Last March, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world of collegiate athletics putting an end to all spring sports for the remainder of the season. The ongoing precautions surrounding the pandemic forced the Southland Conference to postpone all conference competitions for the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball until the spring 2021 semester.
 
That decision meant, that for the first time since LU revived the program there would be no football games during the fall. While there will be no marching bands, no tailgating and none of the normal sights and sounds of football during the fall at Provost Umphrey Stadium, LamarCardinals.com wanted to take time each Saturday to recap some of the more memorable games in program history.
   
Not much was expected of the Lamar University football team entering the 2015 season. Despite coming off a record-setting eight-win campaign the year before, the Cardinals were picked to finish eighth in the Southland Conference Preseason poll. Entering the third week of the season, the Cardinals were 1-1 (.500) on the year which at the time was no surprise. Big Red easily dispensed of Bacone College in the season opener, 66-3, and then traveled to Baylor the following week where they put a scare into the BU faithful before the Bears began to pull away in the third quarter.
 
The Cardinals traveled to Huntsville, Texas the following week to take on No. 3 Sam Houston State, a place where LU had recorded only one prior victory and that coming back in 1959. The Cardinals entered the game as decided underdogs, but left Huntsville with one of the biggest upsets recorded in the nation that season.
 
The game served as the first career start for quarterback Carson Earp who guided the Red and White to 551 yards of total offense, including 328 of that on the ground. Earp completed 14-of-25 (.560) passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Then junior Kade Harrington made his official introduction to the national pollsters in what would be a season that would find his name listed as a finalist for the 2015 Walter Payton Award. Harrington recorded video game numbers with a career-high 230 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns (all numbers he would break later in the season). He also caught two passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
 
Senior Devonn Brown hauled in four passes for 101 yards and a score.
 
The Cardinals took the first lead of the game when Earp found Begelton from four yards out. The touchdown pass capped an 11-play, 56-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock. It was also one of two TD catches for Begelton on the night who moved into second all-time in school history with 18 touchdown receptions.
 
The Bearkats tied the game 90 seconds later when Yedidiah Louis broke off a 46-yard touchdown run, but LU would answer back. After a 15-yard run from Harrington and a 42-yard scamper from Earp, the Cardinals had the ball 1^st-and-10 from the Sam Houston 19. Big Red reclaimed the lead on the very next play when Earp hit Begelton in the back of the end zone.
 
After the Bearkats tied the game at 14, the Cardinals rattled off 21 unanswered points to take a commanding 35-14 lead into the locker room. Harrington got the run started when he hauled in a pass at his own 23-yard line and took it 77 yards for the score. The Cardinals were back on the march seven minutes later when Harrington capped a six-play, 89-yard drive with a five-yard run. LU closed out the half when Earp hit Brown over the middle for an 18-yard scoring strike. The pass to Brown gave LU a 35-14 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The Cardinals recorded nearly 400 yards of total offense in the opening half, including 183 on the ground. Harrington led LU with 12 carries for 97 yards and a score, and also added two catches for 83 yards and a touchdown in the first 30 minutes.
 
After scoring 21-straight points in the second quarter, the Cardinals were held to eight yards of total offense in the third. Sam Houston State cut the lead to 12 points, after a Luc Swimberghe 36-yard field goal and a Donavan Williams five-yard touchdown run. The Bearkats went for two and were unsuccessful but got the points back 73 seconds later when a bad LU snap sailed into the end zone for a safety.
 
Big Red finally broke its small scoring drought with 9:17 on the clock. Then senior Carl Harris scored on a 27-yard run which was set up by a 44-yard scamper from Harrington. The Kingwood, Texas native appeared to be stopped in the backfield before making a cut and picking up the large gain to give him 147 yards and a new career high.
 
The Bearkats answered the LU score with two touchdowns to pull within three points, 42-39, with 3:21 on the clock. The Cardinals turned to Harrington again who came through with a 73-yard run to put LU back in front by 10, 49-39. Sam Houston State didn't go quietly answering with another touchdown with 58 seconds on the clock, but after an unsportsmanlike penalty called on the 'Kats on the extra point attempt they were forced to kick off from their own 20. SHSU attempted an onside kick but it didn't go 10 yards, and LU got the ball back. The Cards were able to run out the clock for the win.
 
Harrington's 230 rushing yards were the most by a Cardinal since the 1985 season, and the second-best single-game mark in program history. Harrington finished the night just 29 yards shy of Burton Murchison's single-game record which was set that same season.