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The relief was obvious in their voices, but UL's football squad was quick to point out that Saturday's 38-29 win over North Texas was only one step in its journey.
"I hope they're already thinking about Arkansas State," said Cajun coach Rickey Bustle. "I'm hoping this is the one that can get us cranked up a little bit."
The 1-5 Cajuns evened their Sun Belt Conference record (1-1) and ironically stand tied for third place in the league chase after that lone win. Also, ironically, they're in better shape after two league games than the 2005 squad that lost its first two Sun Belt outings and then won five in a row to share the league title.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"We've said all along that a lot of our goals are still in front of us," Bustle said. "Hopefully, we can keep turning this thing around."
UL heads for Arkansas State this week, facing an Indian team that lost its conference opener 30-13 at UL Monroe on Saturday. Once again, matching the situation from last Saturday, both teams will have their backs against a wall in not wanting to pick up a second conference loss.
"We are going to enjoy this one," said wide receiver Derrick Smith of the UNT win, "but we'll be right back tomorrow for practice getting ready for Arkansas State. That one starts tomorrow."
The Cajuns will be going into ASU with some impressive offensive numbers. Thanks in part to a 300-yard rushing night against the Mean Green - the most against a Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) team in two seasons - UL stands sixth nationally in rushing with a 248.3 average per game.
Quarterback Michael Desormeaux, who rushed for 150 yards and two scores while also passing for two touchdowns, remains the national leader in quarterback rushing with a 110.7 average per game (664 yards). He is over 150 yards ahead of his closest pursuer, Florida's Tim Tebow (500 yards, 83.3 per game).
"It felt good just to win," Desormeaux said after Saturday's 264-yard total offensive performance. "It's exciting any time you win. The past five weeks, I figured out that playing amazing and losing doesn't feel good. It feels amazing to help your guys win.
"You want to match your teammate's intensity. These guys have been playing hard, and that makes you want to play even harder."
Desormeaux, Smith (four catches, 80 yards, one TD) and running back Tyrell Fenroy (123 yards, one TD) helped the Cajuns put up 280 offensive yards on only 29 second-half plays Saturday. Those numbers also came behind a patchwork offensive line that was missing its two starting tackles and had two other starters playing with injuries.
"We had some young guys that had to step up and play," Bustle said.
"We're hoping this one was the key," Desormeaux said. "We've been playing hard and practicing harder, and hopefully we're starting to see the outcome of all that effort."
The Cajuns still have some work to do defensively. North Texas, now ranked eighth nationally in passing, put up 383 yards on 35-of-57 completions and had 25 first downs to only 14 for UL. Of course, the Cajuns didn't have a lot of first downs because of big plays - their first three touchdowns came on drives totaling only seven plays that netted 177 yards.
And UL had some key stops, halting the Mean Green five times on eight fourth-down attempts and forcing four first-half turnovers.
"It was good to see our defense play with discipline and focus," Bustle said. "You have to do that against a team that throws it like they do. We told them don't be afraid to be right, and it was good to see them practicing what we preach and teach."
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