The Book 2008 Football

[NewsCopy]

 Active NCAA Career Rushing Leaders

1. 3,417 Ian Johnson (Boise State)
2. 3,271 Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana)
3. 3,130 James Davis (Clemson)
4. 2,996 Tyrell Sutton (Northwestern)
5. 2,974 Damion Fletcher (Southern Miss)
6. 2,781 P.J. Hill (Wisconsin)
7. 2,761 Javon Ringer (Michigan State)

[Cajunsmike]

The CajunDome has sold all tickets they received from USM for Saturday's game. Call USM if you want to acquire tickets prior to arriving on Saturday.

[DestinCajun]

USM played McNeese in 2005 and won 48-20. It would have been closer last year, but I doubt we would have lost to them, but who knows. _

No way Rice should have beaten So. Miss last season. No way at all but they did. Can you go back and find your pregame arguments and supporting facts as to why So Miss was going to win that game? Surely, you did not predict a Rice win.

Was it superior So Miss talent? The Golden Eagle fanbase? Homefield advantage? Your monster defense? Past game scores?

Didn't you predict that Michigan would beat Appalachian St.? So, who are you picking between them and LaState this Saturday? Remember now, just the facts.

[Cajunsmike]

_ First QB Club meeting of 2008 was today. Cach Bustle spoke about the leadership of guys like Des and Fenroy. He then covered the depth chart. I don't think there were any surprises other than maybe hi smention that Yobes Wlaker while starting off strong had "hit a wall" this past week and did not have a good week of practice. But Coach also said that he is not surprised as that happens to freshmen. When asked about improving field position with better kickoffs he stated that Drew Edmonston had really waorked hard with a kicking specialists this summer and was much improved. He stated that Drew was not putting them in the endzone but was getting good hangtime and dropping them inside the 10. Coach Forquier then spoke about the defense and said he felt the nutrition supplement program (funded by donors) paid off as the guys have put on muscle and maintained their weight throughout the summer and fall. And Coach stated he felt he had more talent to be able to put more pressure on the oppossing QBs. He also spoke about the addition of Coach Broussard and Coach Munoz and the shuffling of the defensive coaches responsibilities.

That is about all that I can recall. I was surprised that the coaches never mentioned how much they appreciated the non-support from the "I won't give a dime to the program" fans but then I might have missed that.

Maybe Mike or someone else that was there can fill in any gaps. _

Other significant thing said was there was a "dedication" night on Friday. At that point each player picked someone who they were dedicating their season to and why. It got very emotional, took awhile, and no further details would be provided as that is personal for the team.

The defensive coordinator said that when we tried to blitz last year we were unsuccessful. In fact, fans asked why we did not blitz more they did not recognize we were blitzing but did not get to the QB. We have the personnel to try it more this year. Defense knows they did not contribute like they should have last year and is eager to make amends. Finally, the team knows that Blake Anderson being at USM will cause them to have an idea of what we are trying to do. They will make adjustments accordingly. For one, the passing game is different. Note that the QB Club and media luncheon are generally the same day. Coach Bustle speaks at the QB Club and then leaves for the luncheon. That is what happened yesterday. He rarely says anything different between the two spots. A player generally goes to the press luncheon while an assistant coach goes to the QB Club with followup comments. This season they hope to get the assistant coaches even more involved in the QB Club

[GoEagles]

USM - 52
Ooh La La - 13

[DestinCajun]

USM - 52
Ooh La La - 13 _

Oooooooh, lookie here, more "facts" from a Mississippi genius.

Hey Beaux, here's your shot.

[DestinCajun]

"And Coach stated he felt he had more talent to be able to put more pressure on the oppossing QBs."

This is big.

[BankerCajun]

We waited too long to get our tickets.. We had to call So. Miss. and they generously sold us 9... I know there are a bunch more that are buying their tickets at the stadium..

[SpreadEagle]

No way Rice should have beaten So. Miss last season. No way at all but they did. Can you go back and find your pregame arguments and supporting facts as to why So Miss was going to win that game? Surely, you did not predict a Rice win.

Was it superior So Miss talent? The Golden Eagle fanbase? Homefield advantage? Your monster defense? Past game scores?

Didn't you predict that Michigan would beat Appalachian St.? So, who are you picking between them and LaState this Saturday? Remember now, just the facts.

Rice beat USM because all three qb's were injured and a defense that took a game off. The starting qb broke his leg on the third play of the game. He was the only healthy qb. Our qb that played had to play with a severely pulled abdominal muscle and he threw like 6 interceptions. Still, it came down to a last play of the game two pt. conversion for USM to lose. Still I give credit to Rice. They did what it took to win. It was a bad loss and contributed to Bower's firing, but it was to a 1A school at that.
USM has never lost to a 1AA program and the odds are we wouldn't have last year. That being said, USM fans weren't going to settle for seven win seasons and no conference championships. They also weren't going to settle for losing to Rice. That is why a coaching change was made. Meanwhile your coach has had how many winning seasons and you gave him a contract extension? I don't even begin to understand that.

[MetryCajun]

_ "And Coach stated he felt he had more talent to be able to put more pressure on the oppossing QBs."

This is big. _

How we do this probably determines weather we have a winning season or not.

[GoEagles]

With all do respect... NO team with a new HC, OC and brand spanking new QB is blowing out ANY team in the first game of the regular season.. Most defense (good or bad) are light-years ahead of most offenses early in the season, any avid football fan knows that. True, you have a stud at halfback, but you also have a lot of questions marks and unproven players that surround him. A good running game will always help tremendously... but it just so happens that we aren't so bad in that arena of the game either

Homer to Homer.. this game will shock one nation either way (Cajun Nation or Eagle nation, respectfully)

Cajuns 33
Eagles 31

..and we're bringing the RAGIN' RED ZONE with us baby!

If losing to USM "shocks" you, then you aren't living in reality. There's a reason that we've won 77% of our games against each other. You just don't have the same caliber of athletes that USM does. That's not a slam, it's just reality...and the same reason that Auburn will likely spank us next week. Anything can happen in football. We can always fall apart and lose to a ULL, just like Michigan fell apart and lost to Appy St. But to say that your fans will be "shocked" to lose to us is just laughable.

http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div...hp?teamid=1801

[GoEagles]

The sad part is that the USM fans are making me more confident. The game will come down to the turnovers and on one side you have a senior QB who threw only 10 picks all last year, and on the other side you have an untested freshman...you tell me who you think is gonna win that turnover battle. I think the cajuns win 28-24.

Tuffguy

You forgot to mention that one side also has a 5-star, 6'6" receiver that runs a 4.5 forty. Your tallest DB is 6'1". Talk about a mis-match. Said WR is also running with the 2nd and 3rd strings because we're so talented and deep at WR. Oh yeah, we also have an All-American TE that no defense has ever had an answer for, along with one of the best running backs in the nation. Our QB's have been very successful going against a better defense all fall than they'll see on Saturday. And it's not like they're true Freshmen. They've been on the team for 2-3 years, have gone through a couple of spring and fall practices, and one has even started a game. If you're expecting our QB to come out and be intimidated, then you're just fooling yourself. The sheer talent around him will make his job simple.