JOURNAL SPORTS
Every “local” college football team won on Saturday, and all but one reaped individual awards as a result.
ULM’s 31-30 comeback over Texas State didn’t produce a Sun Belt honor, but three LSU players, two from Grambling and one each from Louisiana Tech and Northwestern were spotlighted for their outstanding performances.
Three LSU players earned SEC Player of the Week honors Monday for their performance in the thrilling 32-31 overtime win over Alabama on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
The win over Alabama lifted LSU to a 7-2 overall mark and to 5-1 in league play, and a No. 7 national ranking.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive game, while linebacker Harold Perkins picked up defensive player of the week honors and tight end Mason Taylor was named freshman of the week. Daniels was also chosen the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Offensive POTW winner.
Daniels rushed for 95 yards and a TD and threw for 182 yards and a pair of scores in LSU’s first win over Alabama in Tiger Stadium since 2010. Daniels rushed for a 25-yard TD on LSU’s first play in overtime and then clinched the win with his 2-point conversion pass to Taylor.
Daniels finished the game connecting on 22-of-32 passes for 182 yards, with TD passes of 30 and 7 yards and no interceptions. On the ground, Daniels carried the ball 18 times for 95 yards. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry against an Alabama defense that was allowing 2.7 yards per rush and just 94 yards per game.
Perkins, a true freshman, set a career-high with eight tackles, including a sack for a 6-yard loss, and a team-high three quarterback hurries in the win. He also broke up a pass in coverage on a third-down situation in the third quarter, forcing an Alabama punt.
Perkins’ sack came on 3rd-and-5 at the LSU 6-yard line in the second quarter, forcing an Alabama field goal — one of three red zone field goals for the Crimson Tide. LSU’s defense also held Alabama without a first-half touchdown for the first time this season as the Crimson Tide was limited to season lows for first-half points (6) and points through three quarters (9).
Taylor, also a true freshman, caught the game-winning 2-point conversion in overtime, snaring a pass from Daniels in the front corner of the end zone after the Tigers opted to go for two and the win. Taylor finished the game with three receptions for 36 yards, including a 7-yard TD reception from Daniels that put the Tigers up 24-21 with 1:47 left in the game.
Maurice Washington and Joshua Reed of Grambling were named SWAC Football Players of the Week for their impressive performances in the Tigers’ 36-10 homecoming win over UAPB, the second straight victory for the G-Men.
Washington had a breakthrough game, running for 201 yards and two TDs on just 10 carries. Washington scored on runs of 75 yards and 56 yards.
Reed paced Grambling State’s defense as he registered 14 total tackles, including eight solo stops. In addition, he contributed 3.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards.
Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors went to Northwestern senior safety PJ Herrington, who stuffed the stat sheet with four solo tackles, two pass breakups, a sack and an interception return for a touchdown in a 41-14 win at Texas A&M-Commerce to give NSU control of the race for the Southland title.
His pick-6 was the Demons’ first pick-6 and first defensive touchdown since the 2019 season. He had one of NSU’s three sacks and was part of a unit that held Texas A&M-Commerce to 143 yards below its season average and kept the Lions under 100 yards rushing.
Louisiana Tech kicker Jacob Barnes won the LSWA Special Teams POTW honor. Barnes tied his career-high with four made field goals in the 40-24 win over Middle Tennessee. He became just the fifth kicker in program history to have multiple games with four made field goals. Barnes converted on kicks from 40, 36, 32 and 36 yards during the win. Barnes also made all four extra-point attempts to account for 16 of the Bulldogs’ 40 points.
