The Book: 2002-03 Louisiana Football season

[Cajun1997]

Turbine, I know the attendence for that game was not a top 5 all-time crowd but was it in the top 10?

[Turbine]

Originally posted by SwampFox
Turbine, I know the attendence for that game was not a top 5 all-time crowd but was it in the top 10?

No it was not a top ten attendance. Perhaps not even top 50.

Louisiana has had at least 10 seasons where the average attendance was more than 20,500, and several more more than a 20,000 average.

Still 20,500 is a nice cushion for NCAA requirments.

[Cajun1997]

Originally posted by Turbine

Still 20,500 is a nice cushion for NCAA requirments.

I'd like a bigger cushion but that is fine (for now).

[NewsCopy]

ADVERTISER-Bruce Brown
Posted on September 10, 2002

LAFAYETTE - Rickey Bustle saw 20,512 fans at Cajun Field last Saturday night for the Herbert Heymann Classic against Minnesota.

"What a great crowd we had, and we are truly appreciative," Bustle said of the best home attendance in the last five years.

"And I thought they hung in there. There were a couple times in the second half where they could have said, 'Oh, no, here we go,' but our guys came back and made a play or two."

"It was great," senior linebacker Ross Brupbacher said. "It was loud. It was exciting to see so many people. It was one of the biggest crowds I've seen here."

But if similar numbers are going to return for the Sept. 14 game with Alabama-Birmingham, UL will need an improved performance on the field.

Bustle's Ragin' Cajuns are 0-2 on the season after the 35-11 loss to Minnesota.

They rank 117th in the nation among Division 1-A teams - dead last - with 23 yards rushing per game. They're 116th in total offense at 169.0 per game.

Sunday's film study was a sobering experience for the Cajuns, who turn their attention to the 1-1 Houston Cougars this week.

"We saw on Sunday that we made too many mental errors and had too many breakdowns in execution," Bustle said. "You do that against a good team, and you just can't win.

"Some of the players were quite shocked at some of the things they didn't do right that we pointed out to them. On offense, we made too many mental mistakes to make it work.

"The great thing is, these are things that we can correct."

Much of the focus for the misfiring attack has fallen on the shoulders of junior quarterback Jon Van Cleave, who has suffered eight interceptions and two lost fumbles in two games.

"Jon is still learning," Bustle said. "The quarterback gets too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose.

"On Sunday, he was able to see the routes that were busted (by receivers), but there were some reads that he missed, too. I've said it's not always where you throw, it's where you don't throw."

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ADVERTIZER-Bruce Brown
Posted on September 10, 2002

LAFAYETTE - Grant Autrey's eyes grew a little wider when he heard the news that he currently ranks 16th in the nation in punting with a 43.77-yard average.

"It's exciting," Autrey said. "I expected to be consistent.

"My deep snapper, Bill Delahoussaye, gets the ball to me on line every time in about point-7 seconds. When you have all the best guys on the team blocking for you, it's hard not to do well."

Someone still has to deliver the kicks, though, and the Central Catholic of Morgan City product has taken a giant leap forward for UL Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns.

Autrey was redshirted in 2001 after averaging 33.7 yards and 37.1 yards per kick in his first two years, yet averaged 42.7 per kick in the opener at Texas A&M and 44.7 including a career-long 62 yarder and a pair of punts downed inside the 20 in last Saturday's 35-11 home loss to Minnesota.

"The big difference is my mental aspect of the game," Autrey said. "I'm a lot calmer. I don't get rattled as easily. Now I try to think positive.

"I finally decided that I've worked all my life to try to succeed at what I love to do, and I want to help the team as best I can."

Autrey has helped the Cajuns win field position battles with his punting, largely because of that new outlook.

"When I'm on the sideline, I'm thinking about my next punt," Autrey said. "I work on fundamentals - my catch and my drop - so that when I get in there it's second nature."

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[NewsCopy]

ADVERTISER-Staff Reports
Posted on September 10, 2002

LOUISIANA La. - UL wide receiver-kick return specialist Nick Dugas made his return to action an impressive one for the Ragin' Cajun football team.

