# 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team

The 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team represented Lamar University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cardinals were led by second-year head coach Mike Schultz and played their home games at Provost Umphrey Stadium. They played as a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 6–3 in Southland play to finish in third place. They received an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Northern Iowa.

## TV and radio media

All Lamar games will be broadcast on KLVI, also known as News Talk 560.
In fourth year of an agreement (third year for football) with ESPN, live video of all home games (except those picked up by Southland Conference TV agreements) will be streamed on ESPN3.

## Preseason
### Preseason All-Conference Teams

On July 12, 2018, the Southland announced their Preseason All-Conference Teams, with the Cardinals placing one player on the second team.
* Zae Giles – Jr. PR

### Preseason Poll

On July 19, 2018, the Southland announced their preseason poll, with the Cardinals predicted to finish in tenth place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Sam Houston State | 187 (10) |
| 2 | Nicholls State | 173 (6) |
| 3 | Central Arkansas | 170 (5) |
| 4 | McNeese State | 159 (1) |
| 5 | Southeastern Louisiana | 119 |
| 6 | Stephen F. Austin | 90 |
| 7 | Abilene Christian | 89 |
| 8 | Northwestern State | 86 |
| 9 | Incarnate Word | 53 |
| 10 | Lamar | 52 |
| 11 | Houston Baptist | 32 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Kentucky Christian* | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN3 | W 70–7 | 7,056 |
| September 8 | 3:00 p.m. | at Texas Tech* | Jones AT&T StadiumLubbock, TX | FSN | L 0–77 | 52,126 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Northwestern State | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+ | L 48–49 | 6,021 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN3 | L 24–30 | 8,017 |
| September 29 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Nicholls State | John L. Guidry StadiumThibodaux, LA | ELVN/CST/SLC Digital | L 27–50 | 8,044 |
| October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | Incarnate Word | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+/MYTX | W 27–21 | 6,113 |
| October 20 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 14 Sam Houston State | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+/MYTX | W 41–23 | 7,227 |
| October 27 | 3:00 p.m. | at Stephen F. Austin | Homer Bryce StadiumNacogdoches, TX | ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 6,321 |
| November 3 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Central Arkansas | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ELVN/CST/SLC Digital | W 38–24 | 10,874 |
| November 10 | 3:00 p.m. | Houston Baptist | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+/MYTX | W 38–9 | 8,028 |
| November 17 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 22 McNeese State | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA (Battle of the Border) | ESPN3 | W 21–17 | 11,532 |
| November 24 | 4:00 p.m. | at Northern Iowa* | UNI-DomeCedar Rapids, IA (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 13–16 | 4,082 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Kentucky Christian

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Knights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Cardinals | 21 | 28 | 7 | 14 | 70 |

### At Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Red Raiders | 14 | 28 | 14 | 21 | 77 |

### Northwestern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Demons | 14 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 48 |

### Southeastern Louisiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Lions | 7 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| Cardinals | 6 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### At Nicholls State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| • No. 15 Colonels | 13 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 50 |

### Incarnate Word

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals (UIW) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Cardinals (LU) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |

### Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Bearkats | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 23 |
| • Cardinals | 10 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 41 |

### At Stephen F. Austin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cardinals | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |

### At Central Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cardinals | 21 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 38 |
| No. 19 Bears | 10 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 24 |

### Houston Baptist

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| • Cardinals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 38 |

### At McNeese State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| No. 22 Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 |

## FCS Playoffs
### At Northern Iowa–First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| • Panthers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 16 |

## Personnel
### Roster

Source:

