The UL victory over FIU proves that UL does not belong in D1AA. UL scored the most all year and allowed the fewest, now if that doesn't prove my point nothing does.
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The UL victory over FIU proves that UL does not belong in D1AA. UL scored the most all year and allowed the fewest, now if that doesn't prove my point nothing does.
I thought having a total eclipse on Senior night was something special. Something money couldn't buy.Quote:
Originally posted by LativanCajun
Great job seniors.
..O.. Great game for the Cajuns
:D Nice finish for the Seniors
:cool: Interesting Lunar Eclipse
.~. The band was awsome in the stands & halftime
;) The game was well promoted & attended
A lot of things were done right tonight!!
The difference is......Bustle's team plays a 1-AA and wins 43 to 10 and it could have been a larger margin.
The previous coach loses to 1-AA North Alabama and we were lucky that it was close.
We are moving in the right direction.....
<blockquote><p align=justify><b>Touchdown return mirrors opener at South Carolina</b>
LOUISIANA La. — One of the deciding plays in Louisiana’s 43-10 win over Florida International Saturday looked like an instant replay, or maybe déjà vu.
For the second time this season, the Cajuns scored on the last play of the first half courtesy of a blocked field goal.
Linebacker Derace James stormed in to block Adam Moss’ 53-yard field goal attempt with less than a second left before halftime, and Antwain Spann picked the ball up on one hop in front of the UL Lafayette bench and returned it 45 yards down the left sideline to give the Cajuns the 36-7 halftime lead.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com <!--
In the season opener, the Cajuns trailed South Carolina on the road 7-0 moments before halftime and Gamecock kicker Josh Brown was attempting a 29-yard field goal.
That try was blocked by Michael Adams, and Patrick Lamy returned it 89 yards for a score and a 7-7 halftime tie. USC won that game 14-7.
“We got great push inside,” Cajun coach Rickey Bustle said, “and I was just hoping for one more bounce after the block.
“Our cover guys on the outside are there looking for the block. They’re not there just by chance. He’s supposed to be out there.
“That’s a heart-breaker when it happens to you.”
STAMP OF APPROVAL: Senior wide receiver Fred Stamps’ 20-yard catch from Jerry Babb increased his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 43 – every game of his collegiate career.
His streak ranks him fourth in the country, only one behind a trio of players — Kunle Patrick of Northwestern, West Welker of Texas Tech and Roy Williams of Texas — who have a 44-game streak.
Stamps finished Saturday’s game with three catches for 37 yards, giving him 167 receptions and 2,588 yards in his career.
The reception total is third in UL Lafayette history for a career, behind the 241 of Brandon Stokley and the 172 of Wayde Butler, and the yardage total is second behind only Stokley’s 3,702.
THE PRICE WAS RIGHT: Blake Cormier, a UL Lafayette student from Abbeville, walked away from Cajun Field with more than the satisfaction of a win Saturday. Cormier was one of eight students selected at random from students attending Saturday’s game for a chance to win a GMC Envoy in a contest sponsored by KLFY-TV and 107.9 FM radio.
All eight were given a key, and Cormier’s key worked in the door as the seventh of eight to try. He was signing ownership papers on the vehicle during the second half.
MOON OVER MIAMI: Fans at Cajun Field, especially those on the west side of the stadium, were treated to an eclipse of the moon during the second half. The lunar eclipse began during halftime and was total by the end of the third quarter.
If Saturday’s game had been played in Miami at FIU Stadium, it could have reminded fans of the 1941 movie “Moon over Miami” starring Betty Grable and Don Ameche, or the song of the same title written by Eddy Duchin and recorded by at least three groups between 1957 and 1972.
ATTENDANCE: Saturday’s crowd was 13,571, giving the Cajuns a season total of 83,970 for six home games, an average of 13,995. The NCAA Division I-A minimum of 15,000 average home paid attendance does not come into play until the 2004 season, and may be pushed back.
RICKEY HIGHS: The 43 points by the Cajuns was the most under Bustle, who will wrap up his second year as head coach next Saturday when UL Lafayette travels to face Middle Tennessee.
