2020 Season Opener

[NOCajun]

In this time where there are many protests over the color of our skin this is a good time to look into the life of Jack Trice, the person Iowa State's stadium is named after: https://theundefeated.com/features/j...lly-cut-short/

Now THAT'S an inspirational story.

[NewsCopy]

Coming off its best season in school history, Louisiana Football will open the 2020 season in Ames, Iowa, for its first-ever meeting with the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Sept. 12, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.

The rest of the story
Louisiana AD

[ISUCajunfan]

Fist off, lets talk about Iowa State in general, they are predicted to be in the top of the Big 12. I have seen them picked anywhere from 2nd -5th. At least one "expert" thought they had a chance to be in the final 4. I will not go that far, I believe they are a bottom half top 25 team. A win Saturday would be a huge accomplishment for the Cajuns and this staff. This team is really good on offense and not bad on defense either. They are very mixed on offense both throwing and running the ball. This team finished 7-6 last year with wins vs Northern Iowa (triple overtime), ULM in a route, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas and Kansas. They had losses to Iowa (by 1), Baylor (by 2), Oklahoma State (by 6). Oklahoma (by 1), Kansas State (by 10) and then beaten soundly in the Camping World bowl by Notre Dame, but as you can see they could have easily won many other games.

QB--Very good. Brock Purdy threw for almost 4000 yards last year with a completion percentage at 65.7%. He ended the year with 27 TD's and 9 INT's. But he is also pretty good with his feet as well. The was the 2nd leading rusher on the team behind a near 1000 yard rusher. He ended the year with 9 TD's on the ground and 394 yards rushing, that is not counting losses for sacks. He will take it and run occasionally as he had 93 carries which was 2nd most on the team. He is really good, and I know we say this allot, potentially the best QB we will see all season, but this time I truly believe he is the best we will see all season. And that is saying allot as we will see some pretty good ones this year. By most publications, Purdy is the 2nd team Big 12 QB, behind Sam Ehlinger of Texas and I have seen some people claim he might be better. The good news is behind Purdy they have very little as far experience goes, but that might not mean much as Purdy threw all but 4 of their passes last year. The backups are both true freshman, but the are both highly recruited guys.

RB--Again a spot where they are very good, but very limited in experience behind their #1 guy. Breece Hall a sophomore is the #1 guy, he finished with 956 yards on the ground last year, good for a 4.8 yard per carry average. He also caught 23 passes for 252 yards and a TD. On the ground where he is most effective he scored 9 TD's. The expectations are for Hall to carry most of the load, but a few guys behind him have been on the team a while, just not allot of carries as Hall is he main guy. Hall is predicted to be 1st or 2nd team big 12 guy as well as rush for over 1000 yards this year. So as you can see they are very balanced.

WR/TE--They lose their #1 WR from last year a very good one in Deshaunte Jones, Jones ended the year with 76 receptions, 877 yards but only 2 TD's. They also lose their #4 WR who had 55 catches for 676 yards and 6 TD's. But they have #2 and #3 back. Tarique Milton and Charlie Kolar combined for 86 receptions, 1419 yards and 10 TD's. Kolar is a Junior that is 6'6" and 252 lbs and his partner in crime at TE Chase Allen who is 6'7" 245 lbs. They are good at TE. Xavier Hutchinson comes in from JUCO and should be a pretty good receiver. Their starters are good at the WR and TE position, in fact they may have the best combination of TE's in the country as as stated they are big.

OL--This could be a weakness for them, they have to replace 4/5's of their starting line from last year. The only returning offensive line starter from last year is Trevor Downing at Left Guard, they lose their Left Tackle, Center, Right Guard and Right Tackle who were all seniors last year. Most of what is returning for them will be backups moving into starters rolls on the O-Line. The Cajuns will need to take advantage of a young group of players on the O Line considering the only returning starter from last year is only a Sophomore.

