Southeastern ranked 13th, 14th in FCS national polls

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team continued to be featured in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 polls which were released Monday.

The Lions (7-2, 5-1 Southland) dropped to No. 13 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Top 25 and No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 after coming up on the wrong end of a 55-52 shootout at then-No. 22 UIW on Saturday. The Cardinals climbed to No. 17 in the Stats Perform poll and No. 21 in the AFCA Coaches poll.

Prior to Saturday’s game, nine FCS quarterbacks had thrown for 600 or more yards in a game. Both Southeastern’s Cole Kelley (647 yards) and UIW’s Cameron Ward (610 yards) eclipsed the mark on Saturday in a back-and-forth affair that featured nearly 1,500 combined yards of total offense.

Kelley’s valiant effort was one for the record books in Saturday’s loss. The reigning Walter Payton Award winner threw for three touchdowns and completed 50-of-68 throws, while also rushing 18 times for 50 yards and three touchdowns. His single-game totals for total offense (697, 2nd), passing yards (4th) and completions (5th) were all among the best performances in FCS history. The Lions finished with a single-game school record 44 first downs and 774 total yards.

Austin Mitchell (nine catches, 169 yards, one touchdown), Gage Larvadain (12-115-1 TD) and Nolan Givan (9-87-1 TD) were Kelley’s top targets at UIW. Mitchell’s yardage total was the ninth-highest in school history, while Larvadain posted the most receptions by a Lion since 2009. With his performance on Saturday, Mitchell passed Southeastern Athletics Hall of Famer Simmie Yarborough as the program’s career receiving yardage leader with 2,831 career receiving yards.

With Kelley protected by a dominant offensive line and armed with a plethora of weapons in the passing game, Southeastern leads the nation in total offense (576.3 ypg), completion percentage (72.5) and first downs (279), while also ranking among the FCS top 10 in third-down conversion percentage (54.5, 2nd), fourth-down conversion percentage (75.0, 6th), passing offense (417.2 ypg, 2nd), red zone offense (90.9, 8th) scoring offense (47.8 ppg, 2nd), tackles for loss allowed (3.22 per game, 2nd), team passing efficiency (175.76, 4th) and time of possession (33:43, 8th).

Zy Alexander intercepted a pass for the third straight game on Saturday, running his league-high total to five interceptions – good for fifth in FCS. The Lion defense ranks third nationally with 14 interceptions, sixth with three defensive touchdowns and 10th in both red zone defense (66.7) and turnovers gained (19).

Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and can be 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.

The SLU-NSU game will also be the Hall of Fame game. Both the 2020 class of Matt Carvell (golf), Maiya Cooper (soccer), Brock Hebert (baseball) and Adonson Shallow (track and field), as well as the 2021 class of Jameson Fisher (baseball), Harry Nunez (football) and Renee Villarreal (tennis) will be inducted in a private ceremony prior to the game and recognized at halftime.

Stats Perform FCS Top 25
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. Sam Houston (50) 8-0 1,250 1
2. James Madison 8-1 1,180 3
3. Montana State 8-1 1,168 4
4. South Dakota State 7-2 1,045 9
5. North Dakota State 8-1 1,015 2
6. UC Davis 8-1 1,005 8
7. Eastern Washington 7-2 889 5
8. Villanova 7-2 872 10
9. Montana 7-2 799 11
10. Kennesaw State 8-1 778 12
11. ETSU 8-1 723 14
12. Sacramento State 7-2 624 16
13. UT Martin 8-1 622 15
14. Southeastern 7-2 613 6
15. Southern Illinois 6-3 603 7
16. Missouri State 6-3 596 17
17. UIW 7-2 516 22
18. Jackson State 8-1 385 19
19. South Dakota 6-3 338 23
20. Northern Iowa 5-4 257 13
21. VMI 6-3 173 18
T22. Chattanooga 6-3 160 NR
T22. Dartmouth 7-1 160 NR
24. Prairie View A&M 7-1 109 NR
25. William & Mary 6-3 79 T20

Others Receiving Votes: Mercer 58, Stephen F. Austin 54, Princeton 50, Florida A&M 46, Rhode Island 33, Eastern Kentucky 15, Delaware 8, Monmouth 7, Nicholls 7, Harvard 5, Holy Cross 3.

AFCS FCS Coaches Top 25
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. Sam Houston (28) 8-0 700 1
2. James Madison 8-1 668 3
3. Montana State 8-1 631 4
4. UC Davis 8-1 561 7
5. Kennesaw State 8-1 539 8
6. North Dakota State 8-1 532 2
7. South Dakota State 7-2 525 12
8. Eastern Washington 7-2 498 5
9. Montana 7-2 489 10
10. UT Martin 8-1 464 11
11. Villanova 7-2 435 13
12. ETSU 8-1 391 14
13. Southeastern 7-2 373 6
14. Missouri State 6-3 333 20
15. Jackson State 8-1 272 17
16. Southern Illinois 6-3 258 9
17. South Dakota 6-3 247 21
18. Sacramento State 7-2 217 22
19. Chattanooga 6-3 147 25
20. VMI 6-3 112 18
21. UIW 7-2 105 NR
22. Princeton 7-2 88 16
23. Dartmouth 7-1 77 NR
24. Northern Iowa 5-4 69 15
25. Eastern Kentucky 6-3 51 19

Others Receiving Votes: Stephen F. Austin 38, Monmouth 36, Delaware 35, William & Mary 34, Mercer 32, Prairie View 32, Florida A&M 29, Holy Cross 22, Harvard 15, Davidson 8, Nicholls 8, Central Arkansas 7, Rhode Island 5, Yale 3.