2006 LSU-45 UL-3

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It’s that time of year when football fans start marking noteworthy days on the calendar, and for UL fans the most important figure right now is 45. That’s how many days remain before the Sept. 2 season opener in Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium against nationally-ranked LSU. That number isn’t lost on the Ragin’ Cajun coaching staff, who have some calendar dates of their own circled. The first of those is Sunday, Aug. 6, when the squad reports for the start of fall drills. The Cajuns will meet at 2 p.m. and take care of physical and equipment details later that afternoon. Practices in soft shells are scheduled Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 7-9, before the first practice in shoulder pads on Aug. 10. The first full-pads practice is set for Friday morning, Aug. 11, and the squad will hold its first two-a-day session on Saturday, Aug. 12. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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In one countdown, it's 41 days until Ragin' Cajun football. The other one, one that's more important to the University of Louisiana players themselves, has only 14 days to cross off beginning today. The Cajuns enter the 2006 season with the nation's fifth-longest winning streak, having won their last five games in 2005 to lock down the program's first winning season since 1995. That streak will be severely tested 41 days from now when UL opens its campaign on the road at top-10-ranked LSU on Sept. 2. That's the date that Cajun fans have been waiting for, ever since last Nov. 26's 54-21 destruction of rival UL Monroe that wrapped up the season-ending streak. For the Cajuns themselves, the calendar date with the biggest circle right now is Aug. 6. In two weeks, UL reports for the start of fall drills in preparation not only for the LSU opener but also to defend their share of the Sun Belt Conference title. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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UL FACT OF THE DAY: As if the deck wasn't stacked enough against the Cajuns already: UL hasn't won a season-opening game against a Division I-A opponent since 1990 when the Cajuns drubbed Tulane 48-6 at the Superdome. The rest of the story

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39 days until The first game of the season: UL vs. LSU, Sept. 2, 7 p.m., Tiger Stadium UL Fact of the Day: The Ragin' Cajuns currently have more impact on the NFL than at any point in school history. At some point this year, 12 different former Cajun players were on NFL rosters, and half of those were starters last season. The rest of the story

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UL Fact of the Day: The Cajuns are the preseason pick to win a Division I-A conference football crown for the first time in school history. UL was not favored in either of its years in the Big West Conference or in the five years since the Sun Belt began playing football. The rest of the story

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UL FACT OF THE DAY: The Cajuns' 2,797 rushing yards last season and the 2,040 rushing yards in Sun Belt games only were the highest in conference history since 2,614 (all games) by Middle Tennessee in 2001 and 1,716 (league only) by New Mexico State in 2003. The rest of the story

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UL: If special teams have a bearing on the Sept. 2 opener, the Cajuns may have one advantage. UL has blocked a total of 23 kicks over the past four seasons, including seven last year - three field goals, two punts and two extra points. The rest of the story

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UL FACT OF THE DAY: For the first time since joining the Sun Belt, the Cajuns will get extra time to prepare for their league opener. Instead of the regular week of preparation, and because of the Wednesday playing date, UL will have 10 full days before Oct. 18 game at Florida Atlantic. The rest of the story

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UL FACT: The Sept. 2 opener will be a homecoming for 7 Cajun players who hail from the immediate Baton Rouge area. Among them is returnee Brent Burkhalter of Parkview Baptist, who ranked 3rd on the UL squad in tackles last season with 53. The rest of the story

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UL FACT: The Cajuns' first winning season in a decade could have been even better. UL went 6-5 last season, but led after 3 quarters in its final 2 losses and was tied after 3 periods in a 3rd. UL did make up fourth-quarter deficits in 2 of its final 5 wins. The rest of the story

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UL FACT: The Cajuns shared the Sun Belt title with Arkansas St. and ULM last year, but that's not unusual. UL's last 3 league titles have been co-championships, including 1993 and 1994 in the Big West, with its last outright league title the 1970 Gulf States Conference crown. The rest of the story

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UL FACT : The Cajuns were the only Division I-A team in the country last year to have two different quarterbacks rush for 400 and pass for 500 yards. Jerry Babb ran for 436 and threw for 859, and Michael Desormeaux rushed for 487 yards and passed for 597. Both averaged 5.6 or more yards per rush. The rest of the story

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UL Fact: The Cajuns played in front of their second-largest crowd ever in their last trip to Tiger Stadium, with 91,357 fans watching LSU's 48-0 win on Oct. 5, 2002. The biggest crowd ever to see a UL athletic team was 95,110 at Neyland Stadium in Tennessee in 1992. The rest of the story

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UL Fact: Two Cajuns will take a hot hand into the season opener. Senior quarterback Jerry Babb was 22-of-31 passing in his last four games. At the same time, sophomore back Tyrell Fenroy cracked the 100-yard mark in all four and had 569 rush yards and 10 TDs. The rest of the story

[TheRaginCajun06]

http://www.louisiana.edu/Advancement.2006/520.shtml

This is an enormous way for the community to get behind the Cajuns.

I say if you are riding around town and you see someone wearing purple ya run em over.