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LSU All-American running back Leonard Fournetteplans to bypass his senior season and enter the upcoming NFL draft.
The junior running back announced his decision on Monday.
“I will be declaring for the 2017 NFL draft after our bowl game,” Fournette wrote in a note to fans on Twitter. “I make this announcement now so that there will not be speculation and distractions while we prepare. I want everyone to know that I will forever treasure my experience as a Tiger.”
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]]>– Matthew Stafford passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns, and the Detroit Lions beat the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints, 28-13 on Sunday.
Golden Tate exploited a coverage breakdown on third-and-long for a 66-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Detroit (8-4) was clinging to a six-point lead. The Lions, who’ve won seven of eight, dominated statistically, but four opportunities inside the New Orleans 20 ended with Matt Prater field goals, allowing the Saints (5-7) to stay close until the fourth quarter.
This time, however, the Lions pulled away for their most comfortable victory of the season after seven previous victory margins of one to seven points.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=400874717
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]]>The #20 LSU Tigers (7-4, 5-3 SEC) will play the #13 Louisville Cardinals (9-3, 7-1 ACC) in this year’s Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl. This exciting matchup kicks off on Saturday, December 31st at 11 a.m. at Camping World Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
https://www.buffalowildwingscitrusbowl.com/lsu-to-meet-louisville-in-buffalo-wild-wings-citrus-bowl/
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]]>The 2016 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will feature Louisiana Tech facing off against the U.S. Naval Academy.
In 2013, the Armed Forces Bowl became the first game to have hosted all three service academies. These include four appearances by the United States Air Force Academy (2007 vs. Cal, 2008 and 2009 vs. Houston and 2012 vs. Rice), the United States Military Academy (2010 vs. SMU) and the United States Naval Academy (2013 vs. Middle Tennessee)
http://www.armedforcesbowl.com/our-game/the-matchup
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]]>State Championship Schedule:
Friday at 4:30 – Logansport v Haynesville
Friday at 7:00 – Sterlington v Madison Prep
Saturday at noon – Amite v Lutcher
Saturday at 3:30 – Neville v Karr
Saturday at 7:00 – WM v Landry-Walker
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Martez Carter rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown and used a dominant second half to help Grambling State overcome a 17-point halftime deficit and Alcorn State 27-20 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday at NRG Stadium.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400927183
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]]>Elijah McGuire ran for 110 yards and a touchdown, and Louisiana-Lafayette returned two fumbles for scores to beat Louisiana-Monroe 30-3 in the rain on Saturday.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference) have won four of their last six games and are bowl eligible for the fifth time in six seasons.
Savion Brown intercepted Caleb Evans‘ pass on the Warhawks’ first play from scrimmage, and McGuire bullied in from the 1-yard line eight plays later.
In the second quarter, Trev Miller recovered a fumble and ran 73 yards into the end zone, and Otha Peter returned another fumble 29 yards for a score. Stevie Artigue‘s 26-yard field goal stretched the Ragin’ Cajuns lead to 24-3 at halftime.
Artigue kicked 35 and 37-yard field goals in the third quarter.
Evans was 3 of 14 for 31 yards passing and threw two interceptions. Austin Vaughn ran for 61 yards for the Warhawks (4-8, 3-5).
http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400869858
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In a rematch of the highest scoring game in Conference USA this season, Louisiana Tech and WKU lived up to the hype in the 2016 Dynacraft Conference USA Football Championship Game, which the Hilltoppers defeated the Bulldogs, 58-44, Saturday at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.
Louisiana Tech (8-5) and WKU (10-3) combined for 1,163 yards in another classic shootout between the two teams in what was the highest-scoring Conference USA Championship Game in league history and the highest-scoring conference championship game all-time for any FBS conference..
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The predicted wet weather that will be coming through the Monroe area on Friday night and Saturday has affected the ULM Athletic Department’s scheduled game day events coinciding with Saturday’s Warhawk football game.
