Cajuns’ Joerg eager for that winning feeling
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — One of these days, all the teaching and positive reinforcement and work and pain will be worth it for Louisiana's Ragin’ Cajuns.
One of these days, they’re going to win a football game.
They’re off to an 0-5 start and are heavy underdogs this week at Oklahoma State, but they cling to the notion that they’ll triumph before long.
“A win would definitely boost our morale,” senior tight end Josh Joerg said. “We’re down right now, and we haven’t seen the fruits of our labor.
“If we could get a win, and feel it, we would want it more and more.”
The latest Cajun setback was a 44-23 road loss at North Texas, a frustrating one since coach Rickey Bustle’s team climbed back to within 30-23 entering the fourth quarter before falling short.
“There was a real up mood on the sidelines (at 30-23),” Joerg said. “We just didn’t finish it off.”
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
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North Texas responded to the Cajun threat with a strong fourth quarter to lock down its 12th straight Sun Belt Conference victory, a reminder that the Mean Green owns two straight SBC titles and a sign that the Cajuns still have work to do.
“It could be that they have experienced depth,” Joerg said. “It can be a lot of little things.
“There were penalties that happen when you’re tired that changed the whole complexion of the game.”
Joerg emerged as a big reason the Cajuns stayed as close as they did to the champions, catching a career-high five passes for 51 yards including a 35-yarder that set up a touchdown to bring UL within 30-20.
“There are always plays for me in our offense, but they haven’t gotten to me until now,” Joerg said. “Everything worked out pretty good.
“We threw the ball to a bunch of different receivers. If we can throw to me, then that gives us another dimension teams haven’t seen yet.”
If Joerg can emerge as a threat in the Cajun passing game, then there’s also a chance they can find a way to start winning. All it takes is patience and faith in a system.
“I’m confident we’ll get it done,” Joerg said. “It’s just Cajun pride. Of course, you want to quit. But you don’t. And we’ve got recruits in here who don’t quit. They realize we’re building toward the future.
“We’re getting stronger. We’re just young right now. As a senior, you know the younger guys are looking up to you. You want to keep working hard.
“We have to take the same approach every day in practice. Eventually, it will work. It has in the past.”
When the Cajuns do break into the win column, it likely will feel even better than shaking loose from a linebacker and pulling in a 35-yard pass.
Josh Joerg is eager to find out.
Cajuns announce honors
Tight end Josh Joerg was named UL’s Offensive Player of the Game after the Ruston native caught five passes for 51 yards in last week’s loss at North Texas.
He also had two knockdowns as a blocker.
Safety C.C. Brown was tabbed Defensive Player of the Game with four tackles, two assisted tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hurry and one pass break-up. He helped cause a fumble and went the extra mile twice.
Place kicker Sean Comiskey was named the Special Forces Player of the Game as well as Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Comiskey connected on 3-for-3 field goals from 48, 23 and 30 yards away. He also was 2-for-2 on extra point attempts.
Bruce Taylor and Derek Morel were named Offensive and Defensive Scout Team Players of the Week, respectively.
It was the second time that Taylor won the award, as well as Comiskey. Per player vote, Eugene Kwarteng was given the Hammer Award given for the biggest hit on defense, while Tyler Norman received the Kahuna Award for the biggest hit on special teams.
Joerg and offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste will serve as offensive captains for the Cajuns next week, while Brown and Antonio Floyd will be defensive captains, as UL travels to face Oklahoma State.
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Oklahoma State Message Board
I found this site on CollegeSprotsInfo, but I wanted to invite you over to our OSU board: www.o-state.com
I liked this site over there to help bring some game talk over.
Please check out the site! www.o-state.com
ADMIN: Please email me when you get the chance, ryno@o-state.com Thanks!
Rested OSU Cowboys focused on Cajuns
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STILLWATER, Okla. — Les Miles doesn’t need to be Nostradamus to see the future for his Oklahoma State football club.
After this week, when the Cowboys host the University of Louisiana, the next five weekends will pit OSU against Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Texas. OU is ranked No. 1 in the country, two of those are in the top 15 and the other two are receiving votes in the national polls.
But Miles insists his club won’t be looking past the 0-5 Ragin’ Cajuns.
“All our guys need to do is look at the film and see the ability of some of the kids that Lafayette has,” Miles said Monday, “and they’ll understand that we have to be ready to play. It’s not like we’ll ever go by anybody ... we understand who we play this week and we’re very much pointing toward that game.”
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Dan McDonald
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The 3-1 Cowboys have won three in a row, the last two by a combined 94-9 score, so pointing toward each individual game has been a success since an opening 17-7 road loss at eighth-ranked (USA Today/ESPN) Nebraska.
