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I was thinking the same thing....I'm glad that was pointed out cuz I surely didn't remember that GLARING fact. LOL Still proud of the 1 part!!!!!! Can't take that away no matter who tries to rain on my parade!! I like your posts Cajunbander..they are always funny and positive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cajunbander
Hey, we're not 1 and 5. We're 1 and 1*Quote:
Originally Posted by MissingMandy
* In conference play. (All that really matters)
Anyway, you have to be positive. The glass is half full. Unless its something nasty, like gutter water, I'd say the glass is half empty. It's all relative when you make the half full/ half empty assertion.
In football, the Sunbelt has gone from D1AA quality football to being a competitive D1 conference, with several teams that can beat any team, bcs or otherwise, outside of the top 40 on any given day. This is incredible improvement and I believe that the Cajuns will ride this wave and when the stars align in future and Cajuns are able to take advantage of potentially being positioned, geographically and otherwise, to be the #2 recruiter in LA, afer LSU, then a lot of success will come. In order for this to happen, the sunbelt has to continue to improve and continue to play at level of Conference USA or better. Things are heading in this direction....Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeaux
In basketball, the sunbelt has gone from being one of the very best conferences outside of the few major conferences, to being perhaps even worse than they are in football. It has been an astounding drop in quality for the conference in basketball. First and foremost is the Cajuns going from being an almost every year very competitive to outright dangerous mid major team, on national scene, to being one of the worst teams in the country. There has also been very significant drop offs at Western Kentucky, Arkansas St., Little Rock, South Alabama, UNO, and others.
Cajuns in basketball were every year winners in a much tougher sunbelt conference and now they are at the bottom of a sunbelt that is not any better than today's southland. It is downright embarassing.
Is Lee the worst coach in the country? I don't know enough about coaching to know. All I can see is the facts and Cajuns have gone from being a top 40 team to a bottom 20 team almost overnight. Yes, there are new rules re academics and I understand that Lee is addressing those new rules and trying to reshape the program. This is commendable, but if Cajuns don't have amazing turn around this year, then he will have single handedly turned the Cajuns from a consistent winner into a consistent loser overnight. And they way his teams can play 40 points better or worse against the same team from one week to the next is just mind boggling. Consistent in major losing record for the season, but so inconsistent from one game to the next.
Anyways, that is just my opinion. I am happy with what is going on in sunbelt football wise. What a run of improvement and I expect continued improvement and more competitiveness over next 5 years. On the other hand basketball is appalling in the sunbelt right now and, unlike in football, the conference had already been very competitive in basketball on the national scene.
don't know when I will be in town next, but will definitely appreciate the beer offer! thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Jeaux
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UL - Each week, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns football coaching staff honors its outstanding performances from the previous week's game by designating them as Players of the Game.
This week's Offensive Player of the Game award was given to junior quarterback Michael Desormeaux for the second time this season. Desormeaux rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for two more scores, helping the Cajuns achieve their first win of the season Saturday versus North Texas. He finished the night with 18 carres for 150 yards 10-of-20 passing for 114 yards while not committing any turnovers.
The Defensive Player of the Game for the Cajuns went to Rodney Hardeway. He recorded five tackles on the night; two of them were recorded for a loss.
The Special Forces Players of the Game honors went to Spencer Ortego and Drew Edmiston. Edmiston was 5-for-5 on extra points and nailed a 22-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining that sealed the victory. Ortego did an excellent job under wet conditions, while averaging 40 yards on six punts.
The Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week was Lance Kelley.
The Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week was Richard Brooks.
The Cajuns honored Johnathan Decoster with the Thumper Award for the offensive biggest hit. Jarrett Jones received the Hammer Award for the biggest hit on defense, while the special teams biggest hit award, the Kahuna Award, went to Jason Chery.
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Past Weekly Award Winners
South Carolina: Offensive - Michael Desormeaux; Defensive - Jarret Jones; Special Forces - Jason Chery; Offensive Scout - Chris Masson; Defensive Scout - Kyle Cox.
Ohio: Offensive - None; Defensive - None; Special Forces - Kyle Ward; Offensive Scout - Johnathan Thomas; Defensive Scout - Richard Brooks.