Defense--This was not their strength last year, but again they were not terrible, it is just their offense was by far their strength. They are experienced on the Defense with 9 returning starters from last year.

DL--They lose 1 player on the D-Line in Ray Lima at Nose Tackle, but they are strong on with most of their guys returning. Jaquan Bailey at DE and Zach Peterson at the other DE return.

LB--Here is where they lose quite a bit, specifically with one guy. Their leading talckler from last year Marcell Spears Jr. is gone, Spears ended last year with 92 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 5.5 TFL. The other 2 LB's do return with O'rien Vance and Mike Rose. Rose and Vance were the 3rd and 5th leading tacklers respectively and Vance led the team with 6.5 sacks. Jake Hummel takes over for Spears at WLB and is a senior with tons of experience. He actually ended the season with 36 tackles as a backup.

DB--Another position where they lose a very important player but return quite a bit of talent. Their number 4 leading tackler was Braxton Lewis is gone. Lewis had 68 Tackles last year from the Strong Safety position. But they return a really good Free Safety. Lawrence White ended the year as the #2 tackler with 84 tackles. He is a good one. They do return both starting corners and should be pretty good in the back half.

Special teams--They return both of their starting kickers. Joe Rivera comes back after only starting one game last year, but had 13 starts in 2018. He had a 40.6 yard per punt average with a long of 65 and 27 punts inside the 20. Corey Dunn started last year and was pretty good as well, so they have options as far as the punting goes. Their place kicker will probably be Alex Probert who is a Liberty Grad Transfer or Connor Assalley Assalley was 31-42 on FGfor his career and Probert is 46-63 in his career, whomever gets the nod will have a lot of experience. Both of their returning return men return. Kene Nwangwu as the Kickoff returner and Tarique Milton as the punt returner. Miller returned 7 punts last year for 81 yards with a long of 36, and average of 11.6. Nwangwu is a 4 year returner at KR who averages 26.3 yards per return in his career and has a 97 yard return for a TD to his resume. Last year he only averaged 25.4 yards on this returns, which was down from his previous 2 years, but still very close to his 26.4 in 16 and 26.8 in 18, so he is very consistent as a returner.

Coaches--Matt Campbell returns for his 5th as HC in Ames, Iowa. He is going for 4 straight winning seasons, which is unheard of in Ames, Iowa. Campbell was previously the HC at Toledo where he put together an impressive 35-15 record. Their DC is Jon Heacock who has been with the program for 5 years as well last year was his first as DC, he was the HC at Youngstown state from 01-09. The OC is Tom Manning in his 2nd stint as OC at ISU. Manning was the OC in 2016-2017, then coached in the NFL as TE coach for the Colts in 2018, he came back in 2019 as OC where he is today.

Make no mistake about this, this is a good football team, they are very good offensively and pretty good defensively, specifically at certain spots. As a team they averaged 32.15 points per game on offense while giving up 25.92 on defense. They had a total of 1729 yards on the ground for an average of 133 ypg on the ground and 4047 through the air for an average of 311 ypg in the air. So they like to throw it, but they can run as well. Their time of possession was 30.24 vs 29.36 for their opponents. They gave up 139.5 ypg on the ground and 229.77 ypg in the air.

I think this will be a fun game to watch, we need to establish the run game and get Mitchell and Ragas as well as Smith going. Levi can not have the type of game he had vs MSU to open the season last year, but if he plays like he did for the majority of the season we will be able to keep it close, specifically if we can own the TOP by controlling the clock with our run game. Our D-Line has to play well and control the Line of scrimmage vs a less experienced O-Line at ISU.

Geaux Cajuns

Man, it's been a while since I've checked/posted here. Thought I'd swing by and see what your thoughts were on the game/ISU.

First off: Pretty Spot On analysis Dave! Us Cyclones are pretty excited about our team this year as we return quite a bit from last year's squad. As Dave noted, we lost quite a few of our starting OL so that is a concern.

