He is both.Quote:
Originally posted by DaddyCajun
Are you a football player or a fan?
You can get a snippet of 70 in the video linked here.
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He is both.Quote:
Originally posted by DaddyCajun
Are you a football player or a fan?
You can get a snippet of 70 in the video linked here.
https://forumeus.com/sh...&threadid=5353
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — UL proved to be the cure for New Mexico State’s offensive woes last week, and if the Ragin’ Cajuns are going to stay alive in the Sun Belt Conference race they can’t let that happen again.
The Aggies had more yards in the first half than in either of their previous two games, and that was before they went on a 22-0 third quarter spree that sparked a 35-32 victory.
“We probably played as poor a defensive game as we have all year,’ UL coach Rickey Bustle said on Monday. “We’ve lived on the edge a little bit too long, and it finally got us.”
The Cajuns dropped to 3-3 on the year and 1-1 in Sun Belt play with the loss, dropping them into a third-place tie with Troy, UL Monroe and Arkansas State in the league chase.
To no one’s surprise, three-time champion North Texas has found a way to open 2-0, while NMSU is 2-1 despite a 2-4 overall mark.
Saturday’s upcoming visit to Idaho (1-5, 0-2), appears to be a chance to get back on track, but Bustle is taking no chances.
“We’ve still got goals that we can meet,” Bustle said. “This (loss) puts our backs up against the wall, sort of like New Mexico State’s were last week. One more loss and I think we’ll be out of the race.”
Idaho will be the second straight foe playing its final season in the Sun Belt before departing the league, and Bustle sees an attitude with the short-timers.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
“From hearing coaches and players talk, I think they are trying to make an impression before they leave,” Bustle said. “And, I understand that.”
Bustle also understands numbers, and he knows that a defense allowing 407.7 yards per game and ranking 87th in the nation out of 117 Division 1-A programs is a liability for a title run.
“We’re putting a lot of pressure on our linebackers,” Bustle said. “We’re playing gaps (in the defensive line), but we’re getting pushed out of the gaps. We’ve got to be able to fight across blocks better.
“We can change the way we do things, the way we teach things. We’re playing most everybody we have. We’ve got to make sure, technique-wise, we’re better.
“Maybe we’ll simplify a few things, but we’ve got to find a way to fight off those blocks. Whether we go through the front door or the back door, it doesn’t matter.
“We’ve got to finish off plays on defense.”
The Cajuns took a hit defensively when senior linebacker Stanley Smith broke his right hand in the first half against New Mexico State. Senior Chris Klock filled in admirably, forcing a fumble to halt a NMSU drive, but Smith is second on the team in tackles with 51 and his return is uncertain.
“From what I understand, it’s a pain issue,” Bustle said. “It’s something he can play with, depending on the pain. It’s a different break than the one (defensive tackle) Curtis Isaac had the last week.”
Bustle, who is also looking to eliminate three lost fumbles that dimmed the glow of a 500-yard offensive night at NMSU, admitted that the loss to the Aggies was a painful one.
Asked if the loss hurt, Bustle said, “Sure it did. We knew going into the game that it was going to be a dogfight, but it was a game that we could have won and probably should have won. This time we didn’t quite make the plays.
“It was a team loss. The only thing worse would be if we don’t get over it and play better this week.”
CAJUN CLIPPINGS _ Sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb is 5th in UL history in passing completions (278), attempts (474) and yardage (2,952), 6th in touchdown passes (14) and first in completion percentage (58.7) ... senior Bill Sampy has 99 career receptions for 1,222 yards (9th all-time) and 6 touchdowns ... the Cajuns have scored 16 touchdowns _ 8 on the ground and 8 in the air _ while averaging 393.3 yards per game.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — In a game full of big plays and big yardage, it was one of New Mexico State's smallest players who came through with the big performance Saturday night.
Muammar Ali, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 169 pounds, rushed for a career-high 146 yards on 27 carries and had two touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a 35-32 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in Sun Belt Conference action.
"I went out there and got locked in," Ali said of his performance. "I knew that I had to play big."
Ali, a sophomore who came into the contest averaging only 29 yards rushing per game, scored on runs of 26 yards in the first half and 4 yards in the second half. His backup, freshman Justine Buries, also scored two touchdowns.
