LSU football wins against Nicholls State despite subpar performance in the trenches.
BATTLE IN THE BOOT
Tigers struggle and improve in 44-21 win against Nicholls
BY LIZZIE FALCETTI @lizziefalcetti
Nicholls running back Collin Guggenheim took the snap in the wildcat formation from the Colonels’ 33-yard line.
It was the first drive of the second half, and Guggenheim powered through the middle, went untouched and ran for 67 yards into the end zone.
The score was 23-21 LSU. The FBS-FCS matchup was a two-point game.
LSU, favored by 46.5 points, shouldn’t have been in this position. LSU shouldn’t have been fighting to stay ahead after letting Nicholls keep it a close first half. The No. 18 Tigers should’ve been up by at least 20 points in their home opener.
“That was a team that was tired and did not play its very best,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “We had a long week… They worked their tails off this week, but they just did not have the same energy, the same snap, the same kind of physicality that they had against USC.”
While LSU ended up winning 44-21, it continued to struggle in the trenches, giving up 150 rushing yards and only managing to get 64 rushing yards.
“I’m happy we won the football game … I’m looking at the areas we have to do better,” Kelly said.
LSU, now at 1-1, gave its fans a win in Tiger Stadium, while kicking off the 100-year celebration of Death Valley – the home of over 450 LSU wins over the last century.
The game was an exciting battle between two Louisiana teams, which are about an hour’s drive apart. The first game celebrating 100 years fit-
tingly featured two teams from the Boot. It was the first time these programs played.
“I thought they (Nicholls) played their tails off,” Kelly said. “They were physical. You could tell how much it meant to those young men that played here in Tiger Stadium and had a chance to play LSU.”
This matchup consisted of highs and lows for the Tigers.
It was only a matter of time until LSU took the game running, but again, it took a while. Ultimately, LSU bounced back after starting the season with a hard
loss against USC in Vegas.
However, the Tigers had difficulties throughout the game and allowed the Colonels to have a chance.
Down 16-7 in the second quarter, Nicholls fought its way to the LSU 18-yard line.
The clock was ticking for the Colonels to make it a one-possession game. They had to try something new — a trick.
Quarterback Pat McQuaide threw a backwards lateral to wide receiver Quincy Brown, who then launched an 18-yard pass to tight end Lee Negrotto.
The Tigers were only winning by two closing in on the first half. The game would’ve been tied if the Colonels didn’t give up a safety in the first quarter.
LSU’s defense allowed Nicholls to stay on the field with lengthy possessions. The Tigers permitted a 100% completion percentage in the first half.
“We just need to come together as a team,” linebacker Greg Penn III said. “When things aren’t going well like today on defense… we just need to come together and execute.”
Colonels running back Guggenheim racked up two touchdowns and 145 yards. The Tigers struggled against the wildcat formation in the first half, and left gaps for explosive plays to occur.
On the other side of the ball, LSU’s running game was quiet. The Tigers averaged 3.9 yards per rush. Main rushers Josh Williams and Kaleb Jackson only had 38 yards combined.
After losing its top running
back, John Emery Jr., to a torn ACL this week, LSU had to adjust its running-game plan.
The Tigers moved corner Ju’Juan Johnson to running back. He scored a touchdown after completing a short pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier with two minutes left in the first half. Still, LSU had zero rushing touchdowns.
While there was trouble in the trenches for the Tigers, Nussmeier continued to have success in the pocket. He threw for 302 yards and had six touchdowns.
“Garrett Nussmeier is nowhere near any of the issues that we have,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to run the football, and he’s not the running back. He’s not the offensive line.”
The Nussmeier to Kyren Lacy connection was strong. Lacy, despite leaving the game and coming back in the second quarter after an ankle injury, had three touchdowns and 65 yards.
With receivers Chris Hilton and Kyle Parker out this game, CJ Daniels and Aaron Anderson stepped up. Daniels led with 71 receiving yards, and the Tigers had 314 passing yards.
The first half was rough for LSU, but it built resilience with each quarter. Next week will be another test for the Tigers when they travel to Columbia for a College GameDay matchup against South Carolina.
“This week is going to be a huge week of preparation for us, and as long as we practice hard we’ll be good,” tight end Mason Taylor said.
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CATE EMMA WARREN / The Reveille
LSU football junior wide receiver Zavion Thomas (0) holds the ball on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
CATE EMMA WARREN / The Reveille
LSU football freshman safety Kylin Jackson (23) runs down the field on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
NO MORE MOODLE?
Half of LSU’s faculty are unhappy with the platform, survey shows
BY JOHN BUZBEE @thebuzzbuz
A survey of LSU’s faculty members concluded that only half of those surveyed are satisfied with Moodle as the university’s learning management system.
It probed the faculty members on how the university should approach Moodle’s future, gauging if improvements should continue as is the status quo or if the university should look outright for an alternative to Moodle.
The survey was administered collaboratively by executive members of LSU’s Faculty Senate, Information and Technology Services and the Office of Academic Affairs.
It compiled results from 658 faculty members, roughly 40% of the 1650 total body of faculty members employed by the university in 2023. Of those polled, 72% said they frequently used Moodle.
The survey occurred in February. The Faculty Senate approved $5,000 to issue the survey, including incentives to give away for those who completed
RESEARCH
the survey and a raffle to encourage participation.
“Half of the faculty probably want to switch away from Moodle,” said Vice President of the Faculty Senate Parampreet Singh, one of the survey’s administrators. “And half of the faculty want to stick with Moodle, but only if improvements will be made.”
To be exact, the survey found that 51% of faculty members were to some capacity satisfied with Moodle, leaving the remaining 49% on a wide spectrum of dissatisfaction.
