Louisiana-Monroe Football

Louisiana-Monroe true freshman running back Ahmad Hardy told On3.com's Pete Nakos on Tuesday that he plans to enter the transfer portal.

In his first and potentially only season at ULM, Hardy was a revelation for the Warhawks, rushing for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns on 237 carries, while also catching eight passes for 72 yards.

Hardy is ninth among all FBS players in rushing yardage this season for a Louisiana-Monroe team that finished 5-7 after going just 2-10 in 2023.

After starring at Lawrence County High School in Monticello, Mississippi, Hardy committed to play his college football at ULM. He was rated as only a 3-star prospect by 247Sports and was the 153rd-ranked running back in his class.

The 5'10", 205-pounder far exceeded expectations in his first season at the college football level, and he may now be in line to make an impact at a bigger school next season.

Louisiana-Monroe has neither finished with a winning record nor played in a bowl game since 2012, but after starting 5-1 this season, it seemed as though that drought would come to an end.

However, the Warhawks finished the season on a six-game losing streak and failed to gain bowl eligibility.

While that was undoubtedly devastating after such a hot start, losing a player of Hardy's caliber will likely be an even bigger blow to a program that looked to be on the upswing.

Per On3.com, 287 players have already entered the transfer portal, but there figures to be far more to come.

Nakos reported that 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered the transfer portal during the 2023-24 academic year, which is about 25 percent of all FBS players.

The transfer portal will officially open on Dec. 9, meaning teams will soon be hard at work building their rosters for next season.

Louisiana-Monroe quarterback Rhett Rodriguez is in intensive care with a lung injury, per Heather Dinich of ESPN.

The quarterback, who is the son of former West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez, suffered the injury during Saturday's 29-16 win over Troy.

His father thanked those who had offered their well wishes:

Our family would like to thank everyone who has reached out with their thoughts and prayers for Rhett, as he is currently in the ICU at the hospital because of a lung injury from last night’s game against Troy.

— Rich Rodriguez (@RealCoachRod) September 26, 2021

The elder Rodriguez is the associate head coach and offensive coordinator for Louisiana-Monroe this season.

Rhett started his collegiate career at Arizona and is a graduate transfer this year. He won the starting quarterback job and has led the Warhawks to a 2-1 record to start their season. Their only loss came to the SEC's Kentucky in the season opener.

He was 10-of-16 passing for 131 yards and one touchdown in Saturday's win.

Next up for Louisiana-Monroe is a game against No. 16 Coastal Carolina on Saturday.

Norman, Okla. will be rocking as the Oklahoma Sooners faithful will be waiting for the upset-minded Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Saturday, Aug. 31. The college football season will open with a bang for one team and a flutter for the other.

The Sooners are ranked No. 16 in the ESPN preseason poll, while the Warhawks are looking for another early-season statement win, much like the one the program earned in 2012 against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Here's how you can watch, as well as information on the spread.

When: Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. ET

TV Info: Fox Sports

Spread info via Bovada:

Spread: Oklahoma -21.5

Over/Under: 61

Injury Report (Via USA Today):

Louisiana-Monroe: N/A

Oklahoma:

Jake Reed, OL, Out Indefinitely (Suspension)

Cortez Johnson, DB, Out (Suspension)

Chuka Ndule, DE, Out (Suspension)

Jordan Smallwood, WR, Out Indefinitely (Foot)

DJ Ward, DE, Out (Stomach)

Kendal Thompson, QB, Out Indefinitely (Foot)

Key Storylines to Watch

Can Louisiana-Monroe Stay In it Early?

When the Warhawks knocked off the Razorbacks in the season opener in 2012, they came back from a 14-point deficit two times. They can't hope to make that type of run against the Sooners in Norman.

If this is going to be anything more than the blowout the oddsmakers predict, the Warhawks must stay close early.

The onus will fall on senior QB Kolton Browning to engineer productive drives in the first five possessions. Three-and-outs and turnovers will allow this game to get out of hand quickly.

