The Book: 2003 Football

[Gangsta]

Where can I find them?

[Turbine]

I didn't get to go, hopefully someone snapped a few. SwampFox has a road worthy camera he may have brought it.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Certain parts of the turf were a bit soggy towards the end of Wednesday’s Louisiana'a scrimmage at Cajun Field.

But, then again, a few of the players’ legs also looked a bit leaden as the Cajuns gritted their way through post-practice gassers.

Coach Rickey Bustle put his squad through a modified 48-play package, trimmed from an anticipated 60-70 play drill by injuries and resultant new lineups, and it was no surprise when the defense proved dominant.

In fact, senior linebacker Ricky Calais was the only Cajun to reach the end zone, picking off a Matt Lane pass and thundering 40 yards before diving over the line.

The only other score of the day was a 51-yard field goal by sophomore Sean Comiskey in special teams work. Comiskey has shown improved leg strength throughout camp and on Wednesday consistently sent kickoffs deep into the end zone.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Intensity off the charts at Cajuns’ scrimmage

August 13, 2003
The big scrimmage was today, and the intensity was off the charts. It was almost like a game day. People were immersed in headphones and playbooks up until it was time to hit the field.

It was very fierce down in the stadium. The second play of the scrimmage, I went across the middle for a pass, and I swore I was wide open. C.C. Brown and an unnamed accomplice (I have not watched the film yet) took me out of the air like a heat-seeking missile.

That earned me a trip to the training room. I will be all right, though, it is football and it is also part of the game. Even though it was at my expense, that is the kind of aggressive play the defense needs and plays with right now.

The rest Lawrence Johnson's football practice report

[Turbine]

I know it's just a scrimmage, but does anyone know when the Final Scrimmage will take place?

I think if the scrimmage is promoted like the Saints B&G a nice chunk of change could be made for the university. I would be willing to pay a couple of bucks. And as long as they kill the Saints prices would buy some refreshments.

I know the Vermilion and White game is in the spring but I think calling the fall scrimmage simply the V&W game would fit in nicely.

[Cajun1997]

Did not get to go yesterday. I do have some practice photos from Saturday and Sunday but I have a few pictures left and my wife "has to" take pictures of the kids on their first day of school here in Louisiana. So I will take them to get developed today, but it will probably be next week before the CD is back. There are some practice pictures located at

ragincajuns.com

under the football section.

[CajunCall]

V&W I like that. Hey is it true that the Saints game raised $65,000 for athletics, and that the 18,500 in attendance was a Black and Gold record?

[Turbine]

Originally posted by CajunCall
V&W I like that. Hey is it true that the Saints game raised $65,000 for athletics, and that the 18,500 in attendance was a Black and Gold record?

I was going to suggest just calling it the VW game. It is after all designed to get the Bugs out.

I doubt the attendance was a record, but it was probably the best in the last 20 years. You might have to go back to the Tulane Stadium days to top it.

I haven't heard about how much money was raised, $65 grand would be awesome.

[RaginRash]

Thanks for the link. I do have to say the page loading on ragincajuns.com is annoying. All those MS frontpage gimmicks are not needed!

[CDeb]

That was not of my doing. You know me better than that.

[RaginRash]

Originally posted by CDeb
That was not of my doing. You know me better than that.

Dude, You know its all your fault. You're CDEB!
When in doubt, blame you. I thought that was the fanboard official motto?

[Crawfish]

Chuck Asked; "Does Justin have a chance?"

I assume you are talking about Venable. From what I understand, he will mainly be playing on special teams as a deep snapper. From what I have heard, he has decided he is not quite ready to be playing all of the snaps. I think he is still experiencing some pain.

[Turner]

Lawrence Johnson sure seems to be a class act. Does anyone know where he went to high school?

[NewsCopy]

A report from http://southcarolina.theinsiders.com/

Have you wondered whether the Gamecocks' opening opponent, the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, will be ready for the August 30 game at Williams Brice? Well, you needn't worry. Besides the fact it is the first game of the year, ULL has at least three significant, motivating factors that should ensure Gamecock fans will see a highly spirited and tremendously excited opponent. If you are interested in what might motivate the ULL team, read on . . .

We recommend that you also read, Louisiana: An Early Season Preview

It's a Respect Thing: A Historic Opportunity to Defeat an SEC Team

ULL's players and fans have been kicked around a lot by SEC teams. Their overall record against SEC teams is a pathetic 0-45. That fact alone will motivate a guy.

In addition, most of the ULL roster lists football players from Louisiana. Around Louisiana, the LSU Tigers have all the tradition. Their fans are brash, and by and large, the best high school players in Louisiana play for the Bengal Tigers. Thus, every player on the ULL roster has been informed, through the recruiting process, that he is simply not good enough, or smart enough, to play for LSU, or really any any SEC school. If I were a ULL player, these things would tend to upset me.

This begs the question. Is it true that ULL's players cannot compete against the superior talent of the SEC? To answer that, all one needs to do to is look at ULL's performance during the 2002 season. The fact is, ULL can compete against the best in the SEC.

Take ULL's narrow, 24-17 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks as a case in point.

These are the same Razorbacks that soundly beat the Gamecocks. First, that 23-0 Arkansas loss last year was not the result of Gamecock unreadiness. Back in the 1980s, the Arkansas Athletic Director, Frank Broyles, fired Lou Holtz. The Gamecock players knew this, and they knew that beating Arkansas meant more to Lou than winning any other game (with the exception, perhaps, of Clemson.) Second, the game was played before a sold out crowd at Williams Brice. There is no doubt that the strains of 2001, the crowd, and a hostile Akansas program, meant that the Gamecock players were fired up for the game. Arkansas just out-played and out-coached the Gamecocks. Frankly, Arkansas had better players.

The rest of the story

By E.T. Yazoo
Date: Aug 12, 2003

Special thanks to the SportsNote staff

[CajunGuru]

"Lawrence Johnson sure seems to be a class act. Does anyone know where he went to high school?"

Karr High