HAMMOND, La. – After opening Southland Conference play with a thrilling 41-35 victory over then-No. 4/7 UIW last Saturday, the Southeastern Louisiana University football team returned to the AFCA FCS Coaches and Stats Perform national polls.
Southeastern (2-2, 1-0 SLC) had been ranked for 27 consecutive weeks before briefly dropping out of the top 25 the past two weeks. Saturday’s win – which marked the highest ranked opponent SLU has defeated since 2013 – vaulted the Lions to No. 24 in the AFCA FCS coaches poll and No. 21 in the Stats Perform FCS poll. In addition, Southeastern was named the Athlon Sports FCS Team of the Week.
CJ Turner caught the game-winning 59-yard touchdown pass from Eli Sawyer as time expired to cap the walkoff win. For their efforts, Turner (five catches, 139 yards, two touchdowns), Donte’ Daniels (11 tackles, 1 TFL) and Riley Callaghan (2-2 FG, 4-4 PAT) were named SLC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, earlier Monday.
Southeastern and UIW were the Southland representatives in Monday’s poll. The Cardinals are ranked 12th in the AFCA FCS coaches poll and 11th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
The Lions will continue their home stand Saturday at 6 p.m., hosting Murray State in nonconference action at Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN3 and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM).
Saturday’s contest versus the Racers will also be the Hall of Fame Game. Kevin Fogg (baseball), Harlan Miller (football) and Natalie Santana (soccer) will be honored at halftime of the football game after a private induction ceremony is held earlier in the day.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. North Dakota State (44) 3-1 1,337 1
2. South Dakota State (3) 3-1 1,272 T2
3. Montana (7) 4-0 1,264 T2
4. Montana State 3-1 1,158 T4
5. Sacramento State 3-0 1,142 7
6. Delaware 4-0 1,053 8
7. Missouri State 2-2 943 6
8. Weber State 4-0 942 12
9. Jackson State 4-0 907 11
10. Holy Cross 4-0 837 1311. UIW 3-1 808 T4
12. Chattanooga 3-1 753 10
13. Mercer 3-1 551 17
14. Villanova 2-2 452 9
15. UT Martin 2-2 403 18
16. Samford 3-1 380 21
17. Richmond 3-1 348 22
18. William & Mary 3-1 346 14
19. Southern Illinois 2-2 345 24
20. Eastern Washington 1-2 344 1521. Southeastern 2-2 338 NR
22. Austin Peay 4-1 328 NR
23. Elon 3-1 226 NR
24. Southeast Missouri 3-1 171 NR
25. Eastern Kentucky 2-2 154 16
Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina Central 133, Furman 129, Rhode Island 115, Stephen F. Austin 100, North Dakota 82, Fordham 42, New Hampshire 37, UC Davis 31, Kennesaw State 29, ETSU 20, Idaho 11, Monmouth 8, Youngstown State 3.
AFCA Coaches FCS Top 25Team (First-place votes) Record Points Prv.
1. North Dakota State (24) 3-1 694 1
2. Montana (4) 4-0 672 2
3. South Dakota State 3-1 646 3
4. Montana State 3-1 592 T4
5. Sacramento State 3-0 584 6
6. Delaware 4-0 555 8
7. Weber State 4-0 498 12
8. Jackson State 4-0 490 11
9. Missouri State 2-2 432 T4
10. Chattanooga 3-1 431 9
11. Holy Cross 4-0 408 1312. UIW 3-1 375 7
13. Mercer 3-1 339 16
14. Stephen F. Austin 2-2 244 17
15. Villanova 2-2 221 10
16. Austin Peay 4-1 215 23
17. UT Martin 2-2 213 19
18. Eastern Washington 1-2 184 15
19. Samford 3-1 181 22
20. Fordham 3-1 175 18
21. William & Mary 3-1 168 14
22. Richmond 3-1 155 24
23. Elon 3-1 106 NR24. Southeastern 2-2 78 NR
25. Rhode Island 2-2 71 21
Others Receiving Votes: Southern Illinois 53, Furman 48, Eastern Kentucky 47, Youngstown State 45, North Carolina Central 43, New Hampshire 42, Southeast Missouri 33, Harvard 17, Princeton 11, Davidson 9, East Tennessee State 5, Idaho 5, Tarleton State 4, Florida A&M 3, Monmouth 3, Stetson 2, UC Davis 2, Kennesaw State 1.
2022 SLU opponents in bold italics
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 2022-23 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.
