No. 8 Southeastern (6-1, 4-0 SLC) vs. McNeese (3-4, 2-2 SLC)
Oct. 30, 2021 | 6 p.m. | Strawberry Stadium | Hammond, La.
Series History: McNeese leads, 25-22
Last Meeting: Southeastern 38, McNeese 35 (October 2, 2021 | Lake Charles, La.)
Television: ESPN3
            Announcers: Jace Lejeune, Lonn Ellzey and Caroline Fussell
Radio: Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM
            Announcers: Mark Willoughby, Robbie Rhodes and Allen Waddell
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | SLU Game Notes | McNeese Game Notes | Southland Game Notes

HAMMOND, La. –  The No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana football team returns home on Saturday, hosting Southland Conference foe McNeese at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
 
The game between the Lions (6-1, 4-0 Southland) and the visiting Cowboys (3-4, 2-2 Southland) will be televised on ESPN3, while also being heard in the Hammond area on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM, as well as online at www.kajun107.net. Fans are encouraged to wear Green, as part of the "Wear Green, Eat Gold" promotion sponsored by McDonald's.
 
Southeastern enters Saturday's game on a five-game winning streak. The Lions, off to their best Southland start since 2014 and boasting their best overall mark through seven games since 1980, moved up a spot to No. 8 in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches FCS Top 25 polls after a 51-14 victory at Northwestern State. The Lions' 10th straight win over the Demons featured SLU's largest margin of victory in the history of the 65-game series.
 
Southeastern erased an early 7-0 deficit and scored 51 consecutive points, racking up 621 total yards of offense in the win over NSU. Senior quarterback and reigning Walter Payton Award winner Cole Kelley connected with 11 different receivers, collecting 347 passing yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-32 passing.
 
Kelley found Nolan Givan, Ivan Drobocky and Jahmon McClendon on touchdown throws, while Gage Larvadain hauled in an 88-yard touchdown pass from Cephus Johnson III. Kelley and Jessie Britt each scored rushing touchdowns in the win.
 
Ranking in the top three nationally in eight different categories, SLU is averaging 576.9 yards and 50.7 points per contest this season. Protected by an offensive line that has yielded the second-fewest tackles for loss in the nation, Kelley, the national leader in completion percentage, points responsible for and total offense, has thrown for 2,742 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions on 210-for-290 passing. Kelley also leads Southeastern with eight rushing touchdowns, while teammates Taron Jones (four), Johnson III (three) and Britt (two) have also scored multiple touchdowns on the ground.
 
A total of 16 different receivers have caught passes with 10 having caught touchdowns. Austin Mitchell (41 catches, 590 yards, 6 TD) and Givan (30-291-2 TD) have been SLU's most prolific receivers. CJ Turner (five), Nick Kovacs (three), Larvadain (three), Tim Wilson Jr. (two), Johnson III (two) and Drobocky (two) all have multiple scoring receptions. Mitchell is second in program history and fifth among active FCS players with 2,555 career receiving yards - 225 shy of the SLU all-time record.
 
The Lion defense limited NSU in Saturday's win and the effort was keyed by a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by Justin Dumas and Zy Alexander's team-high third interception of the year. Alphonso Taylor and Brandon Barbee shared team-high honors with seven tackles.
 
Opponents are averaging 29.1 points and 389.1 yards per game versus the Lions. Alexis Ramos leads the team with 43 tackles, followed by Taylor (33), Herman Christophe (27), Donniel Ward-Magee (22), Mike Mason (21) and Matt Wright (21).
 
Southeastern enters Saturday's contest ranked fourth nationally with 12 interceptions and third in FCS with three defensive touchdowns. Alexander leads the way on the team's interception leaderboard, while Dumas and Taylor have two apiece. Barbee, Jack Henderson, Ferlando Jordan, Justin Douglas and Terrell Carter also have interceptions for the Lions.
 
On special teams, Larvadain carries the No. 2 kickoff return average in FCS at 32.7 yards per kickoff return. Mateo Rengifo is a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, while Austin Dunlap is averaging 42.7 yards per punt.
 
Saturday's game will be a matchup of the two hottest teams in the Southland Conference, as McNeese is coming off wins over Northwestern State and then-No. 16 UIW. The 28-20 win over the Cardinals allowed the Cowboys to claim Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week honors and gave McNeese its 200th Southland Conference win.
 
Quarterback Cody Orgeron (110-for-181, 1,316 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT) is the leader of a McNeese offense that is averaging 24.6 points and 313.6 yards per game. Josh Matthews (25 catches, 308 yards, 3 TD) and Mason Pierce (18-238-3 TD) are Orgeron's top targets in the passing game, while Stephon Huderson (308 yards, 3 TD) and Deonta McMahon (216-3 TD) pace the Cowboy ground attack.
 
Opponents are averaging 411.7 yards and 29.4 points per outing versus the McNeese defense. All-American Isaiah Chambers leads the way with 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, while Kordell Williams has tallied a team-high 67 tackles.
 
Saturday will be the second meeting between the Lions and Cowboys this season.  Back on Oct. 2 in Lake Charles, SLU held off a late rally by the Cowboys for a 38-35 victory.
 
Southeastern will close out its regular season road schedule next Saturday, traveling to No. 22 UIW for a 2 p.m. contest in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be televised on ESPN3, while also being heard in the Hammond area on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM, as well as online at www.kajun107.net..
 
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.