A few notes to add to Dave's work:
QB - We have no backup QB. Our backup last year transferred out, so we have a walkon and two well thought of true freshmen behind Purdy. Purdy isn't the biggest guy and was dinged up for a good portion of last year so him making it through the season will be a huge component of ISU's success.

RB - Dave nails it. Breece Hall is the guy. Nwangu could be the primary backup though two others could see carries as well. Expect Breece to be the workhorse though.

WR - One WR to watch is #2 Sean Shaw Jr. He's another 6'6" WR. He's stepped into our "big" WR role. He had 5 TDs last year and could have a big year in 2020. Dave mentioned Tarique Milton and he will be moving into DeShante Jones role as our "little" WR. He's only 5'11" but is one of our faster players. Xavier Hutchinson came in from JUCO and is currently listed as a starter at WR (our depth chart lists 3 starting WR positions). We'll see what he brings to the table. Behind those three is a pretty deep position group.

TE - Charlie Kolar is the bellcow. At 6'6" he is Purdy's security blanket. He had a phenomenal season last year, having just shy of 700 yds receiving and 7 TDs. He will definitely be one of Purdy's primary targets. Chase Allen can also be on the field sometimes with Kolar. He's 6'7" and is a very good blocker. Then a third TE that will play, #89 Dylan Soehner is used more as a Fullback. He's 6'7" and 270 lbs.

OL - As Dave pointed out, this is the position that makes ISU fans hold their breath. Technically, we lost 4 of 5 starters but our starting Center Colin Newell was a starter most of 2018 and was the starter at the beginning of last year before getting hurt. Listed as a starter in the current depth chart, LT Sean Foster is a 6'8" Senior. He was a former 4* recruit but has struggled much of his career. He's backed up by a Redshirt Frosh, Grant Treiber. The staff has been high on Treiber. I think they're giving Foster one last shot at it but don't be surprised if Treiber gets some time or eventually takes over. Similarly at RG, Rod Hudson (6'7" 360lbs) is listed as the starter but backup Derek Schweiger could see some time too. At RT is Joey Ramos, a sophomore.

DL - We actually lost two NGs, Ray Lima and Jahmal Johnson. Lima was a beast but wasn't able to stay as healthy last season. Jahmal Johnson played extensively and was a very solid player, so they both will be missed. Juco Latrell Bankston, senior Josh Bailey and sophomore Isaiah Lee will be tasked with replacing those two departed seniors. ISU has typically played a 3 Man front the past two seasons. JaQuan Bailey returns after being out most of last season due to injury. He will most likely leave as ISU's all time leader in Sacks. With him out last year, Zach Peterson got extensive playing time and really preformed well. Another player that will start, somewhere, is DE/DT Eni Uwazurike. He's 6'6" 310lbs and has played primarily at DE the past few seasons. He's one of the better players on our DL.

LB - Again, Dave noted that ISU lost Marcel Spears, who was a tremendous player. With our normal 3-3-5 defensive alignment, ISU usually has 2 Inside type LBs and then 1 OLB/S type hybrid LB. Mike Rose (6'4" 245lbs) and O'rein Vance (6'2" 248lbs) are manning those Inside LB positions and Jake Hummel (6'1" 230lbs) is the OLB. I expect Hummel to play primarily against the Cajuns because of your rushing attack. The three backups at those positions are all Freshmen or Sophomores with very little experience. Again, injuries at that position would be critical.

Safety - ISU returns two Safeties, Greg Eisworth and Lawrence White. Dave talked about losing Braxton Lewis. Here's the thing, Lewis was a former walkon and was basically a LB trapped in a Safety's body. He was very solid in run support but at times could be terrible in coverage.
Greg Eisworth is the star of our defensive backfield. He's a tremendous player who battled injuries last year. He played our "Star" position which is a third safety spot that sometimes rotates in for that OLB spot. He hurt his should last season and was never fully 100%. He's slotted at SS this season. Lawrence White is a solid, fifth year senior. The new "Star" prospect is Isheem Young. He's a 5'10" 205 lbs. redshirt frosh. He was a highly thought of recruit out of Pennsylvania. Sounds like our staff is pretty high on him. We'll see how quickly he adjusts to this level.

