The halfway point in the college football season is here already for a lot of teams.  Here’s a rundown of what Louisiana college teams are facing today:

In the match-up of the day, the number 4 LSU Fighting Tigers head to Gainesville to take on the number 10 Florida Gators in the Swamp at 2:30.  Florida has been the surprise team in the SEC and currently is in a three way tie for first place in the SEC East.   LSU struggled and had some sloppy play in their last two games against Auburn and Towson, but can’t afford to do so against the Gators. 

In the day’s only game between two Louisiana teams, the 3 and 1 ULL Ragin’ Cajuns host the winless Tulane Green Wave at 4 o’clock for their homecoming game.  The Green Wave were destroyed by ULM last week, 63 to 10.  Tulane has now failed to score more than 12 points in four straight games and has been outscored 171 to 32 this season.  On the other hand, the Ragin’ Cajuns are averaging 37 points per game and are coming off an easy win over FIU.  Despite the disparity, ULL Head Coach Mark Hudspeth stressed to his team this week the importance of taking Tulane seriously.

McNeese State is off this week, after fending off Northwestern State last Saturday.  The Cowboys are 4 and 1 on the year and ranked 18th in the FCS Coaches Poll.  McNeese State will use the bye to prepare for two straight games against top-25 ranked teams.

The Nicholls State Colonels pay a visit to the Bears of Central Arkansas at 6 o’clock.  The Colonels are coming off their bye week, having recorded their first win the week before.  The Nicholls defense will have their hands full with the Bears’ high-scoring offense.

Northwestern State will host the Lamar Cardinals in their Southland Conference home opener at 6 o’clock.  Both the Demons and the Cardinals are looking to notch their first conference win and avoid falling to 0 and 2 in Southland play.  Northwestern Head Coach Bradley Peveto told us that that playing nearby schools has a little different feeling.

After dropping their first three, Southeastern has come back to win their last two, and the Lions currently sit atop the standings in the Southland Conference.  Southeastern heads up to Birmingham to play the winless UAB Blazers at 2:00 p.m.   Southeastern will be looking for their first win over an FBS team since resuming football in 2003.

The 2 and 2 Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks face a tough test at 2:30 when they take on fellow Sun Belt member Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.  Middle Tennessee upset Georgia Tech last week, putting up 49 points and over 500 total yards over the ACC team.  ULM’s 56th-ranked defense will need to make some stops if the Warhawks want to win their conference opener.   

Grambling State heads over to Dallas and the Cotton Bowl to take on the Prairie View A&M Panthers at 6:00 p.m. in the annual State Fair Classic.  Both teams are still winless, and both are trying to avoid their 4th SWAC loss.  

The Southern University Jaguars will be looking for their third straight win when they travel to Alcorn State to play the Braves.  The in-season coaching change that led to defensive coordinator Dawson Odums’ promotion to head coach seems to have worked for the Jaguars.  They have bounced back to win their last two games by a touchdown each time, after losing their first two.  

The Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech are on a roll, winning 4 straight, including back-to-back wins on the road over BCS teams.  Tech’s 5th-ranked scoring offense gets an easy match-up against the UNLV Rebels’ woeful defense at 6 o’clock.  This is essentially a tune-up game for the Bulldogs before their October 13th contest against the improving Texas A&M Aggies, a game which could put Tech on the path to a BCS bowl if they should win.