The Aggies (2-4, 2-1) and the Ragin' Cajuns (3-3, 1-1) combined for 984 yards in total offense — 500 for Louisiana-Lafayette and 484 for New Mexico State. The Aggies came into the game averaging only 75 yards rushing per game, but racked up 212 against the Ragin' Cajuns.
"We got our running game going which opened up a lot," said Aggie quarterback Buck Pierce, who completed 16 of 25 passes for 274 yards. "We had a pretty balanced attack. We come in each week wanting to do that. Finally, this game we got them both going."
"That was so critical," added NMSU coach Tony Samuel of the team's running game. "I felt we needed to put a little spark in there. It was great to see."
Defensively, New Mexico State forced three second-half fumbles that gave the offense good field position.
"At some point, you got to stop their offense and offensively, you can't lay the football on the ground," said Louisiana-Lafayette coach Ricky Bustle.
<center><p><a href="http://www.nola.com/sportsflash/local/index.ssf?/base/sports-5/1097381645170020.xml&storylist=">The rest of the story</a><!--
The Aggies, coming off stinging defeats by rivals New Mexico and Texas-El Paso the past two weeks, found themselves in a hole just seconds into the game. Louisiana-Lafayette's Travis Smothers returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
Louisiana Lafayette also got first-half touchdowns on a Jerry Babb pass to Bill Sampy that covered 12 yards and on a 2-yard run by Dwight Lindon.
The Aggies, who trailed 21-13 at halftime, lost two fumbles in the first half while driving inside the Ragin' Cajun 20-yard line. But NMSU bounced back in the second half, playing a more physical brand of football.
"(The Aggies) got all over it physically there in the second half," said Bustle. "We got it shoved in our face a little bit."
The Aggies rallied in the second half and built a 35-21 lead before the Ragin' Cajuns scored 11 points in the final 8:16 to close the gap.
Louisiana Lafayette's last score came when Babb hit Sampy for a 34-yard scoring strike with 1:54 left to play. NMSU recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the win.
Babb completed 29 of 45 passes for 334 yards. Sampy caught eight passes for 109 yards, while Chester Johnson led the team with 64 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Paul Dombrowski, who doubles as Pierce's backup at quarterback, led the Aggies in receiving with six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Freshman tight end Andrew Mooney caught three passes for a career-high 95 yards.
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Aggies get the win over<b> Louisiana </b><blockquote><p align=justify>It looked like it was going to be another long night for the Aggies after they gave up a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown. The Aggies first drive ended on the Louisiana 29 yard line after they failed to convert on fourth and short.
The Aggie defense would force a Louisiana punt on their next series and the Aggie offense drove 52 yards on two plays down to the Louisiana 28 yard line only to fumble the ball away. The Aggie defense stood tall forcing a three and out by the Cajuns. The Aggies then drove 82 yards on 10 plays and with 2:23 left in the first quarter the Aggies broke their 8 quarter touchdown-less streak to tie the game at 7-7.
The Aggie defense then forced another three and out and the Aggies put together an 8 play 37 yard drive for their second touchdown of the evening. The extra point was missed and the Aggies led 13-7. The Cajuns would then answer with a touchdown of their own to back on top 14-13.
The Aggie offense then put together another impressive drive going 69 yards on 8 plays only to have HB Justine Buries fumble the ball on the 11 yard line of the Cajuns. The Cajuns would capitalize on the turnover putting together a 14 play 89 yard drive to take a 21-13 lead into the half.
The Aggies received the ball to start the 3rd quarter and promptly drove 60 yards to score a touchdown. The Aggies went for two but a false start followed by an incompletion left the Aggies down 21-19. The Aggie defense then forced the first of three 3rd quarter Cajun fumbles. The Aggies took the ball 24 yards and score their second touchdown of the quarter, were successful on their two point conversion to go ahead 27-21.
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The Aggies would then force another fumble which the Aggies turned into another touchdown. The Aggies went for two and again were successful to go ahead 35-21. The Aggies would force their third fumble of the quarter but then gave the ball right back on a long interception thrown by Buck Pierce. The Aggies took a 35-21 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Aggie defense would bend but not break in the fourth. Giving up 11 fourth quarter points but holding on for the 35-32 victory.
There were several keys to the game on Saturday night but the biggest had to be the fact that the Aggies were able to run the ball effectively.
