Football 1999

[Louisiana]

2-9

ROSTER

[NewsCopy]

OSU OPENS 98th FOOTBALL SEASON -- Oklahoma State opens its 1999 college football season Saturday night, Sept. 4, when the Cowboys play host to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This is the 98th year of collegiate football at Oklahoma State. OSU's first year of football was in 1901. The school has played continuously since the 1903 season.

THE NAMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' -- Late last week, Oklahoma State's first 1999 football opponent got a name change. What was the University of Southwestern Louisiana has been changed to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. For consistency and (we hope) clarity, past games are mentioned as being played against Louisiana-Lafayette throughout this release.

ABOUT UL -- There are a lot of new faces around the UL football program as the Cajuns head for Stillwater and Saturday night's season opener. Jerry Baldwin was named UL's head football coach last December after spending four seasons at LSU. He will be looking to reverse the fortunes at UL that have resulted in three straight losing seasons. Last year, UL finished 2-9 with the only victories coming against Arkansas State and Western Kentucky.

BY THE NUMBERS -- The Cajuns return 18 lettermen on offense and 18 on defense. The Ragin' Cajuns welcome back nine starters on the offensive side and eight on the defensive side. Included among the offensive starters are quarterbacks Barton Folse, who started six games a year ago, and Derek Dyer, who started four times for UL. Folse was UL's leading passer with 848 yards on 68-of-132 passing attempts. He threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions. Dyer, who played extensively against OSU a year ago, had 612 passing yards and tossed four touchdowns. UL must replace a talented receiver corps that was headed by Brandon Stokley, who had 1,173 receiving yards a year ago. The Cajuns' top returning receiver is Desmond Williams, who caught 11 passes for 150 yards in 1998. Helping lead the way for the UL defense is strong safety Matt Cieslak, who led the team with three interceptions last season.

THE HEAD COACH -- Jerry Baldwin makes his UL debut Saturday night when the Ragin' Cajuns face the Cowboys on Lewis Field. He has an impressive coaching resume that includes six years at LSU, including two seasons as that school's assistant head coach. He spent 10 seasons at Louisiana Tech as assistant head coach and linebackers coach. Prior to arriving at La. Tech, Baldwin spent eight years on the high-school level with stints as head coach at both Davidson High School in St. Joseph, La., and Ferriday High School in Ferriday, La.

from Oklahoma State Press release

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) -- Senior Barton Folse will be the starting quarterback Saturday when the Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette kick off the season at Oklahoma State.

Derek Dyer held the No. 1 spot coming out of spring drills, but on Monday new coach Jerry Baldwin tabbed Folse as his starter. Folse stood out in preseason work, Baldwin said.

"I've decided Barton Folse will be our quarterback going into the game," Baldwin said. "Barton has proved to me, mentally, he is ready to lead the offense and get us in the right play and the right protection versus the multiple fronts and coverages we'll see against Oklahoma State. I feel very confident about Barton's ability to do that."

The Cowboys thrashed the Cajuns 44-20 a year ago against many of the same players. But La.-Lafayette's change in coaches gives OSU coach Bob Simmons and his assistants little to scout.

"I do feel it is a competitive advantage," Baldwin said. "We can look at tapes of Oklahoma State from last year, but they don't know what we'll do. That's something we hope to take advantage of going into the game."

Not that OSU needs any mystery. The Cowboys ran for 440 yards in last year's win, and they're expected to take the same approach this time.

"Their strong suit is to run the football," Baldwin said. "They say here we come, see if you can stop us. I would do the same thing if I were them."

The source of the story