And, after runaway wins over Southwest Missouri (42-3) and SMU (52-6), Miles is hoping that last weekend’s open date doesn’t mess with the Cowboys’ momentum.
“We enjoyed the off week,” said Miles, whose squad hosts the Cajuns Saturday at 6 p.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium. “We took some time to improve on our technique and strategy, and we took a wider compass in preparing not only for Lafayette but also for some future Big 12 opponents. But this week I wouldn’t think we’d be looking ahead.”
The Cowboys provide the Cajuns with a defensive challenge in slowing down a team that’s averaging over 37 points for the year and clipping off 470 yards per outing over its last three games. Quarterback Josh Fields is already the No. 3 career yardage producer in OSU history and is just a junior, and senior tailback Tatum Bell leads the Big 12 and is ninth nationally in rushing (123.8 yards per game) coming off a 1,096-yard 2002 season.
And then, there’s Rashaun Woods.
The preseason All-American and Heisman Trophy candidate set an NCAA record with seven touchdown grabs against SMU in his last outing, among 13 catches for 252 yards. He’s second nationally in scoring and third nationally in receiving after declining the opportunity to leave OSU for the NFL draft following his junior year.
“That’s an individual decision,” Miles said. “Some guys look at it as a four or five-year opportunity to play in college and be a college kid. I’ve been around guys who played five years and enjoyed their college time and understood what it meant to be a kid for another year or two.
“A guy like Rashaun has done a lot in his career, but he decided to come back and accomplish more and obviously he’s doing that.”
His return also made OSU one of the few schools in NCAA history to have a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver all returning.
“It’s very enjoyable to have guys that you can count on play in and play out as big playmakers,” Miles said. “They’re part of our offense and a very integral part. What we’d like to do is get more things going with our fullback, our tight end and our X (opposite wide receiver). That’s been a big push in the off week.
“We look to run the ball first and foremost, but we’re executing the pass much better over our last couple of games. There’s been some improvement in the timing in the throwing game.”
But as impressive as those offensive numbers are, the Cowboy defense may have been better. That unit’s given up only one offensive score in the first half in the last three games, and OSU’s been in front 31-0, 21-0 and 45-0 in those games before allowing a single point.
“That’s probably the stronger part of our football team at this point,” Miles said of the defensive unit. “They’re playing with great intensity, they’ve very talented and now they’re starting to understand the scheme very well.”
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Some Louisiana stats & SunBelt Offensive rankings
<b>According to the Sunbelt office, (as of 9-27) Louisiana has had the 24th toughest schedule in the country.</b>
<li>Of quarterbacks with at least 60 passes, Eric Rekeita ranks 3rd in the Sunbelt with a quarterback rating of 109.8
<li>Travis Smothers is 11th in rushing yards per game.
<li>Jerry Babb has the highest yard per carry average on the team with 4.5
<li>Fred Stamps s 5th in the Sunbelt with 268 total receiving yards.
<li>Fred Stamps is also 4th in receptions with 19, Eric Bartel is 14th with 12
<li>Josh Jeorg's 35 yard reception is the longest on the team and 14th longest in the Sunbelt this year.
<li>Bill Sampy's 126 kickoff return yards are 8th most in the league.
<li>Jerrell Carter's 78 punt return yards are 3 most in the Sunbelt. His 27 yard return is 4th best in the league this year.
Spann challenged to battle OSU star
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — Antwain Spann listened for a moment to coach Clay Jennings, then dropped down to give Jennings some push-ups for dropping a potential interception.
It was only practice, but Jennings wants his UL cornerbacks thinking about big plays on every snap.
“When the ball is in the air, it’s your ball,” Spann said, repeating the mantra received from Jennings.
“You’ve got to go up for it and make a big play. Coach tells us to turn into a receiver. I’m not the best at that, but I’m getting better.”
Spann and the other Ragin’ Cajun cornerbacks figure to have their hands full on Saturday at Oklahoma State, going against Rashaun Woods.
Woods is the Cowboys’ 6-2 senior wide receiver who puts up numbers that look like a misprint.
Two weeks ago against SMU, he established a new NCAA record by catching seven — that’s 7 — touchdowns covering 2, 10, 34, 32, 25, 5 and 11 yards in the first three quarters of a 52-6 road victory.
He totalled 13 catches for a career-high 232 yards on the day.
And just to erase the notion that Woods only picks on outmanned opponents, his second-most productive day in college came last year when he chalked up 12 catches for 226 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over hated in-state rival Oklahoma — a school which knows a thing or two about defense.
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Bruce Brown
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He’s got 30 catches for 502 yards and nine touchdowns for the 3-1 Cowboys, giving him a gaudy 246-3,549-36 career ledger.
