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Yes, we are a little beat up. However, as we saw on Saturday this team has some playmakers. I think that should be to our advantage because Lamar has less film to watch on these newer guys.
To put some things in perspective. Yes, our guys barely beat Northwestern State, but obviously they were putting some things together that they had not been able to so far this season. That showed when they beat Nicholls. Yes, we fail behind early to SHSU, but our guys showed a lot of resilience and came back to win that game against a solid SHSU team.
I am hoping that this translates into a boost of confidence from our guys and they come to play from the start at Lamar!

Go Bears!

I did something Saturday night that I`ve never done before, and I`ll never do again----I got mad and left at halftime.
Sometimes I think I care too much. It was a bad di** move on my part though. These first half showings are killing me. Could you imagine what we would look like if we played the same way in the first half (or close) as we did in the second. We would be nearly unbeatable. I thought the wife was cold and miserable (because of the weather) and when I got up and said lets get outta here I don't want to see my team murdered, she said, well hold on, I was getting into the game (I know, weird right) but anyway. I`ll never allow myself to get mad enough to do that again.

Carlos is a beast and we all know it, but you still have to have some holes opened up to allow for success. I still think we have a chance to do great things the rest of the season.
On another note. I don't want a 1st round bye if/when we make the playoffs. I hate bye weeks and I would like to see us be the 1st seed without a bye.

Huge game for Bears......….as they all are......there are two Top 8 FCS matchups this week so two above UCA will lose.....take care of business and good things happen...….

Lamar always seems to have lots of speed in WRs and DBs....cannot give them anything and not expect to pay a price.....

Have to think more about whether bye in playoffs is a plus or minus.....if it helps gets some injured players back and ready to play that would be beneficial...….. but the off week can get you out of routine.....we were really flat against New Hampshire, nearly won, but came up one play short......NH did have a really good defense which was a factor and it was Steve Campbell's last game with Bears...maybe a distraction?

bwbear…….BMB is fantastic. ….they are every bit as much Bears and SugarBears as those of us who were in sports.....I have been to numerous "big school" stadiums where the MBs are really good...….and BMB would be noticed for bandmanship by the crowds there.....I have stayed for numerous Fifth Quarter performances and would stay after every game if my drive home was not so long......

I appreciate the words, JRK. Sometimes I think the stigma of band, even from the high school years, is that we are "not important" compared to athletics. College did feel different as we had the chance to collaborate some with the cheer team (the dance team was just starting when I was there).

My philosophy of the band is real simple: Pre-game, halftime, post-game was our performance time. The rest of the time, we're there to support the football team, build excitement with the crowd, and be as disruptive to the visiting team as possible within the rules. Unfortunately, I remember times when we were being asked to play and the coaches and team was waiving at us to stop (back when we were on the home side). I believe the BMB has gotten a lot better, but I think they could be used as a weapon a lot more, especially on critical downs.

I'm just ultra competitive and want to make Estes as hostile as possible for any team stepping on our field. =)

I think your right about the band. Also, I wish they could play more classic football songs like... Hey Hey Hey Baby! I wanna know..... or Seven Nation Army....... Old Town Road..... Zombie Nation... stuff like that....Which one of these are not like the others haha.

Absolutely agree about band is to help keep the crowd engaged and loud....I know of a major university MB that got flagged by the officials for being too loud even though they followed the NCAA rules to the nth degree...the opposing coach could not hear on the sidelines during timeouts and complained to the official....certainly did not endear himself to the home crowd!!

As to Cheer, our competitive cheer groups add a neat element....seems to me our Cheer groups running laps around the field before and after the game is something I have not noticed elsewhere.....

I am on the fence about the cheer team doing goofy stuff. The focus needs to remain on the field. I like the MB and the pep they add, but cheer teams need to say energetic and focused on leading creative cheers.

Anyone making the trip down?

Something unexpected happened so I have to be out of town this weekend and can't go. But I am still attempting to make at least ONE away game every year! Gotta check out our conference mates stadiums and towns!

Lamar has a pretty balanced attack this season with 280 per game passing and 180 rushing. Passing is just shy of 60% with 6 INTs. Avg about 37 yards per punt and only 13-19 FGs. Of note, they are 2/2 for onsides kicks. 3rd downs about 35% conversion rate and 4th about 57%with 22/27 (81%) redzone scores with 15 TDs.

Top rusher is QB Jordan Hoy with gross 566 and net 400. Myles Wanza is next with 423/373. The two have scored 11 of 14 rushing TDs. Kirkland Banks leads receivers with 32 catches and 13 yd avg with one TD. Wanza has 29 catches and Case Robinson has 14 with a 16 yd avg and TD. Mason Sykes has only 14 catches but 3 for TD. 7 others have at least 2 catches.

Defense avg about 2 sacks per game. Top two defenders (Lawson and Martin) avg 7-10 per game but a bunch avg 4-5. One punter avgs about 36 yds but Bailey Griffen who handles PKs avg about 45 punting.

They beat ACU 27-24 at home and then beat Sam 20-17 at Huntsville. Stats summarized below for ACU game:

ACU/LU

Rush, gross 152 v 207
Pass 18/28/159/2/0 v 26/32/338/2/1
TO 289 v 525
Punting 40 v 50
3rd 3/11 v 11/17
4th 1/1 v 0/0
Redzone 3/3 v 2/3
FGs 1/1 v 2/3

Scored 10 in Q4 to come from behind...….

Hoy passed for 338 and ran for 112.....Banks had 10/145 catches

At Sam.......

SHS/LU

Rush, gross 206 v 119
Pass 13/37/107/1/2 vs 24/36/212/0/0
TO 257 v 246
Punting 41 v 37
3rd 4/19 v 4/22
4th 1/3 v 2/3
Redzone 3/5 v 3/4
FGs 1/3 v 2/4

Hoy passed for 212 and rushed for 76 gross.....Sam's Donovan Williams had another good night with 159 rush yards....Wanza had 9 catches for 67 yards and Sikes 4/42....

This is a very winnable game for Bears....except for Nicholls we usually play well on the road.....LU can roll up the yards but struggled for yards vs Sam's defense even in the win....definitely have to spy and stop Hoy.... and make someone other than Banks beat you with receptions....special teams again can be the key....PATs and FGs may be the margin....protect the ball on the road....O-line block...defense make more plays....try a score or two in first half....

Bears 27-19

Slightly off topic, but nice to see Mike Norvell getting some coverage on Game Day this morning and a mention for UCA.

Now it's our game day. Go Bears!

GAMEDAY

GO BEARS

Fairly certain this announcer can’t read

Wait....we have the lead in the first quarter??

Does ESPN just ask someone in the stands to do the play by play? What in the world

I have our home radio show lined up with ESPN so I don't have to listen to these guys on the TV.