Lions Look to Stay Hot: No. 19 Southeastern vs Houston Christian University Pre-Game Report

Drake LeBlanc • October 23, 2025

The Game

After back-to-back shutouts, the No. 19 Southeastern Lions (5–2, 3–0 SLC) travel to Houston to face the Houston Christian Huskies (2–5, 1–2 SLC) in what could be a pivotal matchup in the Southland Conference race. The Lions currently sit neck and neck with Stephen F. Austin and Lamar for control of the conference and an automatic FCS playoff bid. Many believe the Southland could be a two-bid league this year, making every game from here out crucial, and every bit of fan support essential, as the Lions push toward the final stretch of this season. There are two more home games against ETAMU and Nicholls this year.


As Coach Frank Scelfo said this week, “I know this, playing in our conference week in and week out, you’ve got to bring your best game. You can’t just think it’s going to happen. You’ve got to play well.” That mentality has defined this team’s recent run and will be vital as they try to maintain control of their postseason destiny.


In a fan poll I conducted this week on X (@LionUpLeBlanc), 45% of voters predicted a third straight shutout for the Lions, while 36% expected a decisive win that fell just short of a shutout. Only 18% thought the game would be close, and not a single vote went to an HCU upset. The fanbase has made it clear: confidence in this team is at an all-time high.

The Season So Far

Southeastern is currently playing its best football of the year. After a commanding 49–0 homecoming win over Northwestern State, the Lions’ 15th straight victory over the Demons, the Green and Gold are riding a wave of momentum. In last week's game the offense looked balanced, putting up 220 passing yards and 182 rushing yards. Special teams produced a touchdown on an 83-yard kickoff return from Brandon Hayes and a blocked punt by Brant Monistere. Defensively, the Lions have not allowed a single point in the last two contests, shutting out McNeese and Northwestern State in consecutive weeks.


This dominant stretch has granted Southeastern respect on the national level, climbing to No. 19 in the AFCA Coach's Poll after being ranked No. 22 the previous week. Coach Scelfo’s squad is clicking in all three phases of the game, and they’ll look to carry that same energy into Houston.

The Houston Christian Story

The Huskies come into this game at 2–5 overall and 1–2 in Southland play, fresh off a 27-0 Loss to McNeese, the same Cowboys team Southeastern blanked 38–0 earlier this month. Offensively, HCU has struggled to find rhythm. Coach Scelfo mentioned in his weekly press conference that the Huskies are “turning the ball over a little bit too much right now and giving up a lot of sacks,” these issues have kept them from becoming an effective offensive team.


Despite the growing pains, Houston Christian has shown flashes of competitiveness in conference play and continues to play hard under second-year head coach Jason Bachtel. They’ve been more dangerous at home than on the road, so the Lions can’t afford to look past this one.


On the defensive side, HCU has mixed things up schematically, which could test Southeastern’s offensive line. Coach Scelfo noted that the Huskies’ defense will be showing a mixture of different schemes and fronts that could prove challenging for the Lions’ offensive line to pick up. Still, this is a mature group up front with two seniors, a junior, and two sophomores. I have full confidence they’ll adapt quickly as they’ve done all season.

Predictions

This game feels like another opportunity for the Lions to show just how complete of a team they are. The defense is suffocating teams, the offense is spreading the ball effectively, and special teams are producing highlight moments. While a third straight shutout would be remarkable, and 45% of fans are betting on it,  I think HCU finds a way to sneak a field goal or two on their home turf.

Final Prediction:

Southeastern 41 – Houston Christian 6

Another dominant showing keeps the Lions undefeated in Southland play and one step closer to a playoff berth.

Where to find me?

 X: @LionUpLeBlanc
You can also see me on the weekly Louisiana Gameday show, previewing all the College Football in Louisiana!

LION UP!



Quotes attributed to Head Coach Frank Scelfo were sourced via Southeastern Sports Network’s official X account (@LionUpNetwork).