But the Cajuns also had a negative, with both their 12 penalties and 123 penalty yards the most ever under Bustle. FIU was also penalty prone with 13 penalties for 96 yards.
LAGNIAPPE: The last time UL Lafayette had a streak that included three wins in four games was back in the 1995 season, when coach Nelson Stokley’s team won five straight over Arkansas State, New Mexico State, Pacific, Tulane and La. Tech in a mid-season streak. The Cajuns went 6-5 that year.
That was also the last season the Cajuns had three straight home wins, which they accomplished Saturday after previous Cajun Field wins over New Mexico State and Idaho.
The Cajuns outgained the Panthers 131 to minus 2 in the first quarter. FIU didn’t have a first down until the fourth play of the second quarter . . . Heading into Saturday, UL was 0-for-1 on two-point conversion attempts. The Cajuns converted on both of their two-point tries.
s on Saturday . . . The Cajuns scored 29 points in the second quarter and 36 in the first half, both easily season highs.
UL Lafayette has now scored 97 of its season-long total of 209 points in the second quarter, producing nearly half of its points in that period ... Cajun kicker Sean Comiskey missed the first extra point of his career following UL Lafayette’s second touchdown. He had made 40 in a row, 20-of-20 last year and his first 20 this season.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — Louisiana’s football squad was in some trouble midway through the first half here Saturday night.
The Cajuns had just seen an early 13-0 lead dwindle to 13-7 when Florida International converted an interception into a touchdown, and the visiting Golden Panthers had possession once again with momentum on their side.
On the first play of that possession, though, an attempted reverse turned into disaster and Cajun linebacker Eugene Kwarteng fell on a fumble.
Three plays later Dwight Lindon bowled into the end zone to make it a 21-7 game after Jerry Babb’s two-point pass play to Bill Sampy.
Just a few minutes later, it wasn’t a contest any more when the hosts scored two more times in the last 34 seconds of the half on the way to a 43-10 win over the Panthers.
“That fumble recovery was big,” said Cajun defensive coordinator Brent Pry.
“We’d been preaching turnovers all season. That’s one thing we could really point to all year, and when we create turnovers we can win football games.”
The Cajuns went into the game ranked eighth nationally in turnover ratio, and made that number prophetic with the recovery on a play that FIU head coach Don Strock said may have been a game-breaker.
“I think that was going to be a touchdown,” Strock said. “They (LOUISIANA) didn’t have anybody on the other side.”
The play was designed as a tight end reverse, but Panther quarterback Josh Padrick and running back Adam Gorman mishandled the first exchange and Kwarteng plopped on the loose ball at the FIU 17.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com<!--
“The play was there,” said Padrick, a victim of four sacks and many more hurries from the Cajun defensive rush. “I didn’t handle it cleanly and the ball just popped out.”
“They caught us with a couple of the reverses,” said Cajun head coach Rickey Bustle. “On the films I looked at I never saw them run that. We’re fortunate they didn’t get any really big plays off of them.”
Instead, it was the Cajuns that pulled off the big plays in the first half, forcing a punt after Lindon’s score and marching 94 yards to Josh Harrison’s first career touchdown with 33 seconds left before intermission.
Then, with FIU scrambling to get any points before halftime, Derace James stormed through to block Adam Moss’ 53-yard field goal try with one second left in the half.
Antwain Spann scooped up the ball and returned it 45 yards for a shocking 36-7 lead.
“It was unbelievable,” Spann said. “The ball popped right up in my hands, and when I got it I just turned on the jets and took it from there.
“We practice it every day with our pride and joy team, and the defensive line did the job by penetrating the gaps. I just did my job.”
While the Cajun offense was accounting for 443 yards and scoring 29 second-quarter points and 36 first-half points – both easily season highs –, it was the hosts’ defense that set an early tone.
FIU didn’t have a first down until the fourth play of the second period, and the Cajun defense gave up only the 10 points despite FIU ending seven drives inside the Cajun 40.