Dugas, who was suspended from the Cajuns' opener against Texas A&M for a practice incident, was named the Sun Belt Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts last Saturday against Minnesota.

The Crowley native recorded 134 total return yards against the Golden Gophers, the biggest ones coming on a 68-yard punt return for the Cajuns' only touchdown. That return at the 3:35 mark of the third quarter put Louisiana within 14-9.

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Louisiana looks to learn from mistakes vs. Gophers

By GLENN QUEBEDEAUX
Special to The Advocate

LAFAYETTE -- The University of Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns went to the movies Monday morning, but not to the theater.

Instead of the cinema, the Cajuns woke up early for a showing of their own horror flick -- a 35-11 loss to the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday night at Cajun Field.

"I think some of them were quite shocked at some of things that we just didn't do right," ULL coach Rickey Bustle said at his weekly news conference.

"Sometimes you get caught up in the game and you're playing so hard that you don't realize some things that are happening," Bustle said.

"Offensively (they could see) we're making too many mental mistakes to make it work. You're going to have some of these things in a game. But our routes weren't as sharp as they need to be and we had a couple of reads that we didn't make like we should have."

The only good news -- Bustle said the Cajuns can correct their mistakes.

Against Minnesota, the Cajuns (0-2) gained 50 yards and picked up three first downs on their first offensive series, but then gained 83 more yards and four more first downs the remainder of the game.

Despite that, they trailed only 14-3 at the half, 14-9 early in the third period and were within 21-11 before the Gophers pulled away.

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Blue-collar work ethic suits defense
Bruce Brown
Posted on September 11, 2002

LAFAYETTE - Senior linebacker Ross Brupbacher is like many UL defensive players - he punches a time clock and expects to work hard every game.

Brupbacher is part of a four-man rotation at inside linebacker for the Ragin' Cajuns, who are trying to hold the fort until the offense gets untracked and offers some relief and support.

It's tough enough opening the season against teams like Texas A&M and Minnesota, bruising squads from major conferences, let alone going overtime on defense.

Brupbacher played 73 snaps at A&M and 58 against Minnesota, totalling 131 plays out of the 165 total snaps against the two foes.

"Minnesota surprised me a little bit," Brupbacher said. "Their offensive line moves pretty well, and they played well. I thought we played very well against A&M, but slipped off a little bit against Minnesota.

"Our defense is geared toward being physical against physical teams. That doesn't bother us. We're ready for a team to try to run it down our throats. We welcome the challenge."

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By GLENN QUEDEDEAUX
Special to The Advocate

LAFAYETTE -- Rickey Bustle knew going into his first season as coach of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette that his offense would probably be a little behind his defense in early September.

But not even Bustle, a man known for developing explosive offenses, thought the gap would be as great as it is after two games.

In Saturday's 35-11 loss to Minnesota, the Cajuns offense managed only seven first downs and 133 total yards, while turning the ball over three times. In its first two games, the Cajuns offense has gained just 338 total yards, scored just one offensive touchdown and turned the ball over 13 times.

The inefficiency has played a vital role in both games, much to the dismay of Bustle.

"The offense has got to start doing their part," Bustle said after Saturday's game, which, despite inclement weather, drew the largest crowd at Cajun Field in five years (20,512).

"Our defense is playing well and our special teams were good again. When we get our offense caught up and get them part of the march, we'll be fine."

Bustle said he is confident that the Cajuns (0-2) are "heading in the right direction."

"We just need some consistency from our offense," he said. Bustle planned to review game tapes Sunday and, hopefully, come up with a plan to get the offense untracked.

One of his main concerns is the play of junior quarterback Jon Van Cleave, who has struggled in both games. A year ago, Van Cleave passed for 2,499 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Against Texas A&M (31-7), he threw six interceptions and fumbled once. Against Minnesota, he threw two interceptions and fumbled once while completing just 10 of 23 passes for 85 yards. His counterpart, Asad Abdul-Khaliq completed 18 of 27 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

"I want to sit down and see what kind of reads he (Van Cleave) had tonight," said Bustle, whose team trailed 14-3 at the half and was within 21-11 late in the third quarter.