### Depth chart

Source:
Defense :
* FS
* 21 Lane Taylor (Sr)
* 10 Davon Jernigan (Sr)
| SAM | MIKE | $ |
| 16 Isaiah Spencer (Jr) | 11 Chaston Brooks (Sr) | 7 Brandon Dabney (Sr) |
| 33 Jerick Pitre, So | 8 Desmond Veals (So) | 3 Garrison Mitchell (Jr) |
* WS
* 6 Willie Sykes (Jr)
* 28 Darius Guillory (So)
* CB
* 12 Tyler Rios (Sr)
* 4 Steven Jones (Fr)
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| 90 Daniel Crosley (Jr) | 42 Reggie Boseman (So) | 43 James Jeffrey (Jr) | 30 Dedrick Garner (Sr) |
| 94 Cameron Houston (So) | 99 Brandon Arnold (So) | 2 Darien Wilson (Jr) | 34 Abel Daily (Fr) |
* CB
* 20 Rodney Randle (Sr)
* 1 Stanley Norman (Jr)
Offense :
* L
* 11 Zale Giles (Jr)
* 19 Dorian Gaston (Sr)
* A
* 23 Kirkland Banks (So)
* 4 Dewan Thompson, Jr. (Sr)
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| 77 Hayden Kaaiohelo (Jr) | 70 Colton Peterson (So) | 51 Stephon Cooper (Jr) | 76 Garrett Bowery (Sr) | 75 Corey Nance (So) |
| 64 Humberto Lopez (Fr) | 72 Tamatoa Neher (Jr) | 66 Jesse Brewster (So) | 74 Micah McComb (Fr) | 79 Aires Gilmore-Gardner (Jr) |
* R
* 84 Isaiah Howard (Sr)
* 29 Taylor Givens (Jr)
* Y
* 89 Case Robinson (Jr)
* 82 Mason Sikes (So)
* QB
* 7 Darrel Colbert (Sr)
* 8 Jordan Hoy (Jr)
* RB
* 22 Myles Wanza (So)
* 5 Derrion Randle (Jr)
* Special teams
* PK 31 Elvin Martinez (So)
* PK 32 Enrique Carmona (Fr)
* P 46 Tyler Slaydon (Jr)
* P 32 Enrique Carmona (Fr)
* KR 20 Rodney Randle (Sr)
* PR 23 Kirkland Banks (So)
* LS 50 Christian Langston (So)
* H 3 Jack Dallas (Fr)

### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Season at Lamar |
| Mike Schultz | Head coach | 2nd |
| Dan Dodd | Offensive coordinator and Quarterbacks coach | 2nd |
| Troy Douglas | Co-Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks coach | 2nd |
| Todd Ivicic | Special Teams and Defensive line coach | 2nd |
| Cam Clark | Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach | 2nd |
| Eric Buchanan | Safeties coach | 2nd |
| Bill Bleil | Offensive line coach | 1st |
| Bobby Dodd | Tight ends coach | 2nd |
| Adrian Madise | Wide receivers coach | 1st |
| Bret Grant | Quality Control coach - Defense/Football Operations | 1st |
| Carson Earp | Quality Control coach - Offense | 1st |
| Jordan Hopkins | Quality Control Coach - Defense | 1st |
| Chad Reiniger | Quality Control Coach - Special Teams | 1st |
| Matt Oubre | Quality Control Coach - Offense | 1st |
| Craig McGallion | Director of Operations | 1st |
| Daniel Darcy | Strength and Conditioning coordinator | 3rd |
| Reference: ||||

## Honors and awards
### All Conference Honors

Source:
   * Co–Newcomer of the Year: Jordan Hoy
   * Offensive Lineman of the Year: Garrett Bowery
   * First Team All–Conference Offense: Garrett Bowery
   * First Team All–Conference Defense: Davon Jernigan
   * Second Team All–Conference Defense: Daniel Crosley

### Player of the Week

   * Caleb Abrom – October 13 – Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week – Returned blocked field goal for game winning touchdown against Incarnate Word.
   * Tyler Slayton – October 20 – Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week – Averaged 45 yards on 6 punts in upset of No. 14 Sam Houston State.
   * Jordan Hoy – October 27 – Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week – In first Lamar start, Hoy for 225 yards, program best for a quarterback and 7th best overall for the program in win against Stephen F. Austin.
   * Jordan Hoy – November 3 – Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week – Guided Lamar offense to five touchdowns and 512 yards offense in win over No. 19 Central Arkansas. The win was the first over Central Arkansas in program history.
   * Darrel Colbert, Jr. – November 19 – Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week – Colbert guided the Cardinals to their third win over a nationally ranked team this season with their come-from-behind victory on the road against McNeese.

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV |