Travis Smothers 3rd in the SunBelt
<center><table width=525 cellspacing=4><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>Rushing Ranks in the Sunbelt</b></TR></TABLE></CENTER><center><P><TABLE border=1 cellPadding=2 cellSpacing=1><TBODY><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>Name</b></TD><TD><b>Team</b></TD><TD><b>G</b></TD><TD><b>Rush</b></TD><TD><b>Yds</b></TD><TD><b>Y/G</b></TD><TD><b>Avg</b></TD><TD><b>TD</b></TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kevin Payne</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>87</TD><TD>398</TD><TD>99.5</TD><TD>4.6</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Don Calloway</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>51</TD><TD>260</TD><TD>65</TD><TD>5.1</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Travis Smothers</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>59</TD><TD>239</TD><TD>59.8</TD><TD>4.1</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Antonio Warren</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>53</TD><TD>239</TD><TD>59.8</TD><TD>4.5</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Malfred Shaw</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>57</TD><TD>228</TD><TD>57</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Roy Bishop</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>44</TD><TD>223</TD><TD>55.8</TD><TD>5.1</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Elliott Jacobs</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>213</TD><TD>53.2</TD><TD>10.1</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Eugene Gross</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>46</TD><TD>210</TD><TD>52.5</TD><TD>4.6</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> David Fiefia</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>38</TD><TD>193</TD><TD>64.3</TD><TD>5.1</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Patrick Cobbs</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>193</TD><TD>96.5</TD><TD>7.7</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Shermar Bracey</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>179</TD><TD>44.8</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Paul Dombrowski</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>37</TD><TD>178</TD><TD>59.3</TD><TD>4.8</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Zach Gerstner</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>38</TD><TD>177</TD><TD>44.2</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kevin Moore</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>44</TD><TD>167</TD><TD>41.8</TD><TD>3.8</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Keith Mouton</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>156</TD><TD>52</TD><TD>5.6</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Andrico Hines</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>38</TD><TD>126</TD><TD>31.5</TD><TD>3.3</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Eric Higgins</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>123</TD><TD>61.5</TD><TD>7.7</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Clint Roy</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>19</TD><TD>107</TD><TD>35.7</TD><TD>5.6</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Jerry Babb</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>104</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Travis Cox</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>34</TD><TD>100</TD><TD>33.3</TD><TD>2.9</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kevin Davis</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>99</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>4.7</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Tony Joseph</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>91</TD><TD>30.3</TD><TD>5.7</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Tony Bostic</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>83</TD><TD>27.7</TD><TD>11.9</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Dwight Lindon</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>71</TD><TD>23.7</TD><TD>3.4</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Terrance Dunbar</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>67</TD><TD>22.3</TD><TD>11.2</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Muammar Ali</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>15</TD><TD>53</TD><TD>26.5</TD><TD>3.5</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Brian Hicks</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>50</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Steven Jyles</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>48</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>2.8</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Buck Pierce</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>47</TD><TD>15.7</TD><TD>1.9</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Scott Hall</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>40</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>3.3</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Chester Johnson</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>38</TD><TD>12.7</TD><TD>3.8</TD><TD>0</TD></TR></TABLE></CENTER>
Stamps 4th in the Sunbelt
<center><table width=525 cellspacing=1><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>Receiving in the Sunbelt</b></TR></TABLE></CENTER><P><TABLE border=1 cellPadding=2 cellSpacing=1 width=525><TBODY><TR ALIGN=CENTER><td class="s2"><b>Name</b></TD><TD><b>Team</b></TD><TD><b>G</b></TD><TD><b>Rec</b></TD><TD><b>Yds</b></TD><TD><b>Y/G</b></TD><TD><b>Avg</b></TD><TD><b>Lng</b></TD><TD><b>TD</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kerry Wright</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>368</TD><TD>92</TD><TD>15.3</TD><TD>71</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Mack Vincent</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>261</TD><TD>65.2</TD><TD>12.4</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>3</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Floyd Smith</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>242</TD><TD>60.5</TD><TD>13.4</TD><TD>34</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Frederick Stamps</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>219</TD><TD>54.8</TD><TD>13.7</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Chris Cooley</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>196</TD><TD>65.3</TD><TD>10.9</TD><TD>41</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Chris