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Lawsuit on LA Tech Delays Release of 2026 Sun Belt Football Schedule

By Abdul Abusada • March 3, 2026
By this time in very early March, all Sun Belt Conference teams, including Louisiana and ULM, are usually made aware of their upcoming season's full football schedule. The Sun Belt typically has its football schedule out by March 1st, allowing teams and supporters alike to find out who, where, and when they will play come football season. This year, however, things are looking a little different, as we may not see a definite 2026 Sun Belt football schedule for a few more weeks, if not months. How much sooner we will get it all falls in the hands of the outcome of an ongoing lawsuit. As you might recall, Texas State officially announced that they would leave the Sun Belt for the Pac-12 on June 30, 2025, a move that would take place on July 1, 2026. This meant that the 2025-2026 athletic year was Texas State's final journey in the SBC. When it's all said and done, this means that the conference would need to find a new 14th member to avoid dropping to 13 members come the 2026-2027 athletic year. A couple of weeks later, the conference officially announced on July 15, 2025, that Louisiana Tech would be filling the void left by Texas State. The problem to be determined, however, was whether LA Tech would be able to join in 2026 or 2027. Joining in 2026 would make this an easy transition for the SBC, keeping them at 14 members with no gaps. But a delay to 2027 would mean the conference gets stuck at 13 teams for the 2026-2027 athletic year, and right now, the there is a potential that this could be the case. Louisiana Tech, of course, wants to get this move done sooner rather than later. So, the school wants to join in 2026, and the Sun Belt doesn't suffer a gap year. A win-win for both, so what's the hold up? Not too long after the announcements went public, Conference USA, the conference in which LA Tech has been a member of since 2013, filed a lawsuit against the University of Louisiana System (which oversees Louisiana Tech). They accused the school and the system of violating Louisiana public records tied to the school leaving for the Sun Belt Conference. CUSA claims that a letter written on May 27, 2025, by Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson, which referenced the school's move to the Sun Belt, suggested LA Tech made the decision to leave the CUSA earlier than its official notice on July 14th, which came after the conference's June 27 revenue distribution. Under Conference USA bylaws, schools that notify withdrawal after the payout can keep that year's (2025-2026) distribution but must forfeit the next two. However, the actual timeline challenges this claim, suggesting the date of the letter was incorrect by clerical error. As mentioned above, the Sun Belt's void that Louisiana Tech ended up filling did not actually exist until June 30th when Texas State officially announced its departure, and SBC officials didn't vote on the move to bring in Louisiana Tech until mid-July, after which they sent a formal invitation for the school to join. Thus, there is no logical explanation as to why Louisiana Tech would have a letter written in May about the school moving over to the Sun Belt. CUSA also accused the school of improperly withholding documents from an August public records, though the school had already provided major materials including the Sun Belt agreement. Louisiana Tech University has denied any wrongdoing, stating that they have complied with both conference bylaws and state law. With the lawsuit still ongoing and a timeline not established, it has put the Sun Belt Conference and its teams in a bind, and could mean waiting a few more weeks, if not months, until seeing a definite finalized schedule. While the conference could put out a schedule which either does or does not include Louisiana Tech, it does not want to take the risk of having to change it all up if the result of the lawsuit changes those plans. Even if the Sun Belt were to release a schedule now, it would not be definite until the lawsuit is over and an outcome is obtained. It is also important to keep in mind that the Sun Belt Conference is the last remaining Division-I conference with divisions. With the conference currently (including Texas State) at 14 members, it has them separated equally into two geographical East/West divisions. With Texas State's departure bringing the West down to 6 teams, Louisiana Tech is supposed to be the filler to that. But the conference could be forced to ditch the unique divisional setup if Louisiana Tech cannot join in 2026, as the conference would be at an odd number of teams. The Sun Belt currently utilizes the East/West divisional setup to determine who makes the Sun Belt Conference Championship, with the winner of each division taking the honors of doing so. Other conferences like the Mid-American Conference and Mountain West Conference are also facing similar delayed schedule releasing situations due to conference realignments, but the Sun Belt Conference (and Conference USA) are the two where uncertainty still boils. For now, our three Louisiana schools (Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs) will have to wait a little longer to find out their 12-game schedule for the 2026 football season.