McNeese State: None Awarded
Troy: Offensive - Derrick Smith; Defensive - None; Special Forces - Scott Hayes and Kyle Ward; Offensive Scout - Colin Windsor; Defensive Scout - Blake Ramsey.
UCF: Offensive - Derrick Smith; Defensive - None; Special Forces - Derrick Smith; Offensive Scout - Julian Shankle; Defensive Scout - Ross Goodlet.
North Texas: Offensive - Michael Desormeaux; Defensive - Rodney Hardeway; Special Forces - Spencer Ortego and Drew Edmiston; Offensive Scout - Lance Kelley; Defensive Scout - Richard Brooks.
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Louisiana's head football coach Rickey Bustle held his weekly media luncheon of the season Monday at the Cox Communications Athletic as his Ragin' Cajuns squad prepares for a critical Sun Belt Conference road game at Arkansas State this Saturday.
Last Saturday, the Ragin' Cajuns used an outstanding performance from quarterback Michael Desormeaux to capture their first win of the season - a 38-29 victory over North Texas at Cajun Field. Desormeaux scored four times for Louisiana (1-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) with two rushing and two passing touchdowns. He finished the night with 18 carries for 150 yards and 10-of-20 passing for 114 yards.
Running back Tyrell Fenroy rushed seven times for 123 yards and a touchdown, including a career-long 69-yard run late in the game.
Arkansas State (2-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) has won both home games this season, including wins over Conference USA members SMU and Memphis. Last weekend, Louisiana-Monroe spoiled the Indians the Sun Belt opener 30-13 in Monroe.
Louisiana leads the all-time series 18-16-1, while A-State holds a slim 8-7-1 margin in Jonesboro, Ark. Last season, the Cajuns defeated the Indians 28-13 in Lafayette.
Following their trip to Arkansas, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns return home to face Florida Atlantic for their 62nd Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m.
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<a href="http://www.ragincajuns.com/pdf4/89156.pdf?ATCLID=1264242&SPID=7585&DB_OEM_ID=15400&SPSID=67390" target="_blank">Press Conference Transcript </a>
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UL football coach Rickey Bustle has always been a proponent of strong special teams play, and one kicking play had long-range repercussions Saturday during the Cajuns' 38-29 win over North Texas.
The Mean Green scored an early second-quarter touchdown but missed the extra point to remain behind 7-6.
"They miss the kick and then they had to go for two the next time and missed that," Bustle said. "That changed the whole complexion of the game."
UNT trailed by two points at 14-12, 21-19 and 28-26 after missing a two-point conversion pass midway through the second quarter, and was never able to tie or take the lead.
Two successful extra point kicks would have meant three ties and potentially different approaches late in the game.
UL kicker Drew Edmiston was perfect on all five extra points and hit his only field goal try, a 22-yarder with 1:16 left that provided the final nine-point margin.
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dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"Drew did an outstanding job on the wet field," Bustle said. "He was able to plant his foot even with those conditions. A couple of them he didn't hit real well but he got them through."
Edmiston and UL's kickoff coverage team also started the Mean Green inside its own 30 six times on seven kickoffs.
Hurts
Starting tackles Jesse Newman and Kyle Pirtle both missed Saturday's UNT win, and Bustle said Monday that Pirtle will not return this season after a knee injury in practice last week.
"He's got a lot of damage there," Bustle said. "It's all repairable but it's going to involve a long rehab."
Newman, sidelined two weeks with a sprained ankle, is still doubtful for Saturday's game at Arkansas State. Also questionable are backup running back Deon Wallace (abdominal muscles), linebacker Mark Risher (shoulder), safety Torres Kingsby (hamstring) and tight end Erik Jones (knee), who all missed the UNT game.
Stepping up
With Newman and Pirtle out, sophomore squadman Brad Bryant and redshirt freshman Johnathan Decoster got most of the work at the tackle slots during UL's 300-yard rushing night.
"That's a position where Jesse and Kyle had played just about all the plays," Bustle said. "We'd been rolling guys in at the other positions. After Brad and John settled down, they did a more than adequate job."
"My hat's off to those guys," said quarterback Michael Desormeaux. "When you have injuries, you expect people to step up and play, and we felt those guys just needed experience.
"Decoster's a very competitive guy. He brings it every day. My little brother was on the scout team with him last year and he kept saying that John's going to be really good."
