Game Talk: Louisiana vs. Kentucky

[Cajun_Engr]

But what of the biggest difference I saw last night was ...... defense! Last year when we played Ole Miss and Boise I don't think they had 3rd down stats because they never went beyond 1st and 2nd downs!!!

Last night I saw our defense see something I hadn't seen much of these past few years .... make adjustments!

[zephyr]

On the QBs, I like Haack, I wanted Haack to start. Going forward, I think in most situations he will bring the long ball threat and it will open up Eli to get back to that 7.6 yards/carry avg.

With Eli if we have a true passing game that must be respected we will light people up.

That being said .... from what I saw last night I think a 2 QB system, maybe 3:1 Haack/Nixon will work. Nixon showed he deserves to be in the mix and opens things up if the running game isn't working.

And for some of the better defenses where Eli can't be effetive, Nixon brings that 3rd dimension that changes things, just like last night. I give credit to Nixon over Haack and I dont think if Haack stays in last night we come back.

But for defenses that aren't SEC, Haack and Eli combo will spread them out and our offense will run over SBC defenses. Jmho.

But again Nixon showed he does need to be in the mix, especially in the red zone. Really, I'd probably be good with Nixon coming in whenever we get to the redzone. I think he has the clear advantage over Haack there.

I think its the opposite on his effect on Eli. He will not pose much of a running threat which, when running the zone read, this will keep all eyes on Eli and you will see much of what you saw last night with perhaps a few more big plays from Eli. Having a guy like Nixon really opens it up for your backs which is a reason you saw Pierce go for big gains.

[Cajun_Engr]

I will also say I put this game ahead of the near Florida win in 2011. That Florida team had no offense and UL had one real drive in that game. UL played well in the Florida game but got a little lucky and made a big play on that blocked punt.

I would say that the UL team I saw last night would have won that UF game in 2011.

I don't know if I'm just hyped to see a solid UL team or what, but I was REALLY impressed last night.

Take away the 1st Q which was us getting in the groove, after all remember 1st game of the season and we have true freshman playing in some positions don't forgot ... and we looked outstanding against a "bigger/faster" SEC team last night.

[Cajun_Engr]

I think its the opposite on his effect on Eli. He will not pose much of a running threat which, when running the zone read, this will keep all eyes on Eli and you will see much of what you saw last night with perhaps a few more big plays from Eli. Having a guy like Nixon really opens it up for your backs which is a reason you saw Pierce go for big gains.

That is true. Everyone was focused on Eli, for good reason, and they were shutting him down. In comes Nixon with Pierce and the focus goes to Nixon and Pierce is overlooked and is able to light them up.

But the difference between this game and the rest of our schedule is this is probably the best defense we will see all year. They can shut Eli down. The SBC defensed can't. And if Eli is running the table it opens up Haack to pass and we move the ball at will.

But again, that being said, at the first sign that this isn't happening, put Nixon in and go to town. And for the redzone Nixon has the cleat advantage over Haack. I'm all for Nixon being the "every down" QB from here forward in the redzone.

And if we ate truly able to run a dual QB system with 2 totally different QB styles, the opposing defenses won't know what to do.

Jmho

[Just1More]

You are correct. For those who say that there is no such thing as a turnover battle, I disagree. This game was lost due to turnovers and nothing else.

When your offense is assigned the responsibility of not coughing up the ball... and your defense is assigned the responsibility of trying to take the ball away... and the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other... calling it a battle with the other team is meaningless. I'm all for coaching my offense to limit turnovers. I'm all for coaching my defense to force turnovers. The two sides don't get an award for their combined net effort. The only common battle is the score at the end. I'll give you "turnover battle" if you acknowledge the other 50 critical battles that don't get equal billing.

[Turbine]

I will also say I put this game ahead of the near Florida win in 2011. That Florida team had no offense and UL had one real drive in that game. UL played well in the Florida game but got a little lucky and made a big play on that blocked punt.

I would say that the UL team I saw last night would have won that UF game in 2011.

I don't know if I'm just hyped to see a solid UL team or what, but I was REALLY impressed last night.

Take away the 1st Q which was us getting in the groove, after all remember 1st game of the season and we have true freshman playing in some positions don't forgot ... and we looked outstanding against a "bigger/faster" SEC team last night.

My thoughts exactly.

Also play those games at The Real Swamp and UL has 2 more victories under its belt.

[Cajun_Engr]

Saw a post someone talked about HUD being a good motivator, but not good coach. For one, that is debatable. But either way in college football, what a head coach needs to be is much more than Xs and Os on gameday. There is so much more to it and recruiting, conditioning, etc and so much that goes on outside of gameday that the fans don't see. And the motivator part is just as important to not motivate the players, but to motivate the fanbase, which obviously hud has done.

And I think we may have differing views on huds Xs and Os prowess, but there is no denying his ability to motivate the players and the fanbase and the transformation he has made.

And those things aside, from the game last night it looked like we had the better conditioned, better prepared players. I saw the UK defense trying to catch their breath and having to even do a fake injury to slow things down, while our guys were rolling. And we don't have a fraction of the depth that those guys have.

[Hudsheen#Fired]

I didn't see this mentioned anywhere but right after we tied it up and kickoffed the Kentucky fumbled the kick at the 2 and the ball went backwards into the end zone where he then took a knee. How was that a safety?

[CajunEXPRESS]

He never controlled the ball, and it went into the end zone on it's own momentum he recovered it in the end zone. That's how.

Geaux Cajuns Beat the Demons

SunBelt Forever

[zephyr]

When your offense is assigned the responsibility of not coughing up the ball... and your defense is assigned the responsibility of trying to take the ball away... and the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other... calling it a battle with the other team is meaningless. I'm all for coaching my offense to limit turnovers. I'm all for coaching my defense to force turnovers. The two sides don't get an award for their combined net effort. The only common battle is the score at the end. I'll give you "turnover battle" if you acknowledge the other 50 critical battles that don't get equal billing.

4-0. That was the difference in turnovers but I'm sure you already knew that. Each of those turnovers had a direct impact on the game. Would you not agree? This is a key stat that often determines winners and losers in many football games. If you choose to neglect it, that's fine but I think most would disagree.

[CajunEXPRESS]

It is a key stat, but IMO you cannot look at that stat in a vacuum. Was it a caused turnover, were you doing too much to try to catch up, are you playing from behind. It all snowballs when you play from the back, turnover begets turnover.

Ha, Marshall just fumbled on a huge gain by their qb. Perdue grabbed it.

Geaux Cajuns Beat the Demons


SunBelt Forever

[Clutch0364]

4-0. That was the difference in turnovers but I'm sure you already knew that. Each of those turnovers had a direct impact on the game. Would you not agree? This is a key stat that often determines winners and losers in many football games. If you choose to neglect it, that's fine but I think most would disagree.

Turnovers played a huge part but they had one as well. 4-1.