Rushing for 210 yards on the night they also scored four of their five touchdowns on the ground led by Muammar Ali who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns Also key was the Aggie defense’s ability to force turnovers. Coming into the game the Cajuns had only fumbled once in their first five games but lost three fumbles in the third quarter and if not for a poor call by officials would have lost a fourth.
Finally, Tony Samuel’s decision to go for two on all three 3rd quarter touchdowns proved to be the deciding factor in the game. The Aggies were successful on their final two attempts and those four points proved to be the deciding points in the game. Even though the Aggies won 35-32 it could have easily been a blowout win by the Aggies.
The Aggies had three drives that ended inside the Cajun 30 yard line and none of those three drives produced any points. If the Aggies want to win the conference those are the kind of opportunities the Aggies must capitalize on.
The Aggies have bye this week and have to be feeling much better about themselves after getting blown out in their previous two games. The road for the Aggies does not get any easier.
After the bye week the Aggies travel to Denton to face North Texas. UNT is unbeaten in league play at 2-0 and for the third straight year the UNT/NMSU game will prove to be the key to determining the Sun Belt conference championship.
The Aggies are currently tied for second place in the conference with Troy but hold the head to head tiebreaker having beaten Troy in their first conference game. Two other teams, ULM and Arkansas St. have only one league loss but ULM still has games at North Texas and at Middle Tennessee and does not figure to be a factor in the conference race.
Arkansas St. is coming off a 45-17 beating at the hands of Middle Tennessee and still has games against Troy and North Texas. Middle Tennessee has two conference losses already and is most like out of the conference race as no team with two conference losses has ever won the Sun Belt title.
Troy and North Texas figure to have the easiest remaining conference schedules and they do not face each other this season. The Aggies face North Texas in two weeks, come back for homecoming against Florida Intl. followed by Middle Tennessee at Aggie Memorial then finish off the season with trips to Florida Atlantic and Utah State.
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<blockquote><blockquote><p align=justify><b>On the overall game vs New Mexico State</b>
“It was a team loss”.
“The only thing worse than losing this game will be if we don’t get over this and get better.”
“We played as poor on defense as we have all year.”
“Our kickoff team set up some short drives for them.”
“We’ve lived on the edge too many times and it finally got us.”
“We knew we’d have dogfight. It’s a game we could have won and should have won.”
“I think we made some plays, but they weren’t for us.”
<b>On the defensive scheme…</b>
“We’re playing gap, but we’re getting pushed out of our gaps. There were some big holes. We’ve got to give our guys a chance.”
“We’ve got to finish plays defensively. We weren’t as disciplined in the secondary.”
<b>On turnovers…</b>
“We’ve got to take care of the football. We had three different backs fumble the football.”
<b>On Idaho…</b>
“I think they are an improving football team. They played a great game against Monroe.”
“In the last couple of games they have come alive. They are an improving football team and we have to be ready to play them.”
“I think they do a good job offensively of spreading the defense out. They are going to run zone plays and I-powers. They make it tough for you to get pressure to them.”
“They play a lot of people around the ball. It’s all in the scheme.”
<b>On conference championship goal…</b>
“We can still win a conference championship, but we’ve got to take care of this next one.”
“We’ve still got goals of winning the conference. I think there’s a chance you can get away with a loss in this conference.”
“One more loss and we’ll be out of this race. I think two losses will put you out of it.”
“It’s tough to win the conference with two losses.”
<b>On defensive woes…</b>
“We just want to make sure we get better technique wise.”
“Maybe we’re giving them too many things to do to get prepared.”
<b>On offense and going for the big play…</b>
“We can throw better, catch better, run block better and we are getting production out of the offense.”
“I just think it’s our style. We want to call aggressive plays and that’s just our style of offense.”
“I want to be able to run the football but I want to get the ball down field too.”
<b>On Travis Smothers’ run back…</b>
“Any time your special teams makes a big play like that it is exciting.”
“I don’t think we had a let down because we knew we are in a battle.”
<b>On upcoming schedule…</b>
“If we can win this week then we’re playing at home, that gives us a good chance to win.”
On finishing out the road trip…
“It’s a successful road trip if we win two out of three.”
