Saints Pregame: Domecoming vs Falcons

Matt Miguez • October 5, 2026

Twenty years ago, the city of New Orleans was forever changed. The "Rebirth" game when the Superdome reopened after Hurricane Katrina was more than a football game already. However, when Steve Gleason blocked the first punt of the game and it was returned for a touchdown, everyone in the building knew it was over.

Now, we come back to the Caesars Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football to commemorate that beautiful and emotional night.


Tonight will likely be no different, emotionally, as there will be many tributes to celebrate the anniversary.


On the field, the Saints will be looking to respond against their most hated rival, as the Black and Gold fell at home to the Las Vegas Raiders a week ago, committing four turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Saints will need to clean that up and turn some of those drives into points quickly. Chris Olave has been a huge bright spot early on in the season and there's no question that Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough will continue to feed him the ball tonight.


In the running game, Travis Etienne was placed on Injured Reserve earlier this week with a hamstring issue, meaning it will be up to Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller to carry that load. On the other side, Atlanta's offense goes directly through their running back, Bijan Robinson, who is arguably the best back in football. He can bully his way through the defensive front and then pull away in the upper levels, so the Saints will have to find a way to control him.


If the Saints can limit Robinson and continue to play well in the secondary, there could be a lot more celebrating in the Big Easy tonight as the Black and Gold would be tied for the NFC South lead four games into the season.


Injury Report

Saints

Kaden Elliss - Out

Carl Granderson - Out

Anfernee Jennings - Out

Noah Fant - Questionable

Pete Werner - Questionable

Falcons

Yasir Abdullah - Questionable

Divine Deablo - Questionable

Samson Ebukam - Questionable

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By Chrissy Smith • October 5, 2026
BATON ROUGE -- No. 11 LSU did exactly what it was supposed to do Saturday night — and then some. The Tigers dominated McNeese from the opening whistle, rolling to a 63-14 victory inside Tiger Stadium while putting together one of the most productive offensive performances in school history. LSU finished with 731 yards of total offense , the second-most in a single game in program history. The Tigers also ran 101 offensive plays, setting a new school record. For head coach Lane Kiffin, though, the night was about more than piling up points against an FCS opponent. Kiffin Wants LSU Playing Its Standard LSU led 35-0 at halftime and had every reason to take its foot off the gas. Kiffin chose not to. When asked about using a running clock in the second half, Kiffin said LSU needed to continue playing its game. “You play the game and we decide when the game’s over, by the way that we play, and how physical that we play,” Kiffin said. That mentality showed up throughout the night. Even with the game firmly in hand, LSU continued to play with energy and gave plenty of younger players valuable snaps. Kiffin said the number of plays was particularly important because the Tigers will need that depth during the stretch ahead. “A lot of snaps for guys,” Kiffin said. “The goal was to get (that up) to evaluate those guys because they are going to need to play with the injuries we have down the stretch.” Offense Finds Plenty of Contributors Quarterback Sam Leavitt completed 18 of 23 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns, while Corey Barber Jr. caught two touchdown passes. The running game was just as impressive. Harlem Berry rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Stacy Gage added 110 yards and two touchdowns. Five different Tigers — Berry, Dilin Jones, Gage, Landen Clark and freshman defensive tackle Deuce Geralds — scored rushing touchdowns. Geralds' touchdown was particularly memorable. Kiffin joked afterward that he had checked with LSU historian and former Tiger Anthony “Booger” McFarland to determine whether anyone had previously recorded a sack and offensive touchdown in the same game. Kiffin said Geralds now holds the record outright. After a 35-6 victory over Texas A&M last week, LSU has now put together back-to-back dominant performances. The competition gets much tougher from here. But Saturday night showed that LSU has plenty of players capable of making plays — and Kiffin is making sure they understand the standard doesn't change simply because the opponent does. LSU is 4-1 and now turns its attention to Kentucky next Saturday on the road.
By Bobby Autin • October 5, 2026
Colonels turn in a strong home showing at the eighth annual Nicholls XC Invitational
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