Louisiana
MTSU football vs Louisiana Tech: Score prediction, scouting report in Week 7 game
MTSU football coach Derek Mason on improving after loss to Duke
Middle Tennessee State football coach Derek Mason speaks following a 45-17 loss to Duke on homecoming.
Middle Tennessee State football, after a week off, will delve back into Conference USA play for the rest of the season beginning with a midweek contest.
The Blue Raiders (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) will try to snap a four-game losing streak and earn their first conference win when they play at Louisiana Tech Thursday (7 p.m., CBS Sports Networks).
MTSU is coming off a 24-7 loss at Memphis. Louisiana Tech (1-3, 0-1) has lost three in a row after a Week 1 victory over Nicholls. The Bulldogs dropped a 17-10 decision to Florida International during Week 5.
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Below is a scouting report on the matchup, including a score prediction by The Daily News Journal’s Cecil Joyce:
Louisiana Tech football has relied on its defense in 2024
Despite a 1-3 to start, Louisiana Tech has played good defense this season. The Bulldogs are allowing an average of less than 300 yards total offense per game.
The Bulldogs have been particularly tough against the pass, where they’ve allowed only 198 yards per game. That will test an MTSU offense whose strength has been its passing game — 265 yards per game — behind redshirt junior Nick Vattiato.
MTSU may also turn to its running game, though it’s averaging only 80 yards per game, a little more against the Bulldogs. With starter Frank Peasant out because of an injury, junior Jaiden Credle has carried a bulk of the load. He rushed 10 times for 39 yards in the loss to Memphis after gaining 125 yards and a touchdown in a homecoming loss to Duke.
Credle has 49 rushes for 233 yards and two TDs on the season.
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MTSU passing duo clicking on all cylinders
One of the bright spots during the current losing streak has been the play of Vattiato and his top receiver, junior Auburn transfer Omari Kelly. The duo has heated up over recent games.
Kelly has a team-leading 24 receptions for 471 yards with three touchdowns, and most of that production has come over the past three games.
Wrapped around a four-catch, 12-yard performance against Duke, Kelly totaled 15 receptions, 413 yards and three TDs against Western Kentucky and Memphis.
Vattiato is 107 of 163 for 1,285 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
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Louisiana Tech offense also likes to air it out
Like MTSU, Louisiana Tech has succeeded more with its passing game than running game, averaging just 100 yards rushing per contest. That comes despite a starting offensive line of all fourth-year players.
The team’s leading rusher is 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior Donerio Davenport. The McComb, Mississippi, product has 31 carries for 107 yards with one touchdown. The second-leading rusher has just 65 yards.
Unlike the Blue Raiders, the Bulldogs have rotated starting quarterbacks.
Redshirt junior Jack Turner, the team’s Week 1 starter, injured a knee injury in that game and missed Week 2 before coming back to throw for 314 yards and a TD (but also three interceptions) in a loss to North Carolina State. He was then pulled in the fourth quarter of Tech’s Week 4 loss to Tulsa after completing 7 of 14 passes for just 41 yards.
Redshirt freshman Evan Bullock got the start the next week against FIU, completing 26 of 37 passes for 218 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Redshirt freshman Blake Baker replaced Turner in both Week 1 and Week 4. He is 18 of 34 passing for 314 yards with a TD and three interceptions.
MTSU score prediction vs. Louisiana Tech
MTSU 24, Louisiana Tech 17. The Blue Raiders get their first CUSA win in the Derek Mason era, snapping a losing streak along the way. An improving MTSU defense exploits the Bulldogs’ issues behind center.
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Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
Louisiana
Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for March 2, 2026
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Louisiana
National Guard deployment in New Orleans extended for six months
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
Louisiana
Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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