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 2025 Week 18 Recap

By Greyson Jenkins • January 4, 2026
New Orleans Saints 17 - 19 Atlanta Falcons The Saints' season is officially over. As sad as it is to say that, this season ended on a much more positive note than I expected, and has me actually looking forward to the offseason, not dreading it. The defense finished on a positive note, Tyler Shough is definitely the guy for at least the next few seasons, and Kellen Moore improved over the second half of the year. If the season finished how we expected prior to Shough saving the team, this offseason would be much more bleak in appearance. This is supposed to be a week 18 recap, but why recap a game no one really had any expectations for or cared about? No one, not even us Saints fans or analysts, really expected Shough to be able to do much with this offensive group, and he couldn’t really. Sure, he made a few really good plays, but you could tell Kellen Moore was struggling to find plays that he felt confident running with the receivers, and I don’t view that as a negative, just a bad scenario for everyone. Because of this, I am not going to write this really as a week 18 recap, but more as a short preview of this offseason. Chase Young Chase Young has made it clear that he is the best young player on this Saints team. Maybe you could swap him out with Chris Olave, but I struggle to overlook his incredible performances and constant clutch play in big moments to close out the year. He finished this game with one and a half sacks and three tackles for losses, but should have even had one more sack and a forced fumble on his stat sheet. Mickey Loomis seemingly has gotten away with the deal of a lifetime, sorry Loomis haters, by signing Young to a three-year deal for only $17 million per year on average. That is more than $10 million less than what the top 10 defensive end salaries are on a per-year basis, and Young has 10 sacks in 12 games played. While watching this one, I texted my buddies and said that Young is a top 10 EDGE in the league at this point, but they disagree. Although he may not be right now, Chase Young is quickly improving and becoming what everyone expected him to be when he came into the league. If he continues down this path, it would be extremely reasonable for him to try and get a pay raise after next season. Going into this offseason, the Saints must add at least one other piece to the defensive end rotation, so teams are forced to take their focus off of Young and open up the opportunity for even more plays by him. Tyler Shough Tyler Shough did not by any means have a perfect game; he finished 23 of 39 for 259 yards and a touchdown and an interception. However, as I said earlier, I don’t think anyone expected him to with the weapons at his disposal. He led the team down the field multiple times, and a Charlie Smyth missed field goal, and Dante Pettis offensive pass interference made this game appear worse offensively than it was. He made some throws and plays out of scheme that once again added to the current mindset that he is the team’s future, so I am not worried about the interception that came late in the fourth quarter on the tenth or so double slant pattern of the game. However, I will say that Shough’s ability to make things work at times with this battered of a weapon room is impressive in itself, and means that if the team decides to go and get him weapons in the draft or free agency, he can be even more successful. I’d really like the Saints to leave the draft with one of the following: Jeremiyah Love, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, or Elijah Sarratt. If they do that, I think this offense alongside Shough would be extremely fun to watch next season. The Defense The Saints' defense finished the season without allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown since Week 11 against the Falcons. Yes, week 11. Although I felt the defense started off pretty rough, the second half of the season was a true testament to Brandon Staley’s abilities as a defensive coordinator. The Saints' defense improved this season in both total scoring and yardage allowed in comparison to last season, at 17th and 9th, respectively, before this game. They played another great game here with what should have been two turnovers if it weren’t for a bad call by the refs on the Chase Young strip-sack. Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker both have been massive additions to this side of the ball, and Danny Stutsman appears to have the potential to be good whenever Werner or Davis leave. If the Saints decide to run it back with this same defense and bring back the vets, it would not be the worst thing in the world, but I would still like to see them bring in more young talent. Closing Time This season was my first writing for the team, and I really enjoyed recapping all of the highs and lows of the season and trying to let you guys know exactly how I felt about the team week in, week out. As much as I hate this team missing the playoffs and the season ending today, I’m happy I had this opportunity and look forward to doing the same next season. I may write a few offseason articles, but if not, I will definitely have a few Saints-focused episodes on my YouTube channel, Jenks Island. Until next time, Who Dat!! Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: NONE (Please fire Phil Galiano)
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