“They’d been showing a lot of one-back and two-back all year,” said Cajun assistant head coach and secondary coach Gary Bartel.
“They went exclusively one-back tonight, and once we knew what their plan was we could circle in on it. Our ends did a great job of pressuring from the outside.”
“We were able to get some fourth down stops and block two kicks,” Pry said. “And we probably pressured the quarterback better than we have all year.”
“These things happen to young programs,” said Strock, whose squad is in its second year of existence and was playing only its second game ever against a Division I-A opponent.
“But they’re happening too much to us. Our special teams … we need to keep the children from watching that film. That was a horror show.
“We understand where we are and we’re building this thing, and our kids play hard. But sometimes they don’t play smart and without a lot of discipline. We had some guys step up to the plate, and some didn’t.”
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<blockquote><p align=justify><b>Louisiana ends home season in style with 43-10 blowout</b>
LOUISIANA La. — How do you react to a new situation?
It was a nice problem to have for Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns, who led visiting Florida International 36-7 at halftime of Saturday’s home finale at Cajun Field.
Coach Rickey Bustle’s squad had only exceeded that many points once this season, in a 45-42 homecoming loss to UL Monroe, so the midpoint runaway was uncharted territory.
“It’s never happened before,” Bustle said. “But there were still nails in the coffin, and championship teams do that.
“We need to understand what to do in the second half, and for the longest time they (the visiting Panthers) were basically winning the second half. I was upset with that. We were playing hard, just not smart.”
Of course, when you lead by 29 points at halftime and you’re honoring 23 seniors, it would be hard to let down enough to lose.
So, despite an astounding 14 penalties accepted against the two teams in the third period alone (25 overall), UL improved to 3-8 with a 43-10 victory.
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Bruce Brown
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“The penalties got out of hand,” said quarterback Jerry Babb, who hit 21-of-36 passes for 207 yards and ran 7 times for 47 yards and a score.
“Every time we got something going, we’d have something called against us. So we would have a third-and-20. But we just had to come back and do it the next play.
“That third quarter was amazing. We knew we had to come back out with an edge, and we didn’t get it done. In the future that could come back to bite us.”
“Guys were excited at halftime,” wide receiver Bill Sampy said. “Coach Bustle told us, don’t let up. He told us we still have a second half to play, and to keep pounding.”
“This was a big win,” Bustle said. “We needed a win, and we got a win. Now we can go to Middle Tennessee (next week’s finale) with a chance to win four of our last five.
“If we can win or play well in that game, it would be a testimony to the coaches and the players.”
The Cajuns blew the game open with a 29-point second period, capped by Antwain Spann’s 45-yard touchdown return of a blocked field goal on the final play before halftime.
UL had just steamrolled FIU for a 10-play, 94-yard march for a 28-7 lead, with Sampy’s over-the-shoulder catch of a 43-yard bomb from Babb putting the ball on the 9 to set up Josh Harrison’s 1-yard score.
“That was just a matter of concentration,” Sampy said. “I saw the ball, focused on it, and I knew the team needed it. It was right before halftime, too.”
The Panthers were scrambling to answer that score, and appeared to get a break when the clock was stopped with a second to go before intermission. Adam Moss lined up a 53-yard field goal, but Derace James stormed through to block it and Spann was there to pick up the deflection.
“It was kind of unbelievable,” Spann said. “The ball hopped perfectly to me, 10 yards out there. It’s always incredible when you get a blocked kick. It’s something we practice every day, and the defensive line did a great job getting penetration.”
“Derace made a real big play there,” Bustle said. “I was just yelling for it to bounce one more time. I knew we would get it. We have those outside guys looking for that stuff.”
UL marched 79 yards in 16 plays to start the game, with Babb hitting 5-of-7 passes and Chester Johnson scoring from the 8.
The Cajuns made it 13-0 on Babb’s fourth-and-goal 8-yard run to finish a 54-yard drive before FIU’s Adam Gorman scored on a 26-yard run to make it 13-7.
