league foe and was the 10^th-biggest rout ever by the program.
 
Bennett played a large part in that success, accounting for 301 total yards of offense and four touchdowns in a little over a half of play. In addition to rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns, Bennett threw for 212 yards and connected with senior Devante Scott and junior Jeff Smiley for touchdowns.
 
Through five games, Bennett leads the team with 260 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, having scored a touchdown on the ground in every game this season. Through the air, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year has thrown for 1,160 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
Bennett and the Lions (3-2, 1-0 Southland) will be back home on Saturday, hosting Northwestern State at 3 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on the Southland Television Network (WUPL – Charter Channel 16 in the Hammond area). The contest will also be broadcast live in the Hammond area on the flagship station of Southeastern Football, KSLU-FM (90.9), as well as affiliates and Northshore Broadcasting stations Kajun 107.1 FM (WHMD) and The Highway 104.7 FM (WJSH).   
 
The game will also see SLU and Raising Cane's partner to support the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center's Geaux Pink initiative. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game. The first 200 students will receive free t-shirts and Impaired Faculties – a band made up of SLU faculty - will provided entertainment from 12-2 p.m. in Friendship Circle.