The Book: 2003 Football

[NewsCopy]

North Texas pulls away from Cajuns in fourth quarter.

DENTON, Texas — Rickey Bustle was looking for a defining moment for his Ragin’ Cajuns here Saturday night.

The Sun Belt Conference game at North Texas was a chance for Louisiana to revive a season in jeopardy.

UNT’s Mean Green was opening defense of its Sun Belt title and was primed to impress a crowd of 19,271 at Fouts Field.

If UL was going to get back on beam, the challenge was there for the taking.

The Cajuns took a surprising 7-0 lead and remained combative at halftime, but the 44-23 victory stamped UNT as the team to beat once again.

It was 30-23 after three periods, but the Mean Green put it away with two scores in the final quarter, capping a night when they had touchdowns measuring 29, 54, 39, 14 and 37 yards.

“We fought our tails off to get it to 30-23, and then — boom — they hit another big play on us,” Bustle said. “We also hurt ourselves with turnovers and penalties that had us backed up.”

Senior quarterback Eric Rekieta hit 21-of-35 passes for 192 yards and ran for a four-yard score in his first start of the season for the Cajuns. But he also suffered three interceptions.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NOCajun]

UL_RAGIN_CAJUN posted this oringinally on the Delphi forum:

"Dear College Football Fan,
With a college football playoff system, a true national champion will be determined on the field, and not by monopolistic business deals or computers. If the CF16 Playoff Tournament Format were implemented in the year 2002, the following teams would have had a chance to play for the national championship: Miami, Ohio State, Georgia, USC, Iowa, Kansas State, Washington State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Notre Dame, Boise State, Florida State, Michigan, Colorado State and Marshall University.

How can you get involved? By simply going to Join The Coalition, you can register your vote to become a part of the growing CF16 coalition for reforming the current BCS system."

Click link for full story:
http://www.cf16.org/

[Turbine]

With Greg Hodges out of the lineup it is very plain to me that the rushing production has suffered.

Rushing per game

Opponent	Rushing yards per game
South Carolina	132
LA Tech	95
Houston	139
Minnesota	50
North Texas	27

[NewsCopy]

DENTON, Texas — Champions make big plays when the game is on the line, and the North Texas Mean Green showed Saturday night why they’re two-time winners of the Sun Belt Conference.

In the 44-23 victory over UL Lafayette, UNT had touchdowns covering 29, 54, 39, 14 and 37 yards.

They also tied an NCAA record with three safeties.

That was enough to hold off coach Rickey Bustle’s Cajuns, who played with spirit but still fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in SBC action.

“Those big plays were incredible,” Bustle said. “I thought we played with a lot of effort, but they kept hitting those plays on us.

“There were times when we had people in the vicinity, but they just made the plays.”

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Not that long ago, people wouldn't cross the street to watch Northern Illinois play football.

Now the Huskies are part of a mid-major resurgence by Mid-America Conference members.

NIU improved to 4-0 Saturday afternoon with a 24-16 win over Big 12 member Iowa State and is currently the No. 20 ranked team in the nation, owning earlier victories over Maryland at home and Alabama on the road.

Suddenly, a ticket to a Huskies game is a hot item.

UL Lafayette played NIU for nine straight years beginning in 1988, first as intersectional rivals and then as members of the Big West Conference.

The Cajuns won six of those contests, and two of the three defeats were controversial, close losses in DeKalb.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NOCajun]

...for the 8-game season:

With the loss against NT and little chance against OSU this week, I just have one thing to say: LOOK OUT REST OF THE SUN BELT as the LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS run the table on the rest of the schedule and finish the final 8 games 6-2!!!

[NewsCopy]

Scott Hall wins the quarterback battle over Cajuns’ starter.

LOUISIANA La. — Two experienced quarterbacks made their first start of the season last Saturday night in Denton, Texas, and Scott Hall was the victor over Eric Rekieta.

Hall led the surprisingly explosive North Texas Mean Green to a 44-23 victory over Louisiana as UNT opened defense of its Sun Belt Conference title, while UL senior Rekieta battled uphill all night as the Cajuns remained winless.

“I could have played a lot better,” said Rekieta, who hit 21-of-35 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times and called for a safety for intentionally grounding the ball in the Cajun end zone.

“I let them read my eyes a lot. We were able to move the ball pretty well, considering the situation we were in.”

The “situation” was the Mean Green’s refusal to let the Cajuns run the ball, as evidenced by UL’s 31 carries and 27 net yards. Being one dimensional is usually fatal against a defense as good as North Texas, and that was the case last Saturday.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[RaginFan2]

"In a season enough beer could be sold to eliminate one of those season killing BCS school games."

That's a good point. I just had a funny thought: after the Bustle-led Cajuns whip Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the NC, everyone will ask "how did they get so good, so fast?" The answer is "the Beer!" Ah well, just fantasizing while popping open another cold one!

[Sanchez]

Originally posted by Chuck
Now that I know the answer, I think it is ludicrous that we don't sell beer at home. In a season enough beer could be sold to eliminate one of those season killing BCS school games.

Pardon my math but that comes to $5 a beer, one for every 20,000 people at 5 home games to reach $500,000. If the beer cost $1 that is only $400,000

[NewsCopy]

Comiskey Receives Sun Belt Special Teams Honor

LAFAYETTE - Louisiana place kicker Sean Comiskey was named the Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his effort this past Saturday at North Texas.

Comiskey was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra points. He notched kicks of 23, 30 and 48 yards, marking just the ninth time in Sun Belt history that a kicker has been successful on three field goal attempts.

The individual Sun Belt weekly honor is the tenth for Louisiana.

It also marks the first time that a Cajun has earned Sun Belt weekly honors more than once. Comiskey was named special teams player of the week on Nov. 11, 2002.

[Turbine]

Here he is perfecting his craft.

[Turbine]

Originally posted by Sanchez
Pardon my math but that comes to $5 a beer, one for every 20,000 people at 5 home games to reach $500,000. If the beer cost $1 that is only $400,000

Some BCS games, (like the Minnesota game) gross $250,000.

After travel expenses and everything you might bring home $215,000.

To use your and Chucks idea to save a BCS game, all Louisiana would have to make on beer is $43,000 a game.

I like the idea because it would perpetuate success. Fewer BCS games, and less top 24 schedules will result in:

More wins

More wins will result in more fans

More fans will result in more donations and game day receipts.

All of which will result in more wins.