Josh Fields is OSU’s capable junior quarterback, and Tatum Bell its dangerous senior tailback, but Woods is the key.
“He’s the focal point of their offense,” Spann said. “They go to him as much as they can. He knows how to get open and make catches. He’s a playmaker.”
While the Cowboys like to run a balanced offense, they aren’t afraid of striking quickly with either the run or the pass.
“They’re a little bit like South Carolina,” Spann said. “But they’ve got bigger weapons than South Carolina, better weapons. They want to throw, but they also like to maintain the run.”
The Cajuns will be without cornerback Jerrell Carter (shoulder) this week, putting more stress on Spann, Michael Adams, Ricky Thomas and Terryl Fenton to throw a blanket over Woods and other receivers.
“You have to stay focused out there on the (cornerback) island,” Spann said. “You have to be able to keep leverage and get there. You play hard and try not to give up the deep ball.
“Each week I get better at it. This defense helps all the defensive backs. It puts us on an island and lets us show our man-to-man skills.
“Coach stays on me every day, trying to make me better, and I respect him for that.”
Spann, who had an interception and three tackles in last week’s 44-23 Sun Belt Conference loss at North Texas, hasn’t counted the Cajuns done despite the 0-5 start to the season.
“The coaches all stay positive,” Spann said. “They make sure we’re motivated to work hard.
“We’ve still got seven games left. What we have to do is get that first win. Once we do that, it will be a lot easier.”
There’s nothing easy about Spann’s assignment this week.
CAJUN CLIPPINGS — Out for this week will be cornerback Jerrell Carter (shoulder), guard Greg Hodges (knee) and safety Wes Simon (shoulder), with linebacker Stanley Smith questionable ... seniors Patrick Lamy (31) and Ross Brupbacher (30) lead the Cajuns in tackles, with Wendall Williams tops in interceptions with two ... the OSU game finishes a three-game stretch of road games at bowl champions from 2002 — Minnesota, North Texas and OSU.
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Brutal road stretch ends for Cajuns
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — It’s getting harder and harder to be a Ragin’ Cajun.
The Cajuns absorbed another road loss to a superior foe last Saturday, scoring first but losing 56-3 to Oklahoma State to fall to 0-6 on the season.
They host 0-6 UL Monroe this week for homecoming in one of only two battles of combined 0-12 teams this weekend, and the way things are going they can’t count any contest as relief.
“Playing someone with this type of talent is a great experience for us,” senior quarterback Eric Rekieta (25-of-37, 225 yards) said of OSU.
“It will do us good when we get into conference and are not playing someone as good as Oklahoma State.
“It’s just a great experience to play in this type of environment.”
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Bruce Brown
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It wasn’t all that wonderful.
Coach Rickey Bustle’s team took an aggressive approach against the five-touchdown favorite Cowboys and dominated the opening quarter. But when they only had a 3-0 lead to show for it, they were in trouble.
“It looks like we invent new ways to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Bustle said. “We had four illegal procedure penalties out there, some that ruined drives.”
The Cowboys followed backup Vernand Morency’s 189 yards and two touchdowns, including a 68-yarder against a blitz, to a 303-yard rushing night.
Big plays also occured in the kicking game, where Darrent Williams buried the Cajuns with 78 and 59-yard punt return scores.
“I think that young man (Williams) is a heck of a returner,” said Bustle, who prides himself on special teams preparation. “We said that going into the week.
“I know we missed a couple of tackles right there in front of him, and if your gunners don’t make plays down there you’re going to have some problems. On both of those returns, our gunners could have made tackles and didn’t make them.”
Morency’s run against a miss-executed UL blitz was also indicative of the evening.
“We play hard, just not smart,” safety Patrick Lamy said. “We give up just too many big plays. At times we’re not handling our responsibilities.
“We have to match our intensity and heart with smart play, and start to turn this thing around.”
Senior receiver Fred Stamps, who opened the game with a 49-yard catch and closed it with a 44-yarder to the OSU 1-yard line, was re-inserted into the game on the final drive to make the grab from Jerry Babb.
“I told Jerry in the huddle to just lay it up there and I’d go get it,” said Stamps, who finished with 118 yards on five catches. “We just wanted to take a shot.”
The Cajuns had 74 plays to the Cowboys’ 57 and controlled 38 minutes of the clock, yet were still outgained 472-347. Even when they advance in one area, it seems leaks pop up elsewhere.
Perhaps life will get better this week against ULM, perhaps not. The Indians won 34-10 last year in Monroe.
“We need to put the first six games behind us,” Lamy said. “We’re ready to go home. Playing Monroe for homecoming will be good for us.”
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