Singh, also a professor of physics and astronomy and chair of Faculty Senate’s Information Technology Committee, said these figures should be rationalized with great nuance.
For example, even those satisfied with Moodle answered that there were consistent and fundamental problems to Moodle’s gradebook and video streaming features. Their favoring of the status quo usually hinges on the university continuing to improve the user experience, especially in these areas.
“They don’t know what they’re missing,” Singh said, summariz-
ing a common sentiment of those dissatisfied with Moodle.
Generally, he said, those dissatisfied started their careers in higher education at other institutions and consider Moodle a downgrade from learning management system alternatives, like Canvas and Blackboard.
“The people who are against Moodle are quite vocal; they’re not just a minority,” Singh said. “And the people uncertain of Moodle are generally uncertain of the alternatives.”
Craig Woolley, chief informa-
see MOODLE, page 4
Nicholls State ice cream flavor
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
Students making their way to Tiger Stadium on Saturday to catch LSU football’s home opener against Nicholls State, may have noticed a new tasty treat.
The LSU AgCenter’s dairy store sold a Nicholls Stateinspired flavor for gameday, available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. before the game at 6:30 p.m.
The ice cream’s flavor was salted caramel sweet corn, inspired by the Nicholls State team name, the Colonels.
The dairy store is located on 118 S Campus Dr. and sells meat and dairy products from cows raised locally by LSU’s very own agriculture department.
Earlier this week, the LSU AgCenter (accompanied by LSU’s mascot Mike the Tiger) visited in-state Nicholls and delivered dozens of pints of the special ice cream.
LSU-Southern cybersecurity project receives $1.2
BY GRACELYN FARRAR @gracelynfarrar
The National Science Foundation awarded a $1.2 million grant to a LSU-Southern research team for their progress in cybersecurity for electric vehicle chargers.
At LSU, the research team is headed by Elias Bou-Harb, associate professor in the LSU Division of Computer Science and Engineering, while at Southern, computer science department professor Sudhir Trivedi leads the project.
Bou-Harb said that he and his team happened across the cyber vulnerability accidentally. They’d been looking at the security of camera systems, including ring lights, baby monitors, laptop cameras and more. They were mostly looking at exploitation of smart devices, he said, even in the extreme case of using a smart device to impose upon a larger system like a power grid or water supply.
Many suppliers of things like computers, cell phones and other cyber products tend to hurry through the vetting process, Bou-Harb
said. Output is usually more important than testing the security of these products.
When Bou-Harb’s team discovered the vulnerability in electric vehicle charging stations, they reached out to 32 vendors to address the security issues, but only a small percentage of them ever responded and less took the threat seriously.
In this case, Bou-Harb and his team were not only able to hack into an individual electric vehicle charging station, compromising the vehicle and gaining access to the user’s money and information, but they could also arrange a coordinated attack on a power grid using multiple charging stations. They found they were dealing with a pretty big problem involving a product that was already on the market, in use and growing fast.
At the end of 2023 there were 3.3 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, according to an Experian Automotive Market Trends report, and they are only projected to grow in popularity.
Bou-Harb said that he’s most excited that he can see the results of the team’s re -
search in real time. “You’re not just working on a, you know, kind of theoretical problem,” Bou-Harb said.
LSU partnered with Southern University and a handful of other minority institutions in an effort to secure these charging stations, but also to increase research opportunities for minorities.
The research team consists of a small, competitive group. At LSU, there are only four or five Ph.D.s and the team expects maybe two more hires, Bou-Harb said. It’s tight, but he says the hands-on opportunities are unbeatable.
“It’s a big deal because your research is no longer just on paper,” Bou-Harb said. “You’re impacting security, physics – you see it.”
Another goal of BouHarb’s team was working on creating a “vetting entity” that vendors could trust to test their software. Their program would be similar to the cybersecurity software Crowdstrike, but with more attention to detail before products are put on the market.
“So we are doing the kind of software analysis to make sure that we give it a
million
checkmark before actually you deploy it there because if Crowdstrike was able to mitigate all of this, then you know,” he said, “we wouldn’t have this problem.”
The work the group is doing will positively contribute to society, Bou-Harb said, “and that’s what’s important, I think, at the end of the day.”
CAMPUS LIFE
REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille Patrick F. Taylor Hall sits on April 16.
ERIIN BARKER / The Reveille
An LSU engineering student opens their laptop on Sept. 3 in Patrick F. Taylor Hall.
MOODLE, from page 3 tion officer of the university and another architect of the survey, said that LSU has used Moodle since 2008. LSU is one of, if not the only, university to use Moodle in the SEC, and the same is true of universities in Louisiana – that the LSU system is one of, if not the last, of Moodle’s holdouts.
Woolley said that alternatives are being considered. The most prominent option is Canvas. Blackboard is another being considered.
Across the spectrum of responses, “it’s just difficult to use,” came to be a recurring theme, Singh said.
Lots of faculty have voiced complaints about a lack of training, leading to them never really understanding how to use Moodle effectively.. Some relegate all Moodle-related tasks to teaching assistants or calculate grades using pen and paper.
RESEARCH
Moodle’s future… is undecided
Singh and Woolley said that by the end of the semester, there’s hope that a plan that accommodates the most faculty will be established.
“It’s too early to say that there’s an obvious path forward,” Woolley said. “But what we can say is that this is going to be a well thought out process, that’s inclusive, before a decision is made. I don’t care what that is, I just want the best for our faculty.”
And deciding to make the switch might prove an easy choice, but actually transferring data and content would be anything but. It would pose lots of logistical hurdles the university would have to streamline ahead of migration.
Even if a replacement is deemed more efficient and doable, the multifaceted process of migrating might render a big switch not worth it, Woolley
said, if the gain or change isn’t outweighed by the weight of the migration process.