That’s when the Cajuns got busy. First, Eugene Kwarteng claimed a Panthers fumble at the FIU 17 to set up a 3-play scoring possession capped by Josh Harrison’s 1-yard run. Then came the 94-yard drive. Then the blocked field goal.
The game was essentially over then, although the Panthers got a second-half field goal and Harrison raced 23 yards for a final TD.
“We were fortunate to take control early,” Bustle said. “It was a crazy first half.
“Defensively, we came up with big plays. On offense, we ran the ball well (236 yards). We’re still rotating two or three backs in there. In the second half, we still made plays.”
The Cajuns made plenty of plays on Saturday. And, despite an understandable loss of focus, they closed out a satisfying home finale in style.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — It’s a good thing Louisiana scored a 43-10 victory in Saturday’s home finale against Florida International.
If they had been on the short end of the score, the Ragin’ Cajuns would surely have been in a surly mood over the 25 penalties called on the two squads — 13 on the visitors for 96 yards and 12 on the Cajuns for 126 more.
The latter figure is an unhappy high mark for coach Rickey Bustle’s two years at UL.
Referee Rick Doan and his officiating crew might have iced their shoulders after throwing that many flags.
In the third period alone, there were 14 penalties accepted against the Panthers and Cajuns.
Especially absurd was an FIU field goal drive that made the score 36-10.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
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Adam Gorman ran 4 yards to the UL 23, and a personal foul call pushed it to the 12. After two incompletions, the Cajuns were called for pass interference in the end zone.
The Panthers then committed back-to-back procedure penalties to put the ball back on the 12. Then an offsides on UL put it back on the 7. Finally, after an incompletion, a stuffed run and a sack, FIU settled for a field goal.
Of course, the Panthers sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds for another flag.
On the next FIU possession, coach Don Strock thought Cory McKinney made a sideline catch and was flagged for his protest. Except that Doan initially called personal foul on the Cajuns.
When corrected, he said, simply, “Personal foul on that team,” pointing FIU’s way.
And, after UL went ahead 43-10 and FIU was flagged for a personal foul on the kickoff return, Doan said, “Personal foul on this team over here.”
Those things are amusing when you win ... usually only when you win.
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I couldn't go to the game but I did read the paper and Stamps only had 3 receptions. How is this possible against a 1AA school? Was he double covered all night? He only needed 9 receptions to move into 2nd all time now he still needs 6. Don't the coaches realize that if he does good it will be easier to recruit his replacement? Get Stamps the ball.
Poor Fred was not just double but sometimes triple covered last night. I was amazed at a pass that Babb threaded into him. I swear there were at least 4 white jerseys surrounding Fred on that pass. I guesss that's what happens when you're a big threat. FIU certainly knew which side our bread was buttered on. I, too, was rooting for Fred to have a big night, but Bill Sampy and Kimie Lewis did a good job of stepping in and making receptions. That 43 yard bomb to Sampy was an awesome sight. It was nice to see Babb finally land one of those.
Thanks CajunKate could you tell if Stamps was the primary reciever or knowing he would be double teamed was he the 2nd or 3rd choice?
I know there has been talk of people saying that Ull should move down to D-I AA, however i do not think that people realize what that would do to the university and the players. We as players take a lot of pride in the fact that we are D-I athletes and we work very hard to do what we do. By moving down we might do better but that would be because we would be playing teams of less calliber. Also by moving down the university would not get the same type of althetes that it is getting now. so i know that it is easier said than done but please just give us time you wont be sorry.
Last night showed me this team is D1 all the way.
Kimmie Lewis had a big night and must be enjoying himself. After the game he had a smile from ear to ear. He came over to the Press Box side, shook the hand of everyone hanging over the rail, and signed many autographs for the kids. He was one of the last ones to leave the field. My 11 year old and 6 year old slapped his hand and got an autograph. Kimmie, "Thanks for making last night a great one for my kids!!"