Stallworth</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>189</TD><TD>63</TD><TD>17.2</TD><TD>50</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Orlando Winston</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>14</TD><TD>182</TD><TD>45.5</TD><TD>13</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Mike Cox</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>159</TD><TD>39.8</TD><TD>13.2</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Johnny Quinn</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>153</TD><TD>38.2</TD><TD>15.3</TD><TD>28</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Andy Blount</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>130</TD><TD>43.3</TD><TD>21.7</TD><TD>43</TD><TD>2</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kevin Payne</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>13</TD><TD>128</TD><TD>32</TD><TD>9.8</TD><TD>20</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Jerrin Holt</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>125</TD><TD>31.2</TD><TD>12.5</TD><TD>29</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Bobby Bernal-Wood</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>115</TD><TD>57.5</TD><TD>11.5</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> David Fiefia</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>113</TD><TD>37.7</TD><TD>11.3</TD><TD>31</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Bill Sampy</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>108</TD><TD>27</TD><TD>15.4</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Wardell Alsup</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>107</TD><TD>26.8</TD><TD>10.7</TD><TD>22</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Michael McCoy</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>102</TD><TD>25.5</TD><TD>12.8</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Chris Lumpkin</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>94</TD><TD>31.3</TD><TD>10.4</TD><TD>35</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Jerome Stegall</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>90</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>18</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><b> Eric Bartel</TD><TD><b>UL</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>83</TD><TD>20.8</TD><TD>9.2</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Zach Gerstner</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>73</TD><TD>18.2</TD><TD>9.1</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>1</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Kenny Coleman</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>72</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>12</TD><TD>26</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Zach Muzzy</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>69</TD><TD>69</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>39</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Michael Thrash</TD><TD>UNT</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>65</TD><TD>16.2</TD><TD>13</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Ronshay Jenkins</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>64</TD><TD>32</TD><TD>21.3</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Preston Williams</TD><TD>NMSU</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>61</TD><TD>61</TD><TD>20.3</TD><TD>39</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Sam Williams</TD><TD>MTSU</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>59</TD><TD>14.8</TD><TD>5.9</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Larry Davenport</TD><TD>ULM</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>55</TD><TD>18.3</TD><TD>7.9</TD><TD>33</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Barry Tolli</TD><TD>USU</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>53</TD><TD>17.7</TD><TD>17.7</TD><TD>40</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Chuck Walker</TD><TD>ARST</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>51</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>10.2</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>0</TD><TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD> Jeff Stowe</TD><TD>IDA</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>51</TD><TD>17</TD><TD>6.4</TD><TD>13</TD><TD>0</TD></TABLE></CENTER>
Rekieta a Cajun bright spot
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — When Rickey Bustle has his weekly meeting with the Quarterback Club at noon today at the Cajundome Convention Center, the gathering will be well-named.
After all, Bustle is sure to be questioned about UL Lafayette’s quarterback picture heading into Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference game at North Texas.
His Cajuns were thrashed 48-14 at Minnesota last weekend, a score that surprised no one.
But amid the damage was an encouraging relief performance from senior Eric Rekieta at quarterback, one certain to provoke speculation after freshman Jerry Babb suffered his second straight subpar outing as the starter.
Rekieta hit 13-of-23 passes for 141 yards in the Metrodome, finding Travis Cones for a four-yard touchdown in the second period and Fred Stamps for a two-yarder in the final three minutes of action.
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
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He was also the Cajuns’ leading rusher with 22 net yards, producing 163 of his team’s 204 total yards.
Babb was overwhelmed by the Golden Gophers, hitting just 3-of-9 attempts for 13 yards and suffering an interception before exiting with the Cajuns behind 31-0 in the second quarter.
On the heels of a 5-of-22, 57-yard night in the rain against Houston at Cajun Field, Babb’s performance may open the door for a rotation at the position.
Now 0-4, the Cajuns will be underdogs at UNT and the following week against Oklahoma State, so either quarterback will be hard-pressed to make a big difference.
Stamps, meanwhile, continues to be a quality weapon for the passing game after nabbing five aerials for 61 yards at Minnesota.
The Carver High product now has 134 career catches for 2,035 yards and 13 touchdowns and is No. 3 in receptions behind Brandon Stokley (241) and Wayde Butler (172) as well as No. 4 in yardage behind Stokley (3,702), Donald Richard (2,320) and Butler (2,076).
Stamps, who has a catch in all 36 of his collegiate games, is also one touchdown behind John Falgout for No. 3 on that list.
Whether it’s Babb or Rekieta, Bustle and his staff will try to determine this week who does the best job of utilizing weapons like Stamps. -->
Who was the lineman that went down?