<center><b><i>LOUISIANA SI
<blockquote><p align=justify>Idaho football coach Nick Holt had 13 reasons to be angry about last week's disappointing 16-14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
The Vandals committed 13 penalties for 110 yards in the close loss that essentially eliminated them from any chance at the Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.
You can be sure that cutting down on those penalties will be a priority in practice this week as Idaho (1-5 overall, 0-2 Sun Belt) prepares for a conference clash with Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3, 1-1).
And how does the coaching staff plan to cut down the penalties?
"Just keep repping some of that stuff, and make the kids aware that this is a new formation or a new alignment and let them know they have to pay attention and execute a little better on that kind of stuff," Holt said. "I think a lot of it is the kids need to prepare more mentally and be focused for a longer period of time."
After reviewing the game film, Holt said he and his staff couldn't find all of the penalties that were called.
"Some of the penalties were hard to see on film and a little ticky tacky, but that's how it's going to be in every game," Holt said.
He attributed some of the other penalties to his team's effort.
"A couple were the kids trying to do things too hard and trying too hard," he said. "We've got to tell kids, 'Hey, when you're in a bad, vulnerable situation, you've got to get your hands off.' That's what happened on a couple of the holding calls."
Injury report
Idaho is expected to be without two key players in Saturday's game against the Ragin' Cajuns.
Offensive tackle Hank Therien won't play because of a high-ankle sprain.
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The Idaho Statesman
Nick Jezierny <!--
Holt said he doesn't expect defensive tackle Jeff Edwards to play. He was hurt against Eastern Michigan and sat out last week against Louisiana-Monroe.
"He needs another week," Holt said.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>Holt struggles to adjust from winner to loser
MOSCOW, Idaho -- A year ago, Nick Holt was helping coach Southern Cal to a share of the national football championship.
Now he is the head coach at Idaho, coping with big losses, the murder of one of his starters, and a threat to drop the program back to Division 1-AA.
For Holt, 42, it has been a journey from football royalty to the ranks of the football challenged, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.
"I've been preparing myself for this opportunity," the former linebacker at Pacific said. "There's a lot more responsibility, a lot more to worry about."
Chief among his worries is Idaho's record - 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference - heading into Saturday's game against Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt). In Holt's three seasons as linebackers coach at Southern Cal, the Trojans lost just nine times. He could reach that total this year.
Holt was hired after the once-proud Vandals program went 11-35 under Tom Cable.
He was handed a big rebuilding job. The Vandals have been outscored 233-91 so far, and are playing 17 true freshman, highest total in the nation.
"I think we are making good progress," Holt said. "Everything that could have gone negatively has gone wrong. We are overcoming everything."
Asked to describe Holt, junior quarterback Mike Harrington noted that he was a linebacker in college and is now a head coach.
"That's two intense pieces of the puzzle," Harrington said. "He's an intense guy."
Harrington had his best game in Idaho's sole win, 45-41, at Eastern Michigan. That game was witnessed by his brother, Joey, quarterback for the Detroit Lions.
"That was my first win as a starter and coach Holt's first win as head coach," Harrington said. "It was awesome."
Safety Simon Stewart said Holt has brought a new intensity to the Vandals, particularly in practice. The fast-paced two-hour practices leave players exhausted, but they are more upbeat than in the past, said Stewart, a senior.
"He's going to turn it around," Stewart said.
The state's flagship university, Idaho has been overshadowed in recent years by the rise to national power of archrival Boise State. The Broncos pasted the Vandals 65-7 in the season opener.
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By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
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But that was far from the season's low point.
The night after a 49-8 loss to Washington State on Sept. 18, starting cornerback Eric McMillan was shot to death in his apartment. Two Seattle brothers have been arrested, but no motive has been established.
"You never think you will have tragedies like we have had in the first year," Holt said.
The players have maintained McMillan's locker and many have tattoos with his number.
"Time is the best healer," he said. "They are comforted knowing Eric is with them."
But the investigation and court case remains a constant distraction.
"They have been subpoenaing a lot of people," said Stewart, one of McMillan's best friends on the team. Police "are at practice all the time."
The weekend after the shooting, the Vandals lost 48-10 at Oregon.
They rebounded to beat Eastern Michigan before losing 16-14 last week to Louisiana-Monroe.
That loss was described by Holt as "the worst football I've ever seen. Ever."
A few days later he was more upbeat.
"We could easily be 3-3 and we are not," Holt said. "We could be 2-0 in conference and we are not."