Imagine next year, Kemmie, Jackson, BJ Crist, and Sampy. Next year, I think we have something very special with our ide Receiving corps next year, in fact I think this next year team could be very special. Babb comes back, our 4 headed horse of Running backs come back, most of our defense comes back, most of our offensive and defensive line comes back, and I fully believe we could have a 6 win season next year. Lesser competition, alot of returning players, 3 years in the system, and all this is before we have our next years recruiting class to add. I will say, the game up in ruston next year will be alot better than the one here at cajun field this year. Im already excited about next year, lets win this last one!
Tuffguy
I knew there was a reason Redbug was hanging around near the railing. Well and it wasnt raining so you could get out from under you nice overed seats.
Its good to see the players making a positive impact on the community.
I expect to see Kemmie filling Fred Stamps shoes next year.
Our average attendance this year was below 14,000. Hopefully we will not be forced to move to 1AA.
Another good recruiting class & a positive start to next year could turn things around in the fans eyes.
RC70, Don;t sweat what some people say about UL.
GEAUX CAJUNS! .~.
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — Not all of them are starters.
Some are role players.
But all 23 Louisiana seniors finished their home careers in style last Saturday at Cajun Field in a 43-10 victory over Florida International.
Wide receiver Fred Stamps will be remembered as one of the finest receivers in UL Lafayette history, while punter Grant Autrey’s numbers also have him ranked highly.
Injured quarterback Eric Rekieta is in the Ragin’ Cajun record books.
Linebacker Ross Brupbacher has made the most of an extra year of eligibility after graduating last spring, while fellow Lafayette High grad Ricky Calais has done the same thing.
Defensive ends Derace James and Antonio Floyd both came up with big plays in their home finales.
It was a satisfying evening for a hard-luck group that has helped coach Rickey Bustle’s transition period at UL.
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“First of all, I want to say congratulations to the seniors,” Bustle said after his team improved to 3-8. “We came down here Friday during warmups, and you noticed the (jersey) numbers at midfield.
“I told stories about each player, and it was serious. You think of all the operations No. 59 (Brupbacher) has been through, or No. 26 (Jamal Smith), who graduated and came back and whose whole season was ripped away from him (by injury) before the first game.
“The seniors deserve credit for keeping the team together. I’ll be sad to see them go.”
“I committed myself to winning this game for the seniors,” said junior receiver Bill Sampy’ Stamps heir apparent who had four catches for 71 yards.
“It was a good game. We needed that victory. Early in the season we had struggled on offense. It was good to pick it up.”
Since the Cajuns won easily, Bustle and Sampy could take a light approach to Sampy’s near-miss blocked punt attempt.
“We work on it every day,” Sampy said. “I just didn’t extend my hands out.”
“We said all week that if their wing blocks out, Bill had a chance to go for the ball,” Bustle said. “He had his hands stretched out, but drew them back. He lost his nerve.”
James didn’t flinch, though, blocking a field goal at the end of the first half that Antwain Spann returned 45 yards for a touchdown and a 36-7 halftime lead.
Sampy and Kemmie Lewis (5-41-0) benefitted from FIU’s attention to Stamps (3-37-0) for big nights.
“They did a good job covering Fred,” quarterback Jerry Babb said. “They brought a safety down on him a lot. So, my reads had me throwing to Bill and Kemmie.
“We needed this kind of performance on offense, scoring more than 40 points. It gives us confidence going into Middle Tennessee next week, and into next year.”
“I know they feel good,” Bustle said of his Cajuns. “We want to be able to build on this win. We’ll try to go in there (at Middle Tennessee), play well and see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Florida International, a Sun Belt Conference member currently playing Division 1-AA football, could be a future SBC rival for the Cajuns under coach Don Strock.
“They’ve got a lot of young people,” Babb said. “Their defense flies to the ball, and they’ve got skill people on offense. They’re going to be good in a year or two.”
“Don (Strock) is going a great job out there,” Bustle said. “They played with great effort. They move the ball around well and have a good scheme on offense.
“Playing with basically freshmen and sophomores, I think they’re doing a good job.”
