Let the Playoffs Begin!

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BEAUMONT, Texas – When the Lamar University football steps on the field at the UNI Dome Saturday afternoon it will be a historical moment for the program. In fact, everything that happens Saturday will be historical as the Cardinals (7-4/3^rdplace in the Southland) will be making their first ever appearance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The Cardinals opponent – Northern Iowa – enters the postseason from the exact opposite end of the spectrum. UNI (6-5/3^rd place in the Missouri Valley) is making its 20^th playoff appearance all-time.

The Cardinals may be the brightest storyline of the 2018 college football season. LU opened 2018 as a preseason 10^th pick in the 11-team Southland Conference. Very little was expected of the Cardinals entering the year. Even less was expected of the team after a 1-4 start. Dealing with numerous injuries and coming off a 23-point loss at nationally ranked Nicholls the Cardinals were simply searching for their second Division I win in their last 17 games. That win would come the following week in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Playing undefeated Incarnate Word – the eventual conference co-champion – the game was tied with 12 seconds left as UIW lined up for what appeared to the be the game-winning kick. After three timeouts, the LU defense lined up and timed the snap perfectly as senior Lane Taylor came knifing through the line to block the kick. It was recovered and returned by Caleb Abrom for the score. The dramatic play made the ESPN Top 10 and seemingly gave the Cardinals the boost they were looking for. The thrilling win was the first of six straight as LU became one of the hottest teams in the country.

Even when things didn’t go right for the Cardinals, LU somehow figured out how to turn adversity into a positive. The best example of this came against nationally ranked Sam Houston State. In the midst of pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season, senior quarterback Darrel Colbert, Sr. was hurt scrambling for a touchdown early in the second half. LU managed to hold on for the upset but what happened in the games to follow was even more impressive. LU head coach Mike Schultz inserted junior Jordan Hoy into the lineup and he simply led LU to three consecutive wins, including the program’s first-ever win at nationally ranked Central Arkansas. In addition, Hoy was named SLC Offensive Player of the Week in his first two starts and recorded the best single-game rushing performance by a quarterback in program history.

The Cardinals closed out the season with one final upset – over rival (No. 22) McNeese – in Lake Charles. It was just the 10^th time in program history LU had knocked off the Cowboys and the first time the Cards had won three straight against top 25 opponents (Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas and McNeese). But even with all of that, the coaches and players still didn’t know if they had done enough to be selected for the NCAA FCS Playoff. Although the team had done everything that was asked of them after a 1-4 start, no one knew if it was enough. Most of the players in the Dauphin Athletics Complex last Sunday were shocked the moment “Lamar University” was announced during the selection show – for everyone it was pure exhilaration.

For a senior a class that was given charge of leading a team with little expectation and no respect, they will have another opportunity to leave a lasting impression for future classes, but to do that they will have to go through an extremely tough UNI squad.

The contrast between these two teams goes deeper than each school’s postseason history. The Cardinals bring with them one of the nation’s top ground attacks, but UNI’s defense has been built to stop the run. The Panthers are ranked 28^th nationally surrendering just 132 rush yards per game, while Big Red is 12^th nationally averaging better than 250 yards on the ground.

Big Red and Northern Iowa have met one other time in series history and that game was a postseason affair as well. The only other meeting came during the 1964 season when then Lamar Tech squared off against the State College of Iowa in the Pecan Bowl. The Panthers won that one in a close, 19-17, decision.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 4 p.m. from the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Fans can catch all the action live from several different venues. The game will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and will be streamed live on ESPN3. The game has been added to the ESPN College Extra schedule which will also be televised on DirecTV Ch. 790. For those looking to watch the game with other LU fans, there will be a watch party at the Buffalo Wild Wings on Dowlen. Fans can also see the team off as they board the busses headed for the airport at 12:30 p.m. Friday from the Dauphin Athletics Complex.

 

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