Let's Look Ahead! (Tour de' Sun Belt)

[eoltmer]

Oh my lord, after a hell of a game last week we got the next week off! Psych! Let the Tour de' Sun Belt continue! (Thanks for the schedule Peddy!) I would not object in the least bit if the Athletic Director ( ) decided to reschedule one if not two of the three Sun Belt non-conference games.

Next up the Rajin Cajin's of Louisiana-Lafayette let’s see what they have to offer:

 

Louisiana-Lafayette (Ragin' Cajun’s) 6-6, (5-2)

 

National Stats:

#13 in Total Offense

#24 in Scoring Offense

#88 in Passing Offense

#7 in Rushing Offense

#106 in Total Defense

#105 in Scoring Defense

#75 in Pass Defense

#111 in Rush Defense

 

Sun Belt Conference Stats (per game):

#1 in Total Offense: 449.9

#1 in Scoring Offense: 33.1

#7 in Passing Offense: 185.5

#1 in Rushing Offense: 264.42

#6 in Total Defense: 429.6

#7 in Scoring Defense: 33.7

#5 in Pass Defense: 216.3

#8 in Rushing Defense: 213.25 (You have a top 10 rushing team and yet you can’t defend the run, )

 

Most embarrassing loss: 3 - 48 vs. Troy (When you give up 391 yards rushing your probably not gonna win)

 

Most embarrassing win: 59 - 30 vs. North Texas (C'mon its 1-11 North Texas)

 

Most impressive win: 28 - 23 vs. Arkansas State (At that point they were in a three way tie for the Conf. championship)

 

Most heart breaking loss: 3 - 48 vs. Troy (Not only was it the most embarrassing loss of the year but a win would have given the Cajun’s there first outright conference championship)

 

Key Offensive returning player: Offensive Line!

The offensive line core which consists of seniors Kyle Pirtle, Brad Bustle and Chris Fisher have combined for 112 career starts. During a four-week stretch prior to the Arkansas State game, the unit guided the rushing attack to 300-plus yards rushing (414 vs. Kent State, 335 at Kansas State, school record 556 at ULM, 338 at North Texas). Behind the line’s leadership, Louisiana has surpassed 100 yards rushing in 11 of 12 games.

 

In the UTEP game the offensive line did not allow a sack – the fourth such occurrence last season (Southern Miss, Kent State, ULM, UTEP). In the first six games of the season, UL had allowed only eight sacks - tied for the second-fewest allowed in the Sun Belt Conference. The unit surrendered a season-high five (5) sacks to Arkansas State, but bounced back by surrendering only two (2) in the next three outings.

Fisher was named to the preseason All-SBC team.

 

Key Defensive returning player: LB Daylon McCoy (Junior)

2008 Def stats: 48 Solo, 21 Assist, 69 Total Tackles, 6 TFL, 2 Int's, 4 Sacks, 1 Pass Breakup, 2 Forced Fumbles.

Daylon McCoy was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week following his performance vs. Arkansas State. He’s the first UL underclassman to earn the honor. McCoy registered at least five (5) tackles, nine (9) times last season and in the last eight (8) games he played. His 47 solo tackles were tops amongst all defensive players. McCoy made key game-changing plays vs. ASU. He stopped a drive in the first quarter by recovering a fumble. Late in the fourth quarter, it was his sack on second-and-six which created third-and-18 leading to a three-and out. UL received the ball with 3:34 left and scored the winning TD.

 

Coach Bustle won 23 games in his first five seasons with the Cajuns from 2002-06, including 11 of the last 17 games. UL won only nine games in the five seasons prior to Bustle’s arrival from 1997-2001. Bustle saw his winning percentage increase each of the first four seasons since taking the job in 2002, but regressed to .500 in 2006. His 6-6 record in 2006 was only deemed a regression because of the high standards and raised levels of expectations by the Cajuns and their fans. In fact, Bustle’s 12 wins from 2005-06 were the most in a two-year period since 1994-95.

 

Louisiana went 3-3 at home in 2006, marking the fifth straight season – all under Bustle - that the Cajuns had been .500 or better at home. Bustle boasts a 20-18 (.526) career record at Cajun Field. By comparison, UL was 6-19 (.240) at home from 1997-01. In addition to raised expectations, Bustle has brought professionalism and discipline to the program. From 2002-08, the Cajuns 525 penalties are the fewest in the Sun Belt Conference and UL boasts the fewest penalties per game over that span.

 

The Cajuns went 6-5 (.546) in 2005 to mark UL’s first winning record since 1995. Along with a winning season in 2005 came a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship thanks to five straight wins to end the season. After starting 1-5 (0-2), Louisiana roared back into the SBC race with a come-from-behind road win at Middle Tennessee. From there came a homecoming win over Troy in overtime and a second comeback road win, this time at North Texas. A Senior Day victory over Florida International set-up the season finale at Louisiana-Monroe. The Cajuns rocked the Indians 54-21, claiming the first school title since the 1994 Big West crown.

 

Since Coach Bustle’s arrival, the Cajuns have blocked 35 kicks (‘02 – 7, ‘03 – 5, ‘04 – 4, ’05 – 7, ’06 – 6, ’07 – 3, ’08 – 3). Scoring on special team’s blocks has been special for the Cajuns, accumulating six touchdowns and one safety.

Blocked kicks 2002-08

1. Fresno State, 44

2. Texas, 41

3. Louisiana-Lafayette, 35

4. Boise State, 34

5. Kansas State, 33

6. Kentucky, 33

7. Virginia Tech, 31

8. Florida, 30

9. UCLA, 29

10. Notre Dame, 27

 

2009 Preview:

The Cajun’s lost a slew of skill position players due to graduation; Dual threat QB Michael Desormeaux (1876yrds passing/1043yrds rushing), RB Tyrell Fenroy (1375yrds rushing) and WR Jason Chery (656 receiving/313 rushing/1922 all-purpose yrds). Those three players made up 90% of this team’s offensive fire power in '08. But if coach Bustle's history speaks anything this team will reload into another winning season. Expect another fun scrimmage with the Sun Belt conference but NU will roll in this one. The most interesting part of this game to me personally will be how NU's special teams will be shored up against some of the nation’s best special teams unit's in back to back weeks.

[redout22]

Your previews that you have are really good.

[eoltmer]

Thanks man, they would be more in depth but if I spend anthing more than 2 hours on it my wify gets mad. I actually enjoy reading about the other teams gives ya a little more respect for the programs especially the mid-low tier teams.