I read about the game saturday and it seems to me the defense got to Bab early and often and the running game was not much to write home about. Does anyone else feel that the linemen that went down last week, I can't think of his name. Does anyone else feel that the linemen who had an ACL torn was a missing cog in the ULL wheel this past weekend? I do but I'm not dumb enough to think UL would have won with him in the game but from what I was told he was going to be missed. I guess they were right. Can someone tell me who he is and what will happen to his year will he be redshirted? If I don't find out by noon my buddy will tell me tonight.
Gophers don’t treat Stamps very well
<blockquote><p align=justify>MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Ragin’ Cajun senior receiver Fred Stamps has caught a pass in each of his 36 career games at UL, but he hasn't had the best of luck against Minnesota.
Heading into Saturday night’s meeting, Stamps had just three catches for 33 yards in a pair of previous meetings with the Golden Gophers.
Stamps had a pair of grabs for 19 yards here on the artificial turf in 2001, and one catch for 14 last season at Cajun Field.
THE NUMBERS GAME: The University of Minnesota has 45,615 students. UL mentors around 15,000 these days.
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Bruce Brown
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That difference in student populations sounds like the Gophers’ expected margin of victory as the two squads prepared to play.
BAD OMEN: When the Cajuns and their entourage landed here on Friday, they loaded up four buses and headed for the hotel.
Nothing unusual there. Happens every road trip.
But when we left the airport, we were driven past Fort Snelling National Cemetary — row after row of pristine white markers signifying the final resting place of hundreds of souls.
The route is customary, but it also could serve visitors as a sign that they had as much chance of knocking off the Gophers as overhead jets had of disturbing the eternal sleep of those in the cemetary.
TURNAROUND TIME: The Minnesota Twins are hosting the Detroit Tigers this weekend in a meeting of two American League clubs going in distinctly different directions — the Twins to a division title and the Tigers to infamy as the worst team in Major League Baseball history.
For Saturday's game, the two played at 11 a.m. in the Metrodome.
That didn’t provide much time for conversion crews to reset the facility for the Cajuns and Gophers and their 7 p.m. kickoff.
Think of the Cajundome, going from ice hockey to basketball, and multiply the workload by two, and you get the idea.
WHERE’S DAUNTE’S CUBE?: Since the Tigers were using the visitors’ locker room for the weekend, the Cajuns used the Vikings locker rooms for Saturday night’s game.
That reminded us of the time in 1998 when current Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper shredded the Cajuns for 438 yards passing, still a Cajun Field opponent’s record.
Some 266 of those yards went to that well-known Central Florida legend Siaha Burley, which reminds you how good Culpepper was in college.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Cajuns won’t be home long when they return this morning from the Minnesota game.
They turn right around and resume Sun Belt Conference action with a road trip to North Texas.
That’s a series that hasn’t gone too well lately, with the Mean Green sandwiching 13-0 and 27-0 shutouts around a 42-17 victory in Denton in 2001 for a 5-2 overall lead.
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: Maybe the defending SBC champs will be weary from games at Oklahoma, Air Force and Arkansas, with only a Sept. 6 bashing of Baylor played at home.
Of course, Rickey Bustle’s crew knows all about road game fatigue.
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Rekeita to start against the Green Slime
<p align=justify>Here are Louisiana coach Rickey Bustle's comments from Monday's press luncheon:
Here are coach Bustle's comments from today's press luncheon regarding the QB situation:
“Eric (Rekieta) will start the game against North Texas. He deserves a chance to perform. Jerry (Babb) has done a fine job. Saturday night, I think that Eric stepped up and showed us a spark. That’s why I feel that he deserves that opportunity. We have had the plan all year to play two quarterbacks. In this one, I want to give Eric a legitimate opportunity to show what he is capable of. This is no slap on Jerry, because I’m very pleased at what he has done so far. He (Babb) has struggled a little in the last two games. Our plan last week was to play Eric in the second quarter. We did that and he took us down field and scored. We need something to kick start us and he did that the other night. I challenged everyone to come out and play in the second half. Eric in particular did a nice job. It may be his personality; he’s kind of laid back. If you listen to him too long you might doze off a little. He may have that knack to connect on a personal level with the team. We’re not going to have a controversy over who is or is not playing; I just want to be fair to Eric on this one.”
“We went into the second half of this game playing against a lot of Minnesota’s back-ups which are good players. They are probably more in line with what we’ll see this weekend. I knew that we could get some quality work offensively and defensively.”
