Lindenwood QB Robert “Pops” Battle breaks upfield during Thursday’s NCAA football opener against Charleston Southern. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
| NCAA Football | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Southern (0-1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Lindenwood (1-0) | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University football team kicked off the new season with a bang, by defeating Charleston Southern, 20-17, in a thrilling Ohio Valley Conference contest, Thursday night at Hunter Stadium.
The Lions fell behind early, but scored 17 consecutive points in the second and third quarters to take then lead, then held on late to earn their first win of the season.
“First games are always a little bit crazy and always exciting and you always want to see what kind of team you are,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “I think we found out a lot about the type of team we are.”
Junior Robert “Pops” Battle made his first collegiate start and completed 14-of-21 passes for 142 yards, and also rushed for 60 yards, including a touchdown to lead the Lindenwood offense. Teammate Jared Rhodes led all carriers with 63 yards on 11 carries — a 5.7 yards per carry average — while Jalen Smith caught three passes for 47 yards to lead all receivers.
Lindenwood head football coach Jed Stugart gets set to take the field before the Lions’ season opener against Charleston Southern, Thursday evening at Hunter Stadium. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
The first big play of the game came just before halftime, with the score tied at 3. Charleston Southern was driving deep into Lindenwood territory and looked like it might score to take the lead before the break.
But Lindenwood junior and Kirkwood High product Isaac Edwards intercepted a pass thrown by CSU’s Lek Powell and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown that gave the Lions the lead heading into halftime.
The Lions took firm control of the game early in the third quarter, when they drove 64 yards on eight plays, capped by a 22-yard touchdown run by Battle. That play put Lindenwood up 17-3.
Charleston Southern responded with its best drive of the night, late in the third. The Buccaneers went 71 yards on eight plays and finished it off with a four-yard touchdown toss from Powell to Mekhi Campfield on the first play of the fourth quarter, which pulled the visitors back to within 17-10.
Lindenwood answered with another long drive — 67 yards on 11 plays — which finished with a 28-yard field goal by senior Will Graham. It was his second made field goal of the night and it put the Lions up 20-10.
CSU scored a touchdown on its next possession, with just over two minutes left in the game. But the Bucs never got the ball back again, as Lindenwood converted three third downs on its final possession to run out the clock and close out the game.
“I was proud of how we finished,” Stugart said. “We’ve talked a lot about being a fourth quarter team this year. We had some games last year, where we didn’t hold together like we wanted to the whole four quarters. Tonight, I thought we did and we did enough to get ourselves a good win.”
Lindenwood (1-0) will be on the road next for Game 2 of the season. The Lions will travel to New York to take on Stony Brook University, next Thursday, September 3. That contest will kick off at 6 p.m., and will be streamed live on FloCollege.com.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | CSU | LU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 12:16 | CSU – Rolader,Matt 50 yd field goal | 3 | 0 |
| 2nd | 05:45 | LU – Graham,Will 32 yd field goal | 3 | 3 |
| 2nd | 00:13 | LU – Edwards,Isaac 85 yd interception return (Graham,Will kick) | 3 | 10 |
| 3rd | 09:41 | LU – Battle,Pops 22 yd run (Graham,Will kick) | 3 | 17 |
| 4th | 14:55 | CSU – Campfield,Mekhi 4 yd pass from Powell,Lek (Rolader,Matt kick) | 10 | 17 |
| 4th | 05:36 | LU – Graham,Will 28 yd field goal | 10 | 20 |
| 4th | 02:03 | CSU – Green,Hunter 14 yd pass from Powell,Lek (Rolader,Matt kick) | 17 | 20 |
2026 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 27, 2026 (Thursday) | 6:00 p.m. | Home | Charleston Southern* | Hunter Stadium |  | W, 20-17 (1-0) |
| September 3, 2026 (Thursday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Stony Brook | Stony Brook, N.Y. |  | |
| September 12, 2026 (Saturday) | 6:00 p.m. | Away | Missouri State | Springfield, Mo. | | |
| September 26, 2026 (Saturday) | 12:00 p.m. | Away | Eastern Michigan | Ypsilanti, Mich. | | |
| October 10, 2026 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri State* | Hunter Stadium | | |
| October 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Eastern Illinois* | Charleston, Ill. | | |
| October 24, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | Chicago State | Hunter Stadium | | |
| October 31, 2026 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Tennessee State* | Hunter Stadium | | |
| November 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 1:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. central) | Away | Gardner-Webb* | Boiling Springs, N.C. | | |
| November 14, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Away | Tennessee-Martin* | Martin, Tenn. | | |
| November 21, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | Western Illinois* | Hunter Stadium | |