The Sooners' QB Play

Per News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City, sources say Sooners head coach Bob Stoops will name redshirt quarterback Trevor Knight as the starter. Knight would reportedly be the winner of a tough competition over the spring with junior Blake Bell.

Knight is the more athletic of the two signal-callers, but it will be interesting to see if his leash is short considering Bell was Landry Jones' backup the last two seasons in Norman.

Can the Warhawks Establish Anything on the Ground?

In 2012, the Warhawks were led in rushing by Browning, who mustered a modest 488 yards and seven touchdowns. If the Warhawks are to have a chance at defeating the Sooners, they need to be at least respectable on the ground.

Senior running back Jyruss Edwards needs to have a breakout season. Kicking off the year with a strong performance against a tough team like Oklahoma would be ideal.

The Sooners were ranked 95th in the nation against the run, per CFBStats.com. This is the area of the Sooners' defense that could be most vulnerable.

Will the Sooners Defense Show Improvement from 2012?

If Oklahoma is going to make this a special season, the run defense has to improve. While the team will get far stiffer challenges the rest of the way, it must get off to a good start against the Warhawks.

Louisiana-Monroe is devoid of a playmaker in the running game. The Sooners' defense must build their confidence but snuffing out the ground game, thus allowing their defensive line to concentrate on putting pressure on Browning.

This game could serve as a confidence builder for a unit that has to be feeling a little beat up after allowing 23 runs of 20 yards or more in 2012, per CFBStats.

Healthy Damien Williams Spells Trouble for Warhawks

After an ankle injury hampered the Sooners senior running back in 2012, he is back and healthy for the 2013 season. Williams is a sleeper candidate for the Heisman after rushing for 946 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

He's a terror in the open field and he could be a part of the play(s) that breaks this game open.

Prediction

Oklahoma won't be caught off guard like the Razorback. The team isn't experiencing the distractions Arkansas dealt with in 2012, either. The Warhawks are too one-dimensional on offense and defensively they will have a terrible time trying to contain the Sooners.

Look for this one to get out of hand by halftime. The Sooners will win 40-18.

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The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks have shocked the college football betting world this season with their two-game journey through the SEC.

Now they get to play at home for the first time this season, Friday night vs. the 2-0 Baylor Bears (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) and bettors are wondering if they can be trusted with 7.5 points, according to the college football odds comparison.

"The questions are, can they pick up another upset victory, or at least cover the spread as a home dog, or will Baylor go to 3-0 in the post-RGIII era?" OddsShark.com football analyst Jack Randall said in an interview this week.

"Playing on the road as a huge underdog against superior foes carries a different motivation than playing at home against a superior foes and many are worried that this is a perfect letdown spot for the Warhawks."

The game currently sees one of the highest over-under numbers of the week as well. The total settled around 70 early Friday, after opening around 71.5 and dipping as low as 69 at some shops.

UK Monroe is 1-1, splitting two overtime games against big-time opponents. The Warhawks opened their season by beating Arkansas 34-31 in OT in Little Rock and then rallied to force overtime at Auburn before falling 31-28 last Saturday.

The 'Hawks won outright as 30-point dogs vs. the 'Hogs, then covered as 14-point dogs vs. the Tigers.

Junior Kolton Browning, a third-year starter for the Warhawks at quarterback, has completed 62 percent of his pass attempts this season, owns a 6-1 TD/INT ratio and leads the team in rushing.

On the other side of this matchup, Baylor was expected to step back into college football obscurity after Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III left school to join the NFL after last season. However, it's been a case of "so far, so good" for the Bears this year, with two high-scoring victories to their credit.

Baylor won its season opener a couple weeks ago, beating former Southwest Conference rival SMU 59-24, then dispatched Sam Houston State (FCS) 48-23 in last week's game.

Stepping into the big shoes left by Griffin, senior QB Nick Florence has completed 63 percent of his throws this season for better than nine yards-per-attempt, and owns a 7-2 TD/INT ratio.

