Lamar University’s spring football season started Saturday with a loss that first-year coach Blane Morgan said felt like a “cold shower.”
A young Lamar team was shut out by Southland Conference favorite Nicholls, 55-0 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Not much went right for the Cardinals during Morgan’s debut as head coach. Lamar was outgained 639-91 in total offense.
Taking over a Lamar team in transition and facing ninth-ranked Nicholls, Morgan said the result showed the differences in the state of the two programs.
“You can really get exposed playing a team like that,” Morgan said of Lamar’s loss. “When you’re rebuilding a program like we are, sometimes it goes the other way before it gets better. That was very clear tonight playing a top-10 team.”
Things went downhill quickly for the Cardinals. Nicholls scored touchdowns on all five of their possessions in the first half, and took a 34-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
FBS transfer quarterback Lindsey Scott, who Morgan recruited out of high school while coaching at San Diego State, had his way with Lamar’s defense Saturday, accounting for six total touchdowns
Scott threw for 232 yards while having a clean pocket on almost every dropback. He also added 108 yards rushing yards on 10 carries.
“When you’ve got weapons all over the field and then a really good quarterback who’s sitting back there patting the ball all day, it’s hard to stop that no matter who you are,”Morgan said.
Junior Jalen Dummett got the start for Lamar at quarterback and played the majority of the game. He was Lamar’s biggest threat on offense, going 9-of-11 passing for 40 yards while carrying the ball 11 times as well.
Nicholls added to its halftime lead with 21 points in the third quarter before both teams went scoreless in the fourth. The loss marked Lamar’s first game since the 2019 regular-season finale on Nov. 23, 2019.
The Cardinals (0-1) now look ahead to their home opener next Saturday against Incarnate Word at Provost Umphrey Stadium. Morgan said he expects to see significant improvement from week to week, but preached patience with the program.
“We know we’re starting this from the ground up, but we have to take small steps to move forward and get this going in the right direction,” Morgan said.
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