“It’s just not as easy as saying this is a little bit better,” he said.
But there have been real conversations discussing how Moodle could possibly be replaced.
Singh and Woolley said the survey’s results need to be analyzed and scrutinized in the meantime. Further questions must be asked.
Budgetary concerns weren’t even being considered at this stage, Woolley said.
“We worked in tandem to do the survey, and we’re working in tandem to digest the results and figure out potential paths forward,” he said.
Both Singh and Woolley said that communication and collaboration between departments has been heightened, causing the process to move quickly..
It makes big changes a real and timely possibility, despite further work needed, the survey-
ors said. The survey’s other key findings
The survey also had questions about faculty tech support, generative AI in the classroom and classroom technology accommodations.
The survey’s responses show 79% of faculty believe it’s important the university provide them with a computer loaded with software making the systems compliant with the university’s IT policies.
The survey also found that 48% of faculty members were against incorporating AI in their courses, 27% liked the idea of AI integrated with learning and 25% were uncertain.
Those against AI said the university needed a dedicated ethics course and detection system. Generally, they believe using AI academically leads to a decline in critical thinking.
Those in favor of integrating AI generally said it could be use -
ful in addressing faculty needs and other discipline-specific applications.
Classroom technological accommodations vary widely, Singh explained. Lots of faculty said they were very pleased with the tech present in their classrooms. Others told him that their classroom belonged in the third world.
He said the consensus most faculty held was that classroom technology needed to be standardized.
Seeking student responses
Singh said student responses are also valued, as they stand to benefit or lose from any decisions going forward. Those interested in providing comment can reach him by his email, psingh@ lsu.edu.
He also spoke of a possible experiment wherein a small number of approved classes could test out an alternative to Moodle to simulate if the migration is worth undertaking.
Fossil fuel funded colleges can obstruct climate research
BY MIRANDA GREEN Floodlight News
For decades, oil and gas companies have donated tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to colleges and universities, sat on governing boards, sponsored scholarships and built pro-fossil fuel programming and curriculum — resulting in real or apparent conflicts of interest for universities and their researchers.
“Fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in universities across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and beyond,” according to the research paper published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal WIREs Climate Change. “Archival documents show that the fossil fuel industry deliberately uses university partnerships to further its own interests.”
The new review by researchers from the United States, Canada and Ireland finds just a handful of studies that document the influence of the powerful industry on academia — a dynamic they believe requires much closer scrutiny.
The findings come at a time when experts and governments across the globe agree that sharply reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing reliance on renewable energy are crucial to stalling or reversing climate change.
“For decades, medical professionals have recognized conflicts of interest due to ties with tobacco and pharmaceutical industries. They’ve measured the effects of those conflicts, and then they’ve taken steps to mitigate them,” University of Miami researcher Geoffrey Supran told Floodlight. “And nothing close to that level of concern or scrutiny or reform has been applied by climate and energy experts to fossil fuel industry funding.
“To the contrary, for the most part, university leaders have done nothing except encourage oil in-
dustry funding, along with funding from anywhere else they can get it.”
The researchers cite BP’s sponsorship of Princeton University’s Climate Mitigation Initiative and Shell’s funding of the Shell Enhanced Learning Fund at University of Alberta in Canada as examples of the various and ongoing ways fossil fuel companies strategically invest in higher education.
Their study of existing research on the subject found the fossil fuel industry receives “substantial material and reputational benefits” from its financial support of higher education.
The researchers sifted through 14,000 academic papers measuring outside influence and potential conflicts of interest in academic institutions. The authors found just seven studies that specifically scrutinized the influence of the fossil fuel industry.
Such influence at universities has gone on for decades, the researchers note. They pointed to a 1978 manual for industries that advised “co-opting” academics and “identifying the leading experts in each relevant field and hiring them as consultants or advisors, or giving them research grants and the like … it must not be too blatant, for the experts themselves must not recognize that they have lost their objectivity.”
There are dozens of programs and even entire schools across the country funded by the fossil fuel industry. They include LSU, which has a simulated oil well on its Baton Rouge campus; its Institute for Innovation in Energy is sponsored by Shell. Some universities built on shale oil and gas reserves even lease their land to fracking companies.
This is LSU’s Petroleum Engineering Research & Technology Transfer, or PERTT, Laboratory, an industrial-scale facility for
training and research on borehole technology. According to LSU, it is the only university in North America where future petroleum engineers can get hands-on training in well control. (LSU photo)
More studies needed, researchers say
Prior research has shown that such industry-sponsored programming leads to biased research in favor of those industries. Fossil fuel influence, they wrote, “threatens to distort climate knowledge and action” and undermine universities’ role as “objective and unbiased” when it comes to research.
“There is already an emerging consensus around the scale and significance of this problem,” Supran said. “It felt as though it was important to step back and take a 30,000-foot view of this phenomenon and start by asking, ‘What do we already know?’ ”
The authors determined that non-governmental organizations, students and faculty have been raising the alarm on fossil fuel industry ties to academia for at least 20 years but that the research on the impact of those ties is lacking. The researchers call for additional research into fossil fuel–university partnerships in other countries, such as ExxonMobil’s partnerships with universities in China, Qatar and the Netherlands.
Thursday’s study is the first of several the researchers intend to publish on fossil fuel influence and potential conflicts of interest at universities. The lead author was Sofia Hiltner, a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Michigan and a former research analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Investigation probes fossil fuel influence
In May, Supran testified at a congressional hearing exploring the “Denial, disinformation and doublespeak” of the oil and gas
industry to avoid climate change accountability.