Louisiana-Monroe returned 13 starters this season, eight on offense, including almost all their skill-position players, from a team that went 4-8 last year. Most experts are picking the Warhawks to finish in the middle of the pack in the Sun Belt Conference this season.

Baylor got back 14 starters this year, including eight on defense, from a team that went 10-3 last year. Most experts figure the Bears to finish in the bottom third of the Big 12 this season.

As of Wednesday afternoon, most online sportsbooks were listing Baylor at -7.5 for Friday's game, with a total of 68.5.

These two programs, separated by about 300 miles across the Texas-Louisiana border, have never met before on the football field.

Free Pick

The hometown crowd should certainly be juiced for this one, after their team nearly went 2-0 on the road in the SEC. The concern is that the ULM is vulnerable to a slow start or a bad break and the doubts will come creeping in. We play on Baylor. (Pick courtesy of PickShark.com. Watch for line updates via Twitter.)

Despite falling to the Auburn Tigers in overtime Saturday afternoon, the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks have emerged as one of the biggest surprises in college football.

Another Louisiana-Monroe Southeastern Conference matchup on the road led to another overtime photo finish.

Led by quarterback Kolton Browning and former Army coach Todd Berry, the Sun Belt Conference unknowns have pushed two consecutive SEC teams to the brink in overtime, knocking off one en route to a 1-1 start.

But wait a second. Aren’t these early season games against the Sun Belt Conference supposed to be “rehearsals” for the better SEC teams?

Is it that the dominant SEC is beginning to fall off? With LSU, Alabama and Georgia all in the top 10, that isn’t the case.

It could be that the ULM Warhawks are the real deal.

It’s too bad this is the end of their competition against the SEC in 2012. Browning may have put himself into Heisman contention if he continued to have the exposure he’s garnered over the past two weeks.

Okay, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself there.

However, how unrealistic is it that a seemingly unknown quarterback could emerge from the abyss to change the national viewpoint of himself and his team?

After posting average results in his freshman and sophomore seasons, Browning was not on any prominent award watch list this offseason.

However, after his stunning performance in leading his team to an upset over the No. 8-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, he was recognized as the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week. The Davey O’Brien award is given to the best quarterback at the end of the college football season.

Without the notoriety gained from these two games and the come-from-behind heroics of these Warhawks, you may not have given Browning or his team a second thought this season.

No one, anywhere, predicted this kind of incredible start for these Warhawks.

If they can continue to play at a high level, you may hear their names again during this year’s bowl season.

Through two games, Browning and the Warhawks have already beaten expectations and been the biggest surprise in college football.

Now it’s time to meet those expectations with a dominant run through the Sun Belt.

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Louisiana-Monroe may still not be considered in the same league as Auburn, but when you beat a team ranked No. 8 in the nation to start the season, you certainly turn some heads.

ULM is coming off a shocking 34-31 overtime victory over then-No. 8 Arkansas last week. 

In that game, Warhawks quarterback Kolton Browning went 42-for-67 for 412 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The junior also rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He accounted for over 87 percent of ULM's offense.

The Warhawks also picked off Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, and actually knocked him out of the game. Freshman quarterback Brandon Allen was forced to start the second half, which didn't go well for him. He went 6-for-20 for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception as ULM bounced back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to eventually win the game.

Auburn (0-2) has had a rough start to the season, but the Tigers did lose to two formidable opponents in Clemson and Mississippi State.

Sophomore quarterback Kiehl Frazier has struggled in his first season starting, to say the least. Through two games, he's gone 24-for-49 for 319 yards (6.5 yards per attempt), while tossing one touchdown to four interceptions.

Against the Bulldogs last week, Frazier had a dreadful performance, going 13-for-22 for 125 yards and no touchdowns to three interceptions.

Also, the running game hasn't been as good without Michael Dyer. Even if you take out Frazier's 20 carries for 13 yards, the Tigers are still averaging a ho-hum 4.8 yards per carry with no rushing touchdowns. 

