Greetings, Lion fans. It’s very tough to find positives after a game like we just saw, and there were a few, but admittedly not many. The Lions surrendered a second half lead again, and for a third time this season, lost a game to an inferior team, a game they should have won. Let’s get to it.

1.OFFENSE- In a word, offensive. Everything that could go wrong, did. The ugliness that was 2021 reared its ugly head again. Indecision on a quarterback, lack of adjustments, and just lack of execution and focus. Yes, the Lions of 2022 are incredibly young. We have arrived at the point in the season, though, that a great deal of these should be going away. Yet, we’re seeing the same mistakes over and over. The Lions were only able to average just over 4 yards per pass attempt and could not protect the passer on deeper routes. They only averaged 2.3 yards per rush. Something has got to change, and very soon.

2. DEFENSE-The Blue Gang gave a valiant effort for the most part, but a lack of adjustments to control the Nicholls State running game eventually took its toll. The Lions allowed 213 yards on 41 attempts, for average of 4.7 yards per attempt. Overall, the Lions allowed 359 yards, and had no answers at the end when the Colonels were running out the clock. Inconsistency was the rule of the day.

3. SPECIAL TEAMS-The lone bright spot of the game. Mitchell McGarry was again impressive, despite just over a 32 yard per punt average. He had one downed inside the Colonel 20-yard line, did not have a kick blocked and did as well as can be expected with a very stiff breeze. Emmanuel Adagbon connected on his only PAT attempt, and was 1 of 3 on field goals, and was just short on a 47 yarder that would have been good but for the wind. Kick coverage was excellent, and B.J. Busbee broke loose with a 51-yard punt return that Lion offense was unable to capitalize on .

4, INTANGIBLES- In the beginning, the Lions seemed to be more focused and played a much cleaner game in the first half. While the offense sputtered a bit, they were able to move the ball some, and the Blue Gang allowed only a field goal before the half for a 10-3 lead. In the second half, though, the Lions seemed unfocused, had no direction, or idea of what they wanted to do. The offense stalled, the defense eventually tired, and despite their best efforts in getting the ball back for the Lion offense with just over 4 minutes to go, the Lions were unable to mount any kind of charge, and again, lost a game they could have easily won.

5. OVERALL- The Lions currently stand at 5-5 and need a win against Tennessee State this Saturday to ensure a ninth consecutive winning season. It was anticipated that the Lions would have growing pains this season due to youth, and not fully funded in scholarships that the Division 1 level. That has been true, to a degree. What has also been true is that for the third time this season, the Lions have lost a game in which they either had a lead at the half, or within one score. It was not expected for the Lions to come out this season like a house afire and pick right up where they left off in Division 2. But as recently as three weeks ago, this team was in the thick of the hunt for a Southland Conference championship. Again, something has got to change, and soon.