A joint investigation by the U.S. House and Senate uncovered a strategy presentation from 2018 in which oil and gas giant BP recommended spending $1.1 million in the first year to fund white papers at institutions such as Princeton University and the Imperial College in London “highlighting the role of gas as a friend to renewables.”
The committee’s report said the memo was one of many pieces of evidence they’d seen that oil and gas companies actively “establish funded partnerships with academic institutions to enhance their credibility, shape academic research programs to provide studies supportive of a prolonged life for oil and gas, leverage the resulting research to their advantage, and bolster access to policymakers.”
In recent years, environmentalists and students have pressured universities to halt investing in fossil fuel interests and businesses responsible for climate change. Harvard University announced in 2021 it would pull its $42 billion endowment from the fossil fuel industry. In late 2023, Canada’s McGill University announced it would divest from direct holdings in 200 fossil fuel companies.
Geoffrey Supran, an associate professor at the University of Miami, tells members of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee at a May 1, 2024, hearing that his research has found “widespread infiltration of fossil fuel interests into higher education.” (U.S. Senate Budget Committee)
There has been less scrutiny on the money flowing the other direction, from the fossil fuel industry to universities, the study’s authors argue. The universities themselves often lack transparency when it comes to showing their funding ties, the study
found, making it difficult to determine the true scope of financial spending by the fossil fuel industry.
“We call on universities around the world to disclose their financial and contractual ties with fossil fuel companies,” the authors wrote. “We find that universities are an established yet under-researched vehicle of climate obstruction by the fossil fuel industry, complementary to its documented history of climate denial, delay, and lobbying. … Universities’ lack of transparency about their partnerships with this industry poses a challenge to empirical research.”
Backlash grows to oil and gas funding
In 2019, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had to change plans to name an auditorium after the oil company Shell following student and faculty pushback. And in 2022, Cambridge University removed oil and gas giant BP’s name from a building.
Supran, who studies climate disinformation and propaganda by fossil fuel interests, said without more research and transparency, it’s impossible to determine how much the industry spends on higher education: “The best numerical estimates are sort of significant underestimates.”
More than 500 academics have joined the call for universities to stop accepting money for research from the fossil fuel industry.
“Our concern is not with the integrity of individual academics,” the 2022 letter to U.S. and British universities read. “Rather, it is with the systemic issue posed by the context in which academics must work, one where fossil fuel industry funding can taint critical climate-related research.”
Floodlight is ta nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Radio Bar hosts throwback music video tribute night
BY CAMILLE MILLIGAN @camillemill333
Video really did kill the radio star Friday, Sept. 7, at Mid City hangout The Radio Bar. The bar held a special event featuring a six-hour sequence of alternative music videos as an homage to MTV’s popular show “120 Minutes.”
From 8 p.m to 2 a.m. The Radio Bar became “Videobar.” An installation of projectors and 30 vintage TV’s played a curation of synchronized music videos. The music videos were some of the more underground tunes from 1986 to 1991.
Brian Baiamonte, co-owner of The Radio Bar, helped handselect the songs and playlist order along with Sofia Dupre, an LSU graduate and former intern for The Radio Bar.
“We got together and I made a list of songs that I thought either stood the test of time or were still relevant. Or stuff that maybe slipped through the cracks that was really good, but people might not know about it,” Baiamonte said.
Baiamonte said he and the rest of his team were meticulous about how they ordered the music.
“We took into account the time of the night each song was
going to be played. A lot of effort went into that, and that’s just the front end creative side,” Baiamonte said.
Dupre, a former DJ at KLSU, and Baiamonte share a passion for alternative music from the 80’s and 90’s that inspired the creative direction for “Videobar.”
“It was kind of cool to have two generations connecting on a common denominator of good music,” Baiamonte said.
“MTV’s whole thing during that era was going against the mainstream and appealing to the counterculture, so it just really aligns with what Radio Bar has been about since they opened,” Dupre said.
“Video Bar” was already in the works when Dupre started interning for The Radio Bar in August 2023, during her senior year at LSU. Dupre said she spearheaded the design elements of the event, the bar’s reinterpreted logo and the physical installation. She also put together and edited the actual feed of the music video footage.
“I never helmed a creative project that large with that much control over it,” Dupre said. “It felt definitely very challenging at first. Just how much we had to get together. As each step went on it felt more real.”
Behind the captivating video projections and synchronized TVs was a technological side to “Video Bar.”
James Sypsa, a web developer and friend of Baiamonte’s, managed the technology involved with the event. He connected the music videos with the 30 TVs and synchronized the footage with the audio, which he started working on around nine months before the event.
“That’s largely where I contributed, putting the pieces together to help make the lights work so to speak,” Sypsa said. “Coming up with a technological solution that was extremely cheap and super flexible, I’d say was the biggest challenge and the most fun part of it.”
The collaborative effort of those involved with “Video Bar” was worth it. Nostalgic for those who grew up with the music, and a unique night out for those from a younger generation. “Video Bar” successfully drew in a crowd while paying proper tribute to a previous era of music.
“It’s a love letter to that music and that time and that culture,” Dupre said. “It’s something very cool that I haven’t seen being done before, at least in Baton Rouge.”
Rap megastar Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl
BY JONATHAN LANDRUM
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar will pop out on the NFL’s biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Lamar would lead the halftime festivities from the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9. The rap megastar, who has won 17 Grammys, said he’s looking forward to bringing hip-hop to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said in a statement. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
Lamar, 37, has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album “DAMN.”
The rapper’s latest album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” was released in 2022. He was featured on the song “Like That”
with Future and Metro Boomin on a track that spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. He also scored another hit with “Not Like Us.”
