Cardinals Prepare for Contest in Lions’ Den
Lamar University (5-1/3-0 SLC) survived a late scare but held off UIW Saturday to move into a tie for first place in the Southland Conference standings. Now winners of four straight, the Cardinals will hit the road for a tough test Saturday at Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are currently tied for fifth in the conference standings after dropping a 13-3 decision to UT Rio Grande Valley this past week in Edinburg. The loss snapped and three-game win streak for the Lions. Saturday’s contest is SLU’s lone home game during a stretch that has them on the road for five of six. Saturday’s contest will kick off at 4 p.m. from Strawberry Stadium. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.
LU vs. the Lions
Southeastern Louisiana leads the all-time series between the two schools, 11-6 (.647), a record that includes a 3-6 (.333) Lamar record in Hammond. The Cardinals have found some success in the series lately winning two of the last three contests with the lone setback during that stretch being an overtime game in Beaumont two years ago. The series dates back to the 1967 season.
Hot Start
Lamar has started the season 5-1 (.833) for the second consecutive year. It marks the 13th time in program history that Big Red has started a new season with at least a 5-1 record. Prior to the 2025 campaign, Lamar had not opened a new season 5-1 since 1974. Among the program’s 5-1, or better, starts, seven came prior to the 1960 season with five of those taking place as a junior college.
Dominating Ground Attack
Junior running Jojo Uga recorded his second 100-yard rushing effort of the season Saturday with 22 carries for 144 yards (6.5 ypc) and three touchdowns in the win over UIW. It’s the most rushing yards for a Cardinal since Khalan Griffin rushed for 146 against Southeastern Louisiana in 2024. His three rushing touchdowns are the most for the Red and White since Jordan Hoy rushed for
three in the season opener against Bethel in 2019.
Speed Limit 43
Lamar’s offense seems to be hitting its stride midway through the 2026 season. In the previous eight games (dating back to last season), the Cardinals had averaged 17.0 points per game but over the course of the past three games Lamar has the Southland’s top scoring offense averaging 43 points per game during that stretch.
The Rossomando Effect
Since the arrival of head coach Pete Rossomando, Lamar has made historic strides. LU is coming off an NCAA FCS Playoff appearance and is currently in the midst of its best run of success (in terms of consecutive winning seasons) since the mid 1960s. Just four games into his fourth season, Rossomando had already won more games at LU than any previous coach after four years.
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