"Misreads are big in a passing game," Bustle said. "I want to make sure we're reading our keys. Maybe we're doing too much with him right there. ... I don't know. I want to see what his reads told him to do and see how he graded."

Another area of concern is the running game. It wasn't much better Saturday, accounting for just 35 yards on 25 rushes. Jerome Coleman was the Cajuns' top rusher with 49 yards on 13 carries.

Bustle had hoped his offense would produce a 1,000-yard rusher this fall in Coleman, but with 10 games to play, the big junior has only 40 yards to his credit.

"We're going to get better from this," promised Bustle. "We've played two pretty good football teams so far. As long as we keep getting better, we'll be okay."

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INSIDE SLANT

Like his peer Steve Roberts at Arkansas State, first-year Ragin' Cajuns coach Rickey Bustle hasn't enjoyed immediate success at UL-Lafayette.

The Ragin' Cajuns fell to 0-2 and lost Bustle's first game at home Saturday when they fell 35-11 to Minnesota.

"I just told the team I'm very proud of them," Bustle told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser following the loss. "They played very hard again. We were doing things in the game to win, but we got fatigued toward the end and some mental busts."

The Ragin' Cajuns, who had 10 turnovers in week one, managed just 35 yards rushing and 98 yards passing against Minnesota. They also committed three more turnovers -- two interceptions and one fumble.

"We've got to get our offense in a consistent mode," Bustle told the Daily Advertiser. "We've got to make good decisions throwing the ball."

Meanwhile, Minnesota kept ULL's defense on its heels by rushing for 212 yards and throwing for 246.

One positive for the Ragin' Cajuns was special teams play. ULL had a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown and a blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety.

Louisiana plays at Houston this week.

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[NewsCopy]

Louisiana has solid week of practice
Posted on September 12, 2002

LAFAYETTE - The Cajuns had three solid practices this week, stringing together good outings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Coach Rickey Bustle said preparations for Houston have gone better than any of the two prior games, and hopes the Cajuns can bear down and have a good practice today to complete a solid week.

The team has not let its 0-2 record get them down. The consensus following film review by the players was that they all could have played better, and each practice this week spent some time helping players work on fundamentals.

But the day was also spent reflecting on the one-year anniversary of terrorist attacks last Sept. 11.

"Every time you think about what happened last year, it puts a bad feeling in your heart," Bustle said. "A lot of folks were taken away from their families for no reason. I think we use football to take our minds of it for a few hours."

The Cajuns will rely on their defense and special teams to continue to play well, at the same time hoping the sputtering offense protects the ball and scores points.

"We keep talking about good fundamentals in carrying the football and making good decisions in throwing the ball," Bustle said.

"It will take a solid day of execution. One play is not going to do it. We need to play one play at a time and execute to the best of our ability. We can not keep turning the ball over.

"If our quarterback and tailback breakout, everyone's going to notice."

Houston's run-oriented offense, meanwhile, will challenge the Cajun defense.

"We play good defense, but we can't allow big plays," Bustle said. "Last week we allowed too many big plays. Our special teams have been good in all areas."

"They have an excellent running back. The team is committed to running the ball. Their offensive linemen are big, so we need to get around them. Our guys need to do a better job of getting off our blocks.

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Bruce Brown
Posted on September 13, 2002

LAFAYETTE - Whatever else happened to UL's Ragin' Cajuns in 2001, at least they didn't go winless.

That unfortunate fate was suffered by the Houston Cougars of coach Dana Dimel, who endured 11 separate episodes of frustration without relief last season.

Whether it was by large margins (53-26 to Texas, 52-33 to Memphis, 45-6 to South Florida, 34-10 to Louisville) or razor-thin ones (29-28 to Cincinnati), the Cougars lost them all.

In the last 11 years, UH has had just two winning campaigns. But the Cougars, who began playing football in 1946, had never gone without at least one victory.

So it was a great relief for Dimel and his coaching staff to open this season with a 24-10 win over crosstown rival Rice, snapping a school-record 15-game, 678-day losing streak that dated to the 2000 campaign.

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