In 2016, Lamar gave a stunning seven-minute performance of tracks such as “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” at the 58th Grammy Awards. Lamar dazzled as an opener two years later at the Grammys with a performance of “XXX.”
In June, Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert into a celebration of Los Angeles unity. It came on the heels of his rap battle with Drake during the three-hour concert featuring a mix of p-and-coming LA rappers and stars including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG.
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z called Lamar a “once-in-a-generation” artist and performer.
“His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision,” Jay-Z said. “He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. The creative direction of Lamar’s performance will be provided by pgLang, a creative company
founded by Lamar and Dave Free — who has previously directed the rapper’s music videos.
“Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately
shake the very foundation of hip-hop,” said Seth Dudowsky, the head of music at the NFL.
Last year, Usher shined with a star-studded show with guests including H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Alicia Keys.
“The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is a celebration of the music we love and the incredible artists who make it, all on the world’s biggest stage,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats.
CAMILLE MILLIGAN / The Reveille
“Carolyn’s Fingers” by the Cocteau Twins plays on the Videobar installation.
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP Photo
Kendrick Lamar arrives at the MTV music video awards, on Aug. 27, 2017, in Inglewood Calif.
BACK IN DEATH VALLEY.
LSU football junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) prepares to take the snap on Sept. 7 during the game against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
LSU football redshirt junior placekicker Damian Ramos (34) prepares to kick a field goal on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
LSU football freshman defensive tackle Ahmad Breaux (93) tackles a Nicholls player on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
The LSU football team runs out onto the field on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 4421 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
Photos by Cate Emma Warren and Erin Barker
LEFT AT HALFTIME?
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
The final score might deceive you with LSU football’s win over Nicholls State, which was the Tigers’ first of the season.
Minutes into the second half, it was anybody’s game. The Tigers were well within range of losing to an FCS team, as Nicholls trailed by just two – 23-21.
However, LSU scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and went into cruise control in the final frame to seal up a win in the home opener.
Despite that, the result was disappointing; LSU hasn’t given people much reason to believe that it’s a playoff-caliber team, or one capable of challenging for an SEC title.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
It’s time to sound the alarm on LSU’s running game
LSU struggled to run the ball against USC in Week 1. Besides a spurt of strong John Emery Jr. runs in the third quarter, the Tigers didn’t get much push up front.
But being challenged in the trenches against a Big 10 team is one thing, and being challenged by an FCS team is another.
LSU came up with only 64 rush-
ing yards for an average of 3 yards a carry against Nicholls – down to 51 yards for an average of 2.7 if you take out quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s scrambles.
Failing to generate a push against a defensive front that you have a clear athletic advantage over, especially when you’re supposed to have one of the best offensive lines in the nation, is concerning.
“We want a running game that balances our offense,” head coach Brian Kelly said. It’s unclear what the quick fix is for LSU, but it’s possible that the loss of running back Logan Diggs to the transfer portal was more impactful than the Tigers might’ve thought.
However, LSU is still more than capable of turning it around. The offensive line just needs to redis-
cover its run-blocking mastery, and soon – next week’s opponent, South Carolina, has held opponents to just 3.1 yards per carry so far this season.
Garrett Nussmeier has been a steady presence
Though there was generally confidence in what Nussmeier would
LSU athletes star in new docuseries
BY LIZZIE FALCETTI & JASON WILLIS @lizziefalcetti & @JasonWillis4
LSU Athletics hosted an exclusive premiere of the new Amazon Prime documentary “The Money Game” on Wednesday in the PMAC. The documentary follows how name, image and likeness have impacted LSU athletes.
Students were invited to attend for free to view the first episode of the six-part series several days before its official release date on Sept. 10.
Four LSU athletes featured in the series appeared on Wednesday to walk the red carpet and speak to media, including gymnast Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, women’s basketball player Flau’jae Johnson, track and field hurdler Alia Armstrong and men’s basketball player Trace Young.
After the screening of the first episode, the athletes participated in a Q&A.
“It just made me so happy to be at LSU,” Johnson said of her reaction to viewing the documen-
see LSU VS NSU, page 10 see STREAMING, page 10
LSU secures first win in home opener over Nicholls State
BY AVA HEBERT @avahebe4
LSU football defeated Nicholls 44-21 in its home opener, showing significant improvement on offense. The Tigers’ defense, however, continued to struggle to make stops.
“I’m happy we won the football game,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “But I’m certainly looking at things we have to do better.”
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 27-37 passes, resulting in 302 yards and 6 touchdowns. Nussmeier had a completion rate of 73%.
“He’s a really effective and efficient thrower of the football,” Kelly said. “Garrett Nussmeier is nowhere near any of the issues we have.”
The Tigers were also able to convert more third and fourth downs into first downs, positively progressing from their season opener against USC.
In Vegas, the Tigers had a third and fourth down conversion rate of 38% and 50% respectively, compared to Nicholls where LSU had third and fourth down conversion rates of 44% and 100% respectively.
In just its second drive, LSU converted a 4th-and-1 attempt into a
first down. Three plays later, Nussmeier’s pass met with freshman tight end Trey’Dez Green to score the first touchdown of the game.
Because of a safety earlier in the game, the Tigers led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, and they started to settle into a more consistent offense during the second quarter.
LSU’s first drive of the second quarter ended in a 32-yard touchdown by Kyren Lacy. Lacy stayed down after hurdling a Nicholls defender and injuring his right ankle but was able to walk off the field and rejoin the game later in the quarter.
Lacy ended the night with 65 yards and three touchdowns.
While the Tigers’ passing game improved, their rushing game continued to be a letdown. LSU’s highest rusher was Josh Williams with 19 yards on 4 attempts.
Nicholls, however, heavily relied on its running game to bring results on offense. This tested LSU’s defensive line, which struggled to stop third-down attempts up the middle.
