BEAUMONT – If Lamar had to play a football game before this Saturday, coach Ray Woodard would have been rushed into deciding if he should change his starting quarterback.
He’s already said Lamar (0-2) needs more production at that position heading into the start of Southland Conference play and a home meeting with Sam Houston State. But whether he’ll replace Carson Earp with Andrew Allen as the starter will “depend on a lot of things,” he also said, including how they do in practice.
“I think after this second half against Coastal [Carolina] and at Houston, it’s tough to evaluate off of Houston, with them being so good,” Woodard said. “The production wasn’t there. We’re looking at a lot of things this week. I’m not ready to make any decisions right now.”
Earp, a senior, has struggled in two starts this season. He’s completed only 14 of 31 passes for 168 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Against Houston on Saturday, his only completion in four attempts was for 14 yards to DeWan Thompson.
Junior Allen put his FBS experience to work and completed 6 of 9 for 44 yards at Houston in his Cardinals’ debut. He spent the past two years at New Mexico State.
Woodard said he hasn’t heard any complaints from the public about Lamar’s early-season struggles. He’s in his seventh season, all of them since the Cardinals relaunched the football program, and he has one winning season to show for it (8-4 in 2014).
“No one should be happy being 0-2,” he said. “I try not to take anything personal, but that just goes with it. Probably the same group will be just as happy if we win. I hope we are getting to the point as a program that we’re not happy being 0-2. I know I’m not.”

THE LONG WAIT
The past Saturday’s 42-0 Houston win may be better remembered for the 3-hour, 36-minute delay late in the first quarter. Woodard treated the break as a halftime, the actual period of which was reduced to 5 minutes, talking with his team before bringing in food for the players.
“I was under the impression we were going to call it,” he said. “And then, all of a sudden, we were called to rush back out there. [Houston coach Tom] Herman thought we were through as well, and he asked me if I was the reason we were out there, and I said, ‘No, I thought you were the reason we were out there.’ We weren’t the final decision, but we both were leaning [toward the idea] that it would be canceled.”

(UN)LUCKY NO. 3?
Sam Houston State is ranked third in the latest STATS FCS and FCS Coaches Top 25 polls, the same ranking the Bearkats held a season ago when Lamar scored a 49-46 upset in Huntsville.
Last season’s win could be a positive omen for a Cardinals team that sorely needs a win.
“On one hand, we know how difficult it’s going to be because we know how good they are. On the other hand, we did beat them. So we should have some confidence that we can play well against a team this talented.”

INJURY REPORT
Cornerback and return specialist Rodney Randle Jr. sustained a bruised knee Saturday and used crutches afterward, Woodard said.
“He was off his crutches. He said he’s going to play. I’d like to think by the middle of the week, he’s going to run,” the coach said.
The Cardinals are awaiting results on an MRI of right guard Bret Treadway’s spleen. Woodard said if the spleen is not enlarged, the senior may be cleared to play.
Center Matthew Oubre will miss the Sam Houston State game, but the extent of the knee injury he suffered against Coastal Carolina is still not known.

ON THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Woodard doesn’t agree with some players’ choosing to not stand for the national anthem before a game, but he wouldn’t punish anyone for opting that.
“I would be disappointed because that’s my personal belief,” he said. “I would not try to force anyone to [stand]. At the same time, I would promote it. I don’t think that’s the way to protest because you’re dishonoring your country, in my opinion. And, there are other ways to protest. If someone wants to protest something, that’s their right to do that, but I don’t think that’s the time or place, before a football game. That’s just the way I feel.”
Many players during Sunday’s opening games in the NFL have followed 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lead in not honoring the American flag in protest of wrongdoings against African Americans.
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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews