Louisiana — Sun Belt
PPA off / def
0.11 / 0.20
2025
Class rank
#91
class of 2026
Returning PPA
92%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (6–7)
Statistical comps — 2025 Louisiana's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (5 in / 7 out)
| Incoming |
|---|
| Brodrick Stewart | DL | ← Tarleton State | ★★★ |
| Tito Chikere | EDGE | ← East Texas A&M | ★★★ |
| Jayce Mitchell | IOL | ← Tulane | ★★★ |
| Anthony Reagan Jr. | RB | ← Howard | ★★★ |
| Princeton Malbrue | LB | ← LSU | ★★★ |
Origins
Napier won four straight Sun Belt West titles between 2018 and 2021 with a roster built almost entirely from Louisiana. Cajun Field on a Saturday night sounds like nowhere else in the conference.
Founded 1898 · Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, founded in Acadiana · first football 1901 · defined by Billy Napier
All-time record
All-time
291–372–5
1902–2025
Win %
43.9%
91 seasons played
Winning seasons
24
26% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 1–38 (1902–1946) · D-II 0–7 (1949–1970) · FBS 290–327–5 (1971–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2021 | 13 | 1 | Sun Belt |
| 2019 | 11 | 3 | Sun Belt |
| 2020 | 10 | 1 | Sun Belt |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | Sun Belt |
| 1976 | 9 | 2 | Southland |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1902 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 347 | 66% |
40% | 108 of 136 | 5.5 | 12% |
| 2nd down | 258 | 55% |
35% | 123 of 136 | 4.3 | 7% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 47 | 79% |
70% | — | 5.4 | 17% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 50 | 44% |
40% | — | 7.1 | 16% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 84 | 20% |
25% | — | 6.8 | 19% |
| 4th down | 18 | 50% |
61% | — | 8.1 | 11% |
154 drives · 34% ended in points · 7.1 plays and 36.1 yards per drive · 0.55 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 14 | UL Monroe |
(12:49) Shotgun #7 B.Davis rush left for 76 yards gain to the ULM00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:49… |
76 | 7.06 |
| 7 | James Madison |
Lunch Winfield pass complete to Dale Martin for 69 yds for a TD (Tony Sterner KICK) |
69 | 6.61 |
| 3 | Missouri |
Zylan Perry run for 84 yds for a TD (Tony Sterner KICK) |
84 | 6.58 |
| CFP | Delaware |
Shotgun #2 L.Winfield pass complete short middle to #88 C.Jensen caught at UL40, for 40 ya… |
40 | 4.14 |
| 9 | Troy |
(01:23) Shotgun #2 L.Winfield pass complete short left to #0 R.Williams caught at TROY33, … |
18 | 3.94 |
| 10 | South Alabama |
(04:14) Shotgun #2 L.Winfield pass complete deep left to #6 S.Sampson Jr. caught at USA21… |
45 | 3.93 |
| 4 | Eastern Michigan |
Daniel Beale pass complete to Shelton Sampson Jr. for 29 yds to the EMU 43 for a 1ST down |
29 | 3.75 |
| 2 | McNeese |
Bill Davis run for 36 yds for a TD (Tony Sterner KICK) |
36 | 3.73 |