So what, exactly, does Auburn have?

Well, the Tigers do have a game-changer in defensive end Corey Lemonier. Lemonier has racked up 11 tackles (three tackles for loss) and three sacks so far this season.

Other than that, you can't be too confident in Auburn's play so far. The defense overall has missed tackles left and right and the only player in the secondary who has stood out is safety Demetruce McNeal.

Still, this is ULM, not a major program. 

So what do the Warhawks need to do to pull off a second-straight stunner?

First of all, getting some pressure on Frazier is their best bet. Frazier's numbers so far don't lie. He's looked like a freshman for the majority of the two games and he's also been sacked four times. If ULM can make Frazier uncomfortable, the Warhawks have already shown they can capitalize (two interceptions so far).

Also, the Auburn running game leaves a lot to be desired, but sophomore Tre Mason did have a big game against Clemson to start the season before getting stymied against Mississippi State. Mason rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries against Clemson.

While ULM did a fantastic job against Arkansas running back Knile Davis last week (16 carries, 62 yards), the squad did allow senior Dennis Johnson to rush for 50 yards on seven carries. Auburn may try to find some room running the ball with Frazier struggling, so ULM needs to be prepared.

Last but not least, the Warhawks need to win the turnover battle. There's a chance, given the way he's played so far, that Frazier coughs the ball up on Saturday.

Browning needs to take care of the ball and avoid hurting his team. He took three sacks against Arkansas despite his 67 pass attempts. He figures to see a stronger pass rush this time around and he can't allow Lemonier to rattle him.

The Lousiana-Monroe Warhawks have never had a season in which they finished above .500.  The perennial bottom dwellers of the Sun Belt Conference had never had much to really cheer about.

Until today, that is.

The Warhawks went into Little Rock and pulled off what may very well be one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football, defeating the eighth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks in overtime, 34-31.

UL-Monroe QB Kolton Browning put forth a Herculean effort in accounting for nearly 500 yards of offense and four touchdowns, while throwing only one interception.  Browning gave the Arkansas defense trouble all night long, both with his arm and with his legs.

The Warhawks got on the scoreboard first on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Browning to Centarius Donald less than six minutes into the game.  However, Arkansas appeared to right the ship as they then rattled off 28 straight points and appeared to have the game in the bag midway through the third quarter.

The upstart Warhawks would not go away that easily, scoring three straight touchdowns that included a 23-yard pass from Browning to Brent Leonard with less than a minute left, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra quarter, the Warhawks forced the Razorbacks to settle for a field goal, setting themselves up with the opportunity to pull off the upset.  After finding themselves in a fourth-and-1, ULM coach Todd Berry decided to take a gamble and go for it. 

Browning rolled out to his left on a play-action, only to find himself greeted by a wall of Arkansas defenders.  Looking back to his right, Browning saw the field wide open.  He sprinted up the field and towards the sideline, diving across the goal line to give ULM a program-defining victory.

As Arkansas fans stood in stunned silence, the ULM sideline erupted in jubilant excitement, realizing they had just achieved the greatest victory in program history and one of the greatest upsets of all time.

The University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks had a tough of go of it in 2011.

They finished 4-8 while playing in the Sun Belt, although they did take on Florida State, Iowa, TCU and Arkansas State all within their first five games of the year. And while a 4-8 record won’t earn you many accolades, despite the level of difficulty, there are no doubts that ULM has the state dominated on one particular front.

CGI Website intro videos.

Louisiana Tech? Not a chance. Tulane? Nope. The mighty LSU? Sorry, not even close.

ULM has this trophy (and we should award trophies for items like this) and I don’t see them being toppled for quite sometime. When you are the Warhawks, you need virtual sequence that accurately portrays you as such. Thank you to Valleyshook for pointing this out.

Perhaps they can bottle the momentum of this magnificent video and use it to somehow take down Arkansas in their first game of the season. Right? RIGHT?