BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University will make the short trip down I-10 Saturday to face Houston Baptist. A matchup of two teams currently headed in the same direction, the Cardinals will look to snap a three-game slide when they step on the field at Husky Stadium, while Houston Baptist has dropped five straight.
 
The two teams are separated by one game in the win column of the Southland Conference standings. LU is tied for eighth in the standings with a 4-6 (.400) overall record and a 2-5 (.286) conference mark, while HBU is 11^th just a game back of three teams in the standings.
 
Flashing back to last season, the Cardinals were the surprise story of the year within in the Southland Conference, and it appeared that HBU was going to fill that role this season. After being picked to finish last in the preseason poll, the Huskies raced out of the gate to a 4-1 start and jumped into the top 25 poll – their first national ranking. HBU picked up wins against South Dakota (on the road) and Northwestern State and Texas Southern, with the only setback being a two-point loss at UTEP in the season opener.  After the 4-1 start to the season, the Huskies then dropped a two-point decision to UIW, 38-36, and that is when the bottom seem to fall out for the HBU.
 
For the Cardinals, it has been a roller coaster year of streaks. After opening the season with consecutive wins, the Cardinals then dropped their next three games, which included a trip to nationally ranked Texas A&M. Big Red then seemed to hit its stride with consecutive wins over Abilene Christian and nationally ranked Sam Houston State (on the road). Against the Bearkats, LU surrendered only seven points in regulation and won the game in overtime. Unfortunately for the Red and White, they haven't found the win column since their trip to Huntsville having dropped each of their past three games. The shorthanded Cardinals are coming off a setback at Northwestern State last week that saw them forced to start a converted receiver at quarterback due to injuries at the position.
 
The Cardinals have the upper hand in the series which consists of five previous games. The Cardinals are 4-1 (.800) all-time against HBU with a perfect 2-0 mark in Houston. The last time LU made the trip over to Houston, in LU head coach Mike Schultz's first year, the Cardinals recorded a 23-16 victory. The Cardinals posted a 38-9 decision over Houston Baptist last season in Beaumont.
 
Saturday's game will kick off at 2 p.m. from Husky Stadium and can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI. It will also be streamed live on ESPN3.