“We’ve got to get to complementary football,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to be physical on both lines.”
In the first quarter, the Colonels started on their own 16-yard line, and after multiple rushes and
missed tackles by LSU, they converted 4th-and-5 to a first down on LSU’s 35-yard line.
Four plays later, running back Collin Guggenheim powered past the Tigers’ defensive line for two yards to score Nicholls’ first touchdown.
Again in the second quarter, after LSU scored, the Colonels responded with another seven points. Nicholls’ quarterback Pat McQuaide made a lateral pass to receiver Quincy Brown, who then threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lee Negrotto.
Nonetheless, LSU remained ahead 16-14.
With about two minutes left in the first half, Nussmeier completed a short right pass to Ju’Juan Johnson for a touchdown.
“I see a guy who is willing to do anything for his team,” CJ Daniels said about Johnson. “I think he did a great job tonight.”
After a good extra point and quick stop on defense, the Tigers got the ball back with 1:54 left on the clock.
However, LSU kicker Damion Ramos missed his 39-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Tigers with 23 points to end the second half.
Nicholls wasted little time trying to close the gap to LSU in the
third quarter, as they scored a touchdown in only three plays.
Guggenheim took the direct snap and ran up the middle of LSU’s defensive line untouched for a 67-yard touchdown.
The Tigers didn’t allow Nicholls to score again after that and started to pull away towards the end of the third quarter.
After a Tiger touchdown, LSU’s defense forced a fumble, keeping
momentum on LSU’s side.
LSU outscored Nicholls 21-7 in the second half to secure its first win of the season.
The Tigers’ next test will lie in South Carolina, where they’ll have another opportunity to showcase whether they can win on the road as well as in Tiger Stadium.
“We’ve got to be able to put these things together,” Kelly said. “The clock’s ticking.”
CATE EMMA WARREN / The Reveille
LSU football junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) gets ready to pass the ball on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium.
CATE EMMA WARREN / The Reveille
LSU football freshman defensive end Dylan Carpenter (97) warms up on ept. 7 before LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium.
Why LSU should lean on its wide receiver talent this season
BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8
On LSU’s first drive of the Week 1 game against USC, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw the ball nine times, completing seven of those nine attempts.
While the opening drive didn’t end with a score for the Tigers, they looked comfortable. Garrett Nussmeier looked comfortable. And because he looked comfortable, his receivers looked comfortable.
Nussmeier completed 30 passes to 10 different targets. Kyren Lacy was his favorite target and LSU’s biggest threat in its receiving game.
On the opening drive, Lacy caught four of his seven passes on the game. His seven catches on eight targets, including a receiving touchdown, all came in the first half.
However, Lacy’s role was diminished in the second half, as Nussmeier only targeted Lacy twice.
“That’s clearly something Joe [Sloan] and I talked about. He understands that,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “We have to be better about getting our guys the ball.”
Instead, Aaron Anderson was the go-to receiver for LSU in the
LSU VS NSU, from page 9
bring to the team as the new starting quarterback, it was also natural to be unsure until the product finally hit the field.
Through two games, it’s safe to say Nussmeier can dependably command an offense.
In Saturday’s game, Nussmeier joined elite company with six touchdown passes in a game, something only two LSU quarterbacks have done: Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels.
His total stats through two games are 610 passing yards and eight touchdowns on a 75% completion percentage.
He’s been mistake-free, only throwing one interception on what was basically a hail mary situation where tight end Mason Taylor wasn’t looking for the ball.
However, as reliable as Nussmeier has been, he hasn’t quite been electric. He’s been elite at making the simple plays.
I wrote in January after Nussmeier’s ReliaQuest Bowl debut that the key to him being the next star quarterback at LSU would be reining in his gunslinger tendencies while also allowing him to be aggressive.
Through two games, Nussmeier hasn’t made many throws deep down the field. On Saturday against Nicholls, the deep shots he did take were off target.
That isn’t to suggest that Nussmeier has in any way held back LSU’s offense or been anything other than very good. He’s made almost every play you’d expect him to make.
However, to reach the expectations that some had for him – to compete for the Heisman and ri-
second half. He caught a 13-yard pass for a touchdown in the third quarter and caught two more passes in the fourth quarter, including a 41-yard catch.
“Aaron Anderson I thought had a breakout game,” Kelly said. “He played with a great deal of confidence. It was nice to see that.”
Last season, Anderson caught 12 passes for 59 yards. In just one game, he already surpassed his total receiving yards from last season.
Tight end Mason Taylor was also a threat in the pass game, catching seven passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.
With LSU’s offense looking sound in its pass game, and having the depth to support it, why wouldn’t the Tigers lean on their pass game?
Well, it sounds like Brian Kelly wants to do just that.
Kelly continued to praise Lacy following the Tigers’ loss and regretted not getting him the ball in the second half.
Lacy wasn’t the only one he praised, or the only one he will want to see more action from.
Anderson, whose role already increased in just one game, looks to stay a primary target.
Kelly also hopes to implement Zavion Thomas more in the pass
val Daniels or Burrow – Nussmeier needs to be more aggressive and make more big plays. That would take the LSU offense to another level.
For now, when LSU sees a tough defense that’s less willing to give up the short stuff, Nussmeier may struggle to push the ball downfield.
LSU is committed to giving depth pieces opportunities
LSU said all throughout fall camp that, on both sides of the ball, it was going to run a rotation and use its depth to its advantage.
It wasn’t just lip service. LSU has utilized plenty of options at defensive tackle, running back, tight end and in the secondary.
At defensive tackle, LSU has utilized freshman Ahmad Breaux and transfer Jay’Viar Suggs. At tight end, freshman Trey’Dez Green has immediately found himself in the game plan and scored his first career touchdown on Saturday.
