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.
   
Very little buzz surrounded the Lamar University Cardinals entering the 2018 season. Big Red was coming off a 2-9 (.182) campaign the previous season which included just one conference victory. The Cardinals had just one player named to the preseason all-conference team and were picked to finish 10^th in the league's preseason poll. To make matters worse, injuries would force LU's lone preseason all-conference selection to miss the entire season.
 
After the first five games of the season, all indicators pointed to the fact that the pollsters were correct. The Cardinals stood at 1-5 overall and 0-3 in Southland games and were coming off a one-sided loss at No. 18 Nicholls, 50-27. The Cardinals entered their open week at the bottom of the standings looking up.
 
Even with the negatives, the Cardinals had several positives to hold on to. LU's first two conference games were decided by a total of seven points, including a one-point loss to Northwestern State. That to go along with several injuries to starters, who were nearing a return, had the Cardinal faithful believing the season could be turned around. The Cardinals began their turnaround coming out of their bye week with a thrilling 27-21 lead over league-leading UIW. The winning play from that game led off ESPN's College Gameday Final show that evening and set off a run that would end in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
 
After six consecutive wins, the Cardinals advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time in program history. The Red and White opened the playoffs against traditional power Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
 
Although the Cardinals came up just short in their trip to the playoffs, they gave the Panthers all they could handle. The Cardinals dropped a heartbreaking 16-13 decision at the UNI Dome, a game that saw LU mis two field goals in the final 30 minutes, including one in the closing seconds.
 
The Cards finished the day with 417 yards of total offense and outgained their hosts by 71 yards on the day. Senior Darrel Colbert, Jr. led the offense completing 14 passes for 268 yards and two scores. Sophomore Myles Wanza led the ground attack with 14 carries for 85 yards.
 
It didn't take long for the Cardinals to silence the crowd and create a trivia question for years the come. The first LU touchdown in FCS playoff history came on the second play from scrimmage Colbert found sophomore Kirkland Banks down the far sideline and Banks turned up field untouched for 73 yards and the score. It took LU just 37 seconds to put points on the board.
 
Unfortunately, UNI responded immediately.  UNI's Deion McShane took the ensuing kickoff 59 yards which set up a 21-yard field goal just moments later.
 
Big Red proved they could score without the use of a quick strike on their next possession. The Cardinals marched the ball 75 yards down the field on 11 plays which set up a 25-yard pass from Colbert to junior Case Robinson all alone in the back corner of the end zone for a 13-3 advantage. Colbert's ability to scramble when the pocket started to collapse set up the play allowing Robinson to find a gap in the Panthers' defense.
 
The Panthers appeared to answer right back with a 35-yard TD pass, but the play was negated due to a penalty and the Panthers were forced to punt it away, but the Cards couldn't take advantage and punted it right back. After forcing the Cardinals to punt the ball away late in the first quarter, UNI put together a drive moving the ball deep into LU territory before the drive stalled and they were forced to settle for a 44-yard Austin Errthum field goal to trim the lead to seven, 13-6, with 8:16 remaining in the half.
 
The Cardinals held the advantage until less than two minutes remaining when Eli Dunne found Jalen Rima open down the far sideline for a 32-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 13. With less than a minute remaining in the half, the Cardinals went for the lead heading into the locker room but Colbert's pass was picked off in the end zone to send the game into the locker room all knotted at 13.
 
The Cardinals finished the opening half of action with 217 total yards of offense, including 160 through the air. Colbert completed 9-of-16 (.563) passes for 160 yards and two scores in the opening 30 minutes. UNI finished the opening half with 201 yards, 135 of which came on the ground.
 
The Cardinals appeared to make the first big break of the second half. With UNI starting a drive inside their own 20, Dedrick Garner batted a pass in the air which Chaston Brooks hauled in. Unfortunately, the Cardinals had to settle for a 42-yard field goal attempt, but it was pushed wide right. The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 13:09 remaining in the contest when Errthum booted a 35-yard field goal just minutes later.
 
Facing 4^th-and-15 from their own 30, Schultz dialed up one of the gutsiest calls of his career. LU snapped the ball to Brandon Arnold who rambled 23 yards – including breaking one tackle – to gain the first down. After a 28-yard completion from Colbert to junior Jawun Ruffin on the next play LU appeared to be in business, but the Red and White coughed up the ball on the next play.
 
The Cardinals got the ball back late and drove it down the UNI 19-yard line to set up 36-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide right. UNI's offense was able to run the clock down under 30 seconds before punting it away, and their defense held to pick up the victory.
 
The Cardinals closed their historic campaign with just their second winning season since the program's return (7-5), and just the fifth winning season in the past 30 years. The date of Nov. 24^th, 2018 wasn't the first time the two schools met on the gridiron. Ironically, the only other meeting between the two programs was also a postseason affair. In 1964, the Cardinals posted a 6-3-1 record earn a trip to the Pecan Bowl to face the then State College of Iowa. That game was also a thriller that came right down to the wire with the Panthers recording a 19-17 victory.