Defending
UL's defense forced four turnovers and allowed only one drive of more than 24 yards in Saturday's first half, before the Mean Green got its offense untracked with drives of 37, 75, 36, 74, 52 and 42 yards on its six second-half possessions.
"The defense in the first half was as good as we've played," Bustle said. "We got good pressure on the quarterback, batted some balls and forced some bad throws. In the second half, give some credit to North Texas. They executed better and picked up our stunts better. But we still got some big stops."
UL's film review showed 16 hits on UNT quarterback Giovanni Vizza, and the Cajuns stopped the Mean Green three times on fourth downs in the second half.
Touchdown maker
Kevin Belton's three-yard touchdown catch on Saturday gave the senior tight end his second catch of the year and his second score, following a one-yard TD catch against Troy. Last season, the New Orleans-Brother Martin product had three catches, one of them a four-yard touchdown grab with 1:02 left for the game-winner at Houston.
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The second-half blues experienced by UL's football team have apparently been laid to rest. At least, that's the hope of quarterback Michael Desormeaux and head coach Rickey Bustle.
The Cajuns needed only 25 seconds to post a touchdown to open Saturday's second half, that coming on an electric 73-yard run by Desormeaux, and proceeded to score on four of their six second-half possessions in the 38-29 Sun Belt Conference victory over North Texas.
"That (the quick touchdown) was a big boost for us," said Desormeaux, who recorded his career-long run in boosting the lead to 21-12. "At the beginning of the year, in the second half we didn't do anything offensively. In the third quarter, we were laying an egg a lot."
UL didn't have a touchdown and had only one field goal after halftime in its first three games, and didn't snap that streak until late in the third quarter against Troy when Kevin Belton caught a one-yard pass from Desormeaux for a touchdown.
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dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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Since that time, though, UL has scored in both the third and fourth quarters in three straight games, and goes into Saturday's road contest at Arkansas State riding a streak of six straight quarters with a touchdown. The Cajuns also haven't been shut out in a period since halftime of the Troy game, a span of 10 straight periods with an offensive score.
"We could have given up the lead and didn't, because the offense kept responding," Bustle said of the win over the Mean Green. "They were a couple of soldiers down and they battled them."
UL had its largest point total and its highest yardage per play of the season against UNT, despite the absence of both starting tackles and an injury-limited tailback Tyrell Fenroy. Fenroy, hobbled for the third week by a sprained ankle, only carried seven times but two of those totaled 112 yards.
In all, the Cajuns had eight second-half plays that went for double-digit yardage and 13 in the game, nine of them on the ground. Because of those big plays, UL ran less than 30 plays in each half and still had 280 yards after halftime.
"They had 300 yards rushing and we knew they were an outstanding running team," said UNT coach Todd Dodge. "But three of those runs went for about 190 yards. We played well defensively ... we forced seven punts (actually six) and five three-and-outs, but we gave up big plays."
Those big plays were the difference in the Cajuns removing themselves from the list of the nation's winless teams, and more importantly keeping themselves alive in the Sun Belt Conference race despite the struggles through the first half of the season.
"We've been fighting so hard to get that first win," Bustle said. "We didn't play great but we played with a lot of heart. You look at the statistics and we're not supposed to win, but our kids gutted it out. Their attitude's been awesome all year, and a win fuels that even more. Last night (UL's Sunday night practice) we were all feeling a lot better about ourselves, but you can't live on that too long."
"We're hoping this win can be something we can rally around," Desormeaux said. "Hopefully it's the turning point for our season."
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No I think we were on the same page.. I was just stating that I dont think anyone will throw moeny at a buyout if something fundamentally does not change... Look at the President search... Same good ole boys......Quote:
Originally Posted by CajunGuru
"Let's not upset anything around here by changing things."..... And you see the results
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The University of Louisiana Alumni Association will commence homecoming week activities with a kickoff party from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Alumni Center.
The event, which features food and music by Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, is sponsored by the UL Lafayette Alumni Association. Included will be the UL homecoming court, Pride of Acadiana Marching Band, Ragin’ Cajun cheerleaders and Ragin’ Jazz.
Homecoming activities will culminate when the Cajuns host Florida Atlantic on Oct. 20 at Cajun Field. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
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For more information on Homecoming 2007, contact the Alumni Association at (337) 482-0900.
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