Freshman running back Ju’Juan Johnson – who was a quarterback in high school, opened fall camp as a safety and has now switched over with LSU lacking bodies in the backfield – also had his number called. Johnson made three catches for 16 yards and a receiving touchdown.
“He’s just wide-eyed, has a great sense for the game,” Kelly said of Johnson. “He’ll learn quickly.”
Even on the offensive line, with senior guard Garrett Dellinger out on Saturday, LSU gave two players shots at filling the void: redshirt freshman Paul Mubenga and freshman Tyree Adams.
At the secondary is where it’s most noticeable, though.
With Jardin Gilbert out for the first half for targeting, LSU moved Sage Ryan to safety and gave fresh-
game. On Sunday night, Thomas caught two passes for 23 yards. He was primarily used on kick and punt returns.
“I was proud of Zavion. He gives us a new dimension in kickoff return. He’s dangerous on punt return,” Kelly said. “I thought he did a good job as a receiver, made a big catch for us late in the game.”
But Kelly brought up a receiver that did not get any action in Las Vegas, and a player that hasn’t been in the program all that long: Shelton Sampson.
The former five-star receiver from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge came to LSU with a lot of hype and loads of potential. It just hasn’t been put into motion.
Kelly hopes to finally get Sampson into the pass game, and sees him as too much of a talent to keep leaving off the field.
“He’s got to be able to play for us and we have to get him on the field,” Kelly said. “He’s got to get in our rotation. If we get him in our rotation, it allows us to slide some people around, so he becomes kind of a focal point for us moving forward. He’s important to us and we’ve got to get him going.”
Speaking of players who didn’t appear in Sunday’s loss, Chris Hilton, who is recovering from a bone
pass the ball on Sept. 7 during the game against Nicholls
man PJ Woodland his first career start. It won’t be his last of the season, as the Tigers are confident in his abilities.
Zy Alexander drew praise from Kelly for his performance at cornerback. Last season, he was the team’s top option at the position before suffering a season-ending injury and has been slowly working his way back.
“I just had to trust the process,” Alexander said. “I just waited patiently and just waited for my name to be called.”
LSU also gave sophomore Javien Toviano some first-team snaps at the star position instead of Major Burns, signaling that the team is willing to experiment, even when it comes to Burns, a redshirt senior who many were disappointed with in the first game.
The Tigers are certainly attempting to toe the line between being a contender and developing young talent.
bruise, may be back in the rotation in the coming weeks. Last season, Hilton caught 13 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Despite LSU falling short in Las Vegas, Nussmeier and the Tigers’ pass game thrived more than it failed. However, between receivers not being utilized correctly and having to adjust to pass defenses, the negatives outweigh the positives.
STREAMING, from page 9
tary. “I always tell people I bleed purple and gold.”
The documentary also follows former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and women’s basketball star Angel Reese, highlighting their roads from LSU to the pros.
Shaquille O’Neal, NBA legend and former LSU basketball player, was an executive producer on the series.
Modern student-athletes have a difficult situation to navigate, having to balance school, athletics and brand deals.
“There definitely is pressure at times,” Dunne said of how NIL affects her. “But pressure is a privilege, and I’m so blessed to be in the position that I’m in right now.”
Especially for lesser-known athletes who have to seek out their own opportunities, LSU’s NIL department is extremely valuable.
“They’ve had the opportunity to learn a ton in this space, which has been great,” said Taylor Jacobs, associate AD of NIL and strategic initiatives. “They’re learning how to manage a business. They’re learning how to manage their bank account, and I think it’s been a great opportunity for them to figure all that out.”
Both Dunne and Johnson noted that NIL is especially important for women, who don’t have as many profitable pro-league opportunities.
“I don’t have a $30-million contract waiting on me in the WNBA,” Johnson said. “As women… we have to seize the opportunity, we have to do it while we’re here.”
College athletics changed for-
But when Nussmeier and his receivers got into a rhythm, the offense rolled smoothly.
And if there’s a lesson the Tigers can take away from their opening loss, it’s to embrace what works and roll with it. When it comes to putting the ball in the air, the Tigers may just have to embrace it.
ever when the national governing body of collegiate sports adopted the NIL policy, allowing athletes to make money off their brand.
LSU was one of the first universities to truly embrace NIL. It created NILSU, and athletes, like those shown in the series, have skyrocketed with their social media fame.
Now, NIL is three years old, and this documentary has been in the works for around two years, Jacobs shared.
“People hear a lot of things, they read a lot of things, but being able to have a doc team follow around athletes and really dive deeper into the NIL story will be exciting for fans to see and respond to,” Jacobs said.
The makers of the documentary were granted exclusive access behind the scenes of LSU Athletics, following select athletes during the 2023-24 school year. The show peels back the curtains and makes these stars feel like regular college students.
“It was really odd, because they’d just be filming everything, like filming me do laundry,” Young said of the experience.
Armstrong also shared how this documentary process was hard for her.
“It was tough… But my goal was to just broadcast me as a person at my lowest and highest,” she explained.
As exciting as the expanding NIL opportunities are for college athletes everywhere, Dunne and company know that the brand at LSU gives them one of the best platforms out there.
“Not only are the athletes great, the school just has swag,” Dunne said.
ERIN BARKER / The Reveille LSU football junior tight end Mason Taylor (86) catches the ball on Sept. 7 during LSU’s 44-21 win against Nicholls at Tiger Stadium.
ERIN BARKER / The Reveille LSU football junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) looks to
at Tiger Stadium.