Holt insists he does not regret leaving Southern Cal, which remains undefeated and ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25.
"The only thing I miss about USC is the coaches and players and great, great, great boosters they have," Holt said.
"I never try to go backwards. Never," Holt added. "I enjoy being a head coach."
Holt was hired at Idaho in part because of his long ties to the program. He spent 1990-97 in Moscow as assistant under John L. Smith and Chris Tormey. His wife, Julie, was women's basketball coach at Idaho for four seasons. She is now raising the couple's two children and has no plans to resume her coaching career, Holt said.
He believes good things are on the horizon for the Vandals.
Next year they move to the Western Athletic Conference, a league that makes more geographic sense than the far-flung Sun Belt.
The move to Division 1-A has been tough for the Vandals, who are located in a remote town of about 20,000 people. They struggle to draw enough fans to meet I-A requirements, schedule numerous road games against tough opponents to pay the bills, and face constant criticism from university staff and alumni over the costs.
Recently, an advisory panel voiced concerns about the financial burden the higher division puts on the financially troubled school and brought up the idea of dropping to Division I-AA to save money. But UI President Tim White reaffirmed the school's commitment to Division 1-A.
Idaho recently opened a new weight room and will have new locker rooms in another month. He would also like to see the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome, a drab aircraft-hanger of a stadium, replaced with a new 30,000-seat stadium.
"Then it's a great job," Holt said.
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<blockquote><p align=justify><b>Louisiana (3-3) at Idaho (1-5), 5 pm ET </b>
<b>Why to watch</b>: UL's Sun Belt title hopes probably went out the window with a 35-32 loss to New Mexico State last week, but this is still one of the league's better teams with a relatively strong offense and a defense that's not playing all that poorly. Idaho is a young team continuing to search for some consistency. After beating Eastern Michigan on the road, the Vandals lost all momentum in a 16-14 home loss to UL Monroe. With road trips to MTSU and Troy coming up next, Idaho has to win to avoid a 1-8 start.
<b>Why UL might win</b>: Take away the 45 point outburst against Eastern Michigan and Idaho is averaging 9.2 points per game. The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging over 25 points per game with as consistent an attack as there is in the league. Idaho might not be able to keep up the pace Jerry Babb and the boys might set.
<b>Why Idaho might win</b>: Compared to last year's defense, this year's Idaho D isn't all that bad and is relatively decent against the pass. Lack of offense has been the issue more than the defense, so the hope has to be for the Idaho D to make big plays early and keep things close.
<b>Who to watch</b>: Idaho has a running back to count on for the next three-plus years. Jayson Bird started the season off with a 77-yard day against Boise State and ran for 249 yards in the first three games. After getting stuffed for 11 yards by Oregon, Bird ran for 125 yards and three scores against Eastern Michigan and 86 yards against UL Monroe. He needs to be a steadying force in an offense that needs playmakers.
<b>What will happen</b>: UL will get back in the Sun Belt race and have a winning season in its sights with a decisive victory.
<b>CFN Prediction</b>: UL Lafayette 28 ... Idaho 14 ... Line: UL Lafayette -4
<center><p><a href="http://www.collegefootballnews.com/sun_belt/2004_Predictions/Oct16_2.htm">The source of the story</a>
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. - There’s no way Louisiana should lose to Idaho on Saturday.
There are, of course, several ways they could lose.
That’s the way life is when you’re tying to build a winner.
Coach Rickey Bustle has a team that is greatly improved from a year ago _ deeper, stronger, more athletic, faster — but the Ragin’ Cajuns are still finding out how to make all that work, week in and week out.
Last week’s loss at New Mexico State was a prime example of that stop-and-start process.
Travis Smothers took the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, the first time a Cajun had run a kickoff back for 6 since the 1998 finale, and UL’s offense promptly went nowhere on its first three possessions.
The Cajuns eventually hit the Aggies for 500 yards of offense, but they also fumbled the ball away three times at critical points — twice halting drives and once setting up a NMSU scoring opportunity.
A defense that had made strides regressed to allow 484 yards and lapses in the secondary allowed lumbering tight ends to gallop for big chunks of sod right down the middle of the field.
And special teams allowed the Aggies a short field more than once with poor coverage on kickoff returns.