Multiple planned events have been canceled due to the weather, including the scheduled United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon performance and the pregame game ball delivery, while other activities surrounding the day may also be altered based off of Saturday’s forecast.
The game will still be both Military Day and Senior Day for the Warhawks – all retired and active duty military personnel will receive complementary tickets. ULM will also honor its 14-member senior class in a pregame ceremony beginning at approximately 1:30 p.m. inside JPS Field at Malone Stadium
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]]>Any number of statistical oddities can occur in a single game, but for the most part, a season’s worth of data will not lie. With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at the Oct. 6 meeting between Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky – a 55-52 win for the Bulldogs – and see what we can expect in Saturday’s rematch for the conference title.
Let’s start with what we all remember: Carlos Henderson’s 8-catch, 232-yard, 3-touchdown explosion in that game. One would think a performance of that level won’t be replicated, but there may not be as much of a regression as you think: Western Kentucky has a history of letting good C-USA receivers go for more than their season average. Middle Tennessee State’s Richie James averages 121 yards per game but went for 223 on Western Kentucky; Old Dominion’s Zach Pascal averages 74 yards per game and 14 yards per catch, but went for 93 yards and 23 yards per catch on the Hilltoppers.
Takeaway: Carlos Henderson probably won’t go for 232 yards and three scores again, but that doesn’t mean he – and maybe Trent Taylor, as well – won’t have fantastic games, at least over 100 yards and a score.
Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White completed 72 percent of his passes in the regular season meeting – 36-50 – which sounds really high, but in actuality it’s only slightly higher than his completion percentage for the season (67.3, 239-355). When the competition gets better, so does White: against FBS teams with a winning record (White has had four such games this year), he is completing 70.5 percent of his passes, ranking fourth in the nation.
Takeaway: White was really good against Tech – and none of that mentioned his five touchdowns with no interceptions in that game – but the stats don’t suggest he’s due for a regression.
One could look at Western Kentucky’s 87 rushing yards and Louisiana Tech’s 107 yards and roll their eyes at the incapable run games (I admit, I did so), but the numbers don’t shame those performances. Both teams averaged around 3.8 yards per carry in that game, give or take a fraction of a yard, which is right around the middle of the pack in terms of national average against FBS teams with winning records. Those numbers are a little better than average for those defenses, but still hover near the average: in rushing yards allowed per game against FBS opponents with winning records, Western Kentucky gives up 117.25 and Louisiana Tech gives up 130.
Takeaway: Western Kentucky may crack the 100-yard barrier in rushing yards this time around (as it does on average, running for roughly 120 yards per game against FBS teams with winning records), but the numbers don’t suggest either team is due for a significant increase or decrease in rushing production in the rematch.
Neither QB threw an interception, Louisiana Tech didn’t fumble and Western Kentucky fumbled four times, losing two of them to make for a -2 turnover margin for the Hilltoppers. Finally, we have something that appears to be a statistical anomaly: Western Kentucky has a +2 turnover margin on the year where Louisiana Tech is at -1. (SB Nation’s Bill Connelly’s metrics have the Hilltoppers as a lucky team in the turnover department, with what he deems as turnover luck netting the Hilltoppers a point per game.)
Takeaway: If you’re of the opinion that being +2 in the turnover battle was the reason Louisiana Tech won this game in the regular season, you have reason to fear this rematch.
One more number that isn’t becoming of Louisiana Tech’s chances: Western Kentucky blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the regular season meeting. That may seem like a fluke that likely won’t repeat itself, but the Hilltoppers have been making big plays in the punt return game all year long. They rank second in the nation in yards per punt return, just shy of 18, and are one of just four teams in the nation to have returned more than two punts for touchdowns this year (joining Alabama, Akron and Texas A&M).
Takeaway: Punting the ball to Western Kentucky is a dangerous prospect: not only because you’re putting a potent offense back on the field, but there’s no guarantee that punt return unit allows the offense to regain the ball.
Brett Hudson ESPN 97.7FM
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