What the past can teach us about body image and self love
AMYRI JONES @acamelliasssss
Modern beauty standards often sell us unrealistic images of what beauty is and what the “perfect body” should look like. We see this on social media and television all the time. So, the only way you can avoid these lies is if you get offline, which is something we should all be doing from time to time.
When you aren’t being bombarded with content that’s tainted with false advertising, you’re given the space to ground yourself in reality and begin to see yourself with your own eyes. I believe our self-perceptions were originally pure and full of depth. It wasn’t until the rise of beauty standards fed to us by the media when this perception began to be infiltrated by companies who profit off of our self hatred.
People from generations past were able to have pure, raw perceptions because they didn’t have access to the same
The
technology we do, nor was digital marketing or advertising a thing at the time. Cellulite, stretch marks, rolls, fuller stomachs, wide hips, etc. were considered beauty markers.
A woman’s natural state, her naked body, was considered to be the most sacred.
Women were practically made divine through the eyes of the sculptors, poets and painters of the past. How did we go from such beautiful depictions and reverence of real-life beauty to superficial standards? How can we go back to what once was?
When I studied art history with Allison Young, I remember studying and analyzing paintings and sculptures of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and glamor. These works of art humanized her which showed that goddesses are very similar to mortal women and it legitimized the ideas of our bodies being divine and sacred.
Art has always been used as a vessel for people to express their understanding and views, so if you were to look at any work from the classical antiquity era, it was clear what the perception
of beauty was: women in their natural form were beautiful.
Even outside of art, the practice of Aphrodite worship can give insights about the meaning of self-love in the eyes of the Goddess herself. As a religious studies student, I couldn’t help but look into the practice of pagans who were devoted to her. I learned that self-love and self-acceptance are two of her biggest virtues. Aphrodite’s message is that you and I are perfect just the way we are regardless of what the media says.
Society is lost because there is no longer a high regard for women. This isn’t to say that this wasn’t the case before, but it’s clear that the definition of beauty has changed. We used to be a proper society, acknowledging divine femininity, paying respects to beauty and love just for the sake of it. Divinity and humanity were not separate, not in the eyes of the poets, writers, artists or pagans.
There needs to be some sort of revival for this kind of philosophy. Not only will it positively affect people, it
In this Oct. 5, 2016 photo, a partial view of a Parian marble statue of Aphroditi, godness of beauty, found in Baiai southern Italy is displayed at the National archaeological Museum of Athens. This statue version made in the second A.D. century of the type of the Syracuse Aphrodite the original of this goes back to the 4th B.C.
would also make life much more meaningful. If the beauty I saw in those paintings was the same beauty that’s found in me or you, then who cares about standards of beauty that are inherently exclusive.
Amyri Jones is a 22-year-old digital advertising and religious studies senior from Baton Rouge.
love behind heirlooms is more important than their worth
GARRETT’S GAVEL
GARRETT MCENTEE @9are_bear
What are heirlooms, and why are they so important? By definition, an heirloom is something of special value that is passed down from one generation to another. Oftentimes the object has some inherent monetary value that makes it “valuable,” and this value increases with sentimentality as the years go by.
Most people don’t think much about heirlooms. However, I do. Alas, I discovered a horrible truth: my family doesn’t really do heirlooms or any form of legacy preservation. We have no recipes that have been passed down, no jewelry or even vintage lamps. All my family has to pass down is dust and a love for the Buffalo Bills.
As a kid, this slightly peeved me because I thought, “Ooh, shiny valuable object, gimme” or
ture and heritage. A gift from our ancestors. They are beauty, history and love in its purest, finest and most human form.
But let’s be realistic, the premise of heirlooms is as ridiculous as it is extraordinary. There are so many families that can’t afford genuine silver or gold to be passed down for numerous generations. They have more pressing matters, like keeping a roof over their heads and getting food on the table, and I can empathize with that.
During my youth, my family was concerned with the exact same things. But now that I’m grown, I can see that heirlooms don’t just have to be amulets or diamonds. They can be recipes, photos or really anything that’s worth preserving.
with any fingerprints or any other gunk. The same can be said with recipes! You can put them into a hard drive or the cloud and boom, you have it forever. Now, will these digital enhancements ever replace the more historical feeling of a piece of paper titled, “Grandma’s Gumbo”? No, not for a while at least. But the point I’m trying to make is that it’s less so about the object, and more about the love and intention that went into preserving and sharing any kind of heirloom.
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something along those goblinesque lines. But, as I grew up I began to realize I could appreciate the history of an heirloom.
Heirlooms are more than just a shiny rock or a silver band, they act as a silent witness to our history. They are keepers of cul-
As society grows more advanced and the usage of cellular devices becomes more widespread, heirlooms become easier to inherit. Most families have photo books, but now your phone comes with storage to store your photos forever. You never have to worry about damaging the photo
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In my personal life, I now try to buy things worth preserving while I can. I photograph everything (poorly), I’ve started cooking and attempting to make recipes worth preserving and sharing (no luck yet). But I’m determined to have some part of me to pass down to the future McEntee’s that run around. Or perhaps my siblings won’t have kids and it’ll all be for naught, oh well…
Garrett McEntee is a 19-year-old English freshman from Benton. AMYRI’S VANTAGE
Quote of the Week
“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Vince Lombardi
Sports Editor Jason Willis
Oliver Butcher News Editor Taylor Hamilton Opinion Editor
PETROS GIANNAKOURIS / AP Photo
BILL ALLEN / AP Photo
Put on display at the Smithsonian Institution on November 7, 1962 is a historic diamond necklace that had been the gift of Napolean I to Empress Marie Louise in 1811. It is encased with the famed Hope diamond, upper right. Mrs. Herbert A. May of Washiongton D.C. is the donor of the Napoleonic jewels.