None of those mistakes should have happened, but they do when you’re not used to things going right. It’s just human nature.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
So the Cajuns find themselves 3-3 and 1-1 midway through the 2004 season, as clear an indication as you can find of a team in transition.
Last year at this time, UL was 0-6 en route to 0-7, before rallying for a 4-8 finish. It was one of the best coaching jobs in America to keep those 2003 Cajuns believing and on task. This year is about taking that next step.
In many ways, Idaho is probably where the Cajuns were three years ago when Bustle was enduring his first season at the helm.
Former Idaho product Nick Holt has returned to try and resurrect a program in disarray, and at 1-5 overall and 0-2 in Sun Belt Conference play he has found that he doesn’t exactly have high school All-Americans to plug in to positions as he did as a defensive assistant at Southern Cal.
He may get it straightened out over time, although Moscow, Idaho, is a tough sell for many modern athletes.
That’s not the Cajuns’ concern, especially since the Vandals are leaving the Sun Belt after this season to pursue a course than makes more geographical sense.
Nothing against Holt, but what UL wants to do this weekend is get back on track and keep Idaho struggling for one more week.
The great thing for the Cajuns is that the NMSU defeat, as aggravating as it was, did not halt their season goal of winning the Sun Belt and reaching the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl.
They still have just one league defeat, and they host Arkansas State (1-1), North Texas (2-0) and Troy (1-1) at Cajun Field once they finally get home.
"We can still win the conference championship," Bustle said, "but we’ve got to take care of this next one."
It’s something the Cajuns should do, and it could provide a springboard for an 8-3 finish. They have the ability and a favorable schedule down the stretch. It’s time to make every snap, every game, count.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- Moscow, Idaho, doesn't resemble Las Vegas, but the University of Louisiana at Lafayette defense is ready to consider rolling the dice of change.
Expect ULL to gamble more defensively today when the Cajuns meet the University of Idaho in a Sun Belt Conference matchup in the Kibbie Dome at 4 p.m.
ULL coach Rickey Bustle has concerns about his defense, which has allowed 831 yards of total offense over the past two weeks.
One thing the Cajuns might display against Idaho is a defense with an altered look, Bustle said.
"We need to do some different things and we've been talking about it," Bustle said. "Maybe it's gotten to the point where we need to take chances. That usually means locking up in the secondary in man-to-man coverages a lot more. I think we can do that, because we have better people to cover with."
In last Saturday's 35-32 SBC loss at New Mexico State, the Cajuns allowed 484 yards to a team that was ranked last in several conference offensive categories.
This week Bustle said ULL's coaching staff has revisited its defensive philosophy and how the Cajuns employ personnel.
"We're probably not as athletic up front (defensively) as I hoped to be," he said. "We're not holding our ground there or fighting across our blocks as we should be. I think we've got to give our guys another way to come out the blocks better.
"What we're trying to teach them are the things we believe in and it's not working well for some of them," Bustle said. "There's more than one way to skin the cat and maybe we need to make some changes and give our guys more freedom."
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BOBBY ARDOIN
The Advocate <!--
Bustle said ULL's linebackers also need to play better, especially against the rush.
One change could come at middle linebacker, where senior Chris Klock will probably replace injured senior Stanley Smith.
Against Idaho (1-5, 0-2) the Cajuns (3-3, 1-1) end a lenghty road trip of nearly 10,000 miles that has touched the East Coast, Southwest and Far West in successive weeks.
The Vandals are coached this year by former Southern California assistant Nick Holt. Bustle said Idaho features some differences on both sides of the ball since Holt arrived.
"On offense Idaho is more one-back oriented now and spreading the ball around more then running it back inside," Bustle said. "In their passing game I've noticed on film that they are throwing the ball quicker than they did in the past.
"Defensively they are in a 4-3 scheme and angling more up front and blitzing some and bringing people out of the secondary."
Idaho is near the bottom in conference scoring offense (15.2 points per game), while the Cajuns are near the top in every offensive category.
ULL is second in league total offense (393.3 yards per game) and scoring (25.5).
Idaho's quarterback is Michael Herrington, brother of Detroit Lions' quarterback Joey Herrington. Herrington is averaging 163 yards passing per game.
ULL quarterback Jerry Babb leads the conference in total offensive yards (1,717) and is second in offensive yardage per game (286.2).
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