Bustle’s Cajuns have won three of four and could make it four of five by topping Middle Tennessee next week. That would be an even better way for the seniors to finish.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- The University of Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns may not finish the 2003 season with a winning record, but with a victory this week against Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee, they can do something no ULL team has done since 1996 -- win at least four games.
The Cajuns, who lost their first seven games of the season, defeated Division I-AA upstart Florida International, 43-10, on Saturday for their third victory in their last four games (the first time they've won three straight at Cajun Field since 1995).
In doing so, they put themselves in a position to close out a disappointing season on a positive note.
"We needed this win, we got the win, we got it in a good way and I really pleased for our football team," said ULL coach Rickey Bustle, whose team rolled to a 36-7 halftime lead against the Golden Panthers. "The thing I would really like to see happen now is us have a great week of practice and go to Middle Tennessee and have a chance to have won four out of the last five. That would be a testimony to our football team, our coaches and our seniors. It's been a long season for us.
"I'm going to ask everyone for one more week."
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By GLENN QUEBEDEAUX
Special to The Advocate <!--
Against the Golden Panthers, the Cajuns gave Bustle nearly all he asked for in piling up 443 yards and the most points since his arrival at ULL in 2002. Other than a lethargic effort in the second half, the only negative for the Cajuns was the 12 penalties for 123 yards they were assessed. Both were also highs under Bustle.
"We were fortunate to take control of it early; there were some crazy plays out there," he said. "But I thought our defense played better, made some plays. They gave up some yardage down the field, but they came up and made some big plays.
"Offensively, I thought we ran the ball well. We're still rolling in two and three backs. I felt good about the first half. The thing I challenged our guys at half was we hadn't been in this position since I've been here. And we need to understand what to do here in the second half and I don't think we did that in the third quarter."
The Cajuns didn't score in the second half until Josh Harrison raced 23 yards with 10:57 left in the game.
"I was really kinda getting upset with that because I wanted to come out and control the third quarter and do what a team oughta do when you have a situation where you score early and get other people into the game earlier. But we didn't do that," Bustle said.
Of the first 36 points, the most dramatic was the 45-yard return of a blocked field goal by Antwain Spann on the final play of the first half. It marked the second time this season a ULL player returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown on the final play of the first half. Patrick Lamy returned a similar block 89 yards for a touchdown against South Carolina in the Cajuns' first game of the season.
"We got great push inside," said Bustle of the play. "That was a real big play in the game. Those are heart-breakers when they happen to you and heart builders when they happen for you."
Bustle gave much of the credit for the victory to his 23 seniors, who were honored prior to the game and had their numbers painted at mid-field.
"I'm so happy for them because they really deserve credit for keeping our football team together and keeping them working hard every day," said Bustle.
Now, if they can do that one more week.
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don't let that D1AA talk bother you, "IT WANT HAPPEN." you guys just continue to work hard you do have supporters cheering you guys on. "GEAUX CAJUNS" fight on to victory, good luck saturday. and remember those who are talking about that, are those who are hoping this university fail.....the rest of them are cowards.
Get that 4th W! .~.
A win in the next game against MTSU is going to be huge for the Cajuns. It would give us a winning record in conference and put us winning 4 out of the last 5. Those things would go a long way in recruiting and excitement going into next year for the fans. I know Bustle and the team realize that, and I think they will be ready for the Blue Raiders. I certainly hope so.
GEAUX CAJUNS!
Hey i think the 15,000 attendence starts next year...and i dont think theyd immediately knock you out of D1...id think youd be on some type of monitoring probation...
I dont wanna see U-LaLa in D-1AA...no one cares for that football
I couldn't tell. unfortunately I am not the best at the Xs and os. I can't really pick out the zone defenses and such. The men who sit around me usually keep me in touch with who's open, and they only screamed, "Stamps is open!" once during the game. It looked to me as if Jerry was checking off receivers, and Stamps was never really open.
But like I said, I'm not the best at analyzation. That's why I like going to games with my brother. He teaches me a lot, but he's a McNeese traitor...er, graduate, so I can only get his play by play when McNeese is out of town, and he gets his football fix at the Swamp.