Southeastern heads into conference play among four Southland teams ranked in both FCS polls

HAMMOND, La. – Though the Southeastern Louisiana football team’s upset bid at Ole Miss fell just short, the Lions remained ranked in both the latest STATS FCS and AFCA Coaches polls on Monday.

Southeastern (1-1) went into the fourth quarter trailing, 34-29, to the Rebels last Saturday. Ole Miss clinched the game with a pair of fourth-quarter field goals to hold off the Lion rally.

The Lions are up to No. 21 in the STATS FCS poll. SLU is one of three Southland schools in the top 25, along with No. 13 Nicholls and No. 14 Central Arkansas. League foes McNeese, Sam Houston State, Lamar, Houston Baptist and UIW are all receiving votes.

Southeastern moved up a spot to No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches poll. No. 9 Nicholls and No. 12 UCA also represent the league, while Southland schools Sam Houston State, HBU and McNeese are receiving votes.

Up Next
Southeastern will return home to open Southland Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 21, hosting Lamar at 7 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will air on ESPN+. It also can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM WFPR), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps.

The SLU-Lamar game will also double as the annual Hall of Fame Game. The 2019 Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame class of Bryan Bennett (football), Stefan Lopez (baseball), Karin Smith Gadberry (softball) and Simmie Yarborough (football) will be inducted in a private ceremony earlier in the day and recognized at halftime of the Lions-Cardinals contest.

It will also be Solid Gold Saturday in Strawberry Stadium. Fans are encouraged to wear gold and the first 500 fans will receive free gold t-shirts courtesy of McDonald’s and Southeastern Athletics.

The annual Family Day promotion in conjunction with The Office of Student Engagement will happen before the game with exclusive perks. Visit http://www.southeastern.edu/admin/lead_dev/dsala/family_day/index.html for more Family Day information.

STATS FCS Top 25
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. North Dakota State (150) 3-0 3,941 1
2. James Madison (8) 2-1 3,747 2
3. South Dakota State 2-1 3,653 3
4. UC Davis 2-1 3,352 5
5. Towson 3-0 3,296 8
6. Weber State 1-2 2,848 6
7. Kennesaw State 2-1 2,757 9
8. Montana State 2-1 2,536 10
9. Northern Iowa 1-1 2,287 11
10. Jacksonville State 2-1 2,285 17
11. Eastern Washington 1-2 2,284 4
12. Maine 1-2 2,083 7
13. Nicholls 1-1 2,070 12
14. Central Arkansas 3-0 1960 14
15. Illinois State 2-1 1950 13
16. North Carolina A&T 2-1 1540 15
17. Furman 1-2 1,464 16
18. Villanova 3-0 1,293 22
19. Montana 2-1 983 20
20. Delaware 2-1 912 18
21. Southeastern Louisiana 1-1 882 23
22. Elon 2-1 689 25
23. Southeast Missouri State 1-2 570 19
24. Youngstown State 3-0 497 NR
25. Citadel 1-2 221 NR
Others receiving votes: Princeton 220, Stony Brook 154, South Carolina State 118, Indiana State 110, Dartmouth 74, McNeese 67, Wofford 67, Sam Houston State 61, North Dakota 56, Northern Arizona 53, Southern Illinois 49, Yale 39, Dayton 38, Sacramento State 33, Monmouth 33, Lamar 16, Duquesne 12, Chattanooga 11, Austin Peay 8, Cal Poly 7, Eastern Kentucky 4, Alcorn State 4, Houston Baptist 4, ETSU 3, William & Mary 3, Mercer 3, Idaho State 1, Holy Cross 1, UIW 1.

AFCA FCS Coaches Poll
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. North Dakota State (26) 3-0 650 1
2. James Madison 2-1 621 2
3. South Dakota State 2-1 593 3
4. UC Davis 2-1 570 4
5. Towson 3-0 521 8
6. Kennesaw State 2-1 511 7
7. Weber State 1-2 450 6
8. Northern Iowa 1-1 449 10
9. Nicholls 1-1 396 11
10. Illinois State 2-1 370 12
11. Eastern Washington 1-2 367 5
12. Central Arkansas 3-0 359 14
13. Jacksonville State 2-1 358 16
14. Montana State 2-1 340 15
15. Furman 1-2 281 13
16. Maine 1-2 269 9
17. North Carolina A&T 2-1 230 17
18. Villanova 3-0 215 23
19. Montana 2-1 189 18
20. Delaware 2-1 153 18
21. Youngstown State 3-0 104 NR
22. Elon 2-1 80 NR
23. Southeastern Louisiana 1-1 75 24
24. Princeton 0-0 61 25
25. Southeast Missouri State 1-2 57 20
Others receiving votes: North Dakota 33, Sam Houston State 26, South Carolina State 20, The Citadel 16, Houston Baptist 11, Indiana State 10, Northern Arizona 10, Sacramento State 9, Stony Brook 9, Dayton 7, McNeese 7, William & Mary 7, Mercer 4, Yale 4, Dartmouth 3, Southern Illinois 3, Austin Peay 2.

Southeastern 2019 opponents in bold italics