CB - Anthony Johnson is our left corner. He's 6'0" 190 lbs. He's been a very steady player. At right corner, looks like Tayvonne Kyle is going to get the start. He's 5'11" and a skinny 175 lbs. He's a converted WR. Plays well in coverage but last year he wasn't the most physical of corners. His backup is also a slight player, Datrone Young (170 lbs.).

Special Teams - Dave did an excellent job breaking down the kickers, punters and kick returners. Nwangu was a 2nd Team all conference kick returner in 2018. He's one of our faster players.

All in all I think this could be a very good game. One thing I'll mention is that typically under Campbell, ISU has started the previous seasons kind of flat. We usually play a FCS team to start and then have our big rivalry game with Iowa. Our fans always tell themselves that the coaching staff is playing it safe in that FCS game so that they don't show Iowa anything. Well, we don't play Iowa this season, so we'll see if that's the case or not.

Guys and Gals, I hope we both play well and everyone is healthy at the conclusion! I'm certainly looking forward to the game and definitely wish I could be at the game instead of watching at home but hey, at least we're playing! Go Clones and Geaux Cajuns!

Here is ISU's depth chart

[CockyCajun]

These takes are awesome. I'm pumped for the game.

[Turbine]

Man, it's been a while since I've checked/posted here. Thought I'd swing by and see what your thoughts were on the game/ISU.

First off: Pretty Spot On analysis Dave! Us Cyclones are pretty excited about our team this year as we return quite a bit from last year's squad. As Dave noted, we lost quite a few of our starting OL so that is a concern.

A few notes to add to Dave's work:
QB - We have no backup QB. Our backup last year transferred out, so we have a walkon and two well thought of true freshmen behind Purdy. Purdy isn't the biggest guy and was dinged up for a good portion of last year so him making it through the season will be a huge component of ISU's success.

RB - Dave nails it. Breece Hall is the guy. Nwangu could be the primary backup though two others could see carries as well. Expect Breece to be the workhorse though.

WR - One WR to watch is #2 Sean Shaw Jr. He's another 6'6" WR. He's stepped into our "big" WR role. He had 5 TDs last year and could have a big year in 2020. Dave mentioned Tarique Milton and he will be moving into DeShante Jones role as our "little" WR. He's only 5'11" but is one of our faster players. Xavier Hutchinson came in from JUCO and is currently listed as a starter at WR (our depth chart lists 3 starting WR positions). We'll see what he brings to the table. Behind those three is a pretty deep position group.

TE - Charlie Kolar is the bellcow. At 6'6" he is Purdy's security blanket. He had a phenomenal season last year, having just shy of 700 yds receiving and 7 TDs. He will definitely be one of Purdy's primary targets. Chase Allen can also be on the field sometimes with Kolar. He's 6'7" and is a very good blocker. Then a third TE that will play, #89 Dylan Soehner is used more as a Fullback. He's 6'7" and 270 lbs.

OL - As Dave pointed out, this is the position that makes ISU fans hold their breath. Technically, we lost 4 of 5 starters but our starting Center Colin Newell was a starter most of 2018 and was the starter at the beginning of last year before getting hurt. Listed as a starter in the current depth chart, LT Sean Foster is a 6'8" Senior. He was a former 4* recruit but has struggled much of his career. He's backed up by a Redshirt Frosh, Grant Treiber. The staff has been high on Treiber. I think they're giving Foster one last shot at it but don't be surprised if Treiber gets some time or eventually takes over. Similarly at RG, Rod Hudson (6'7" 360lbs) is listed as the starter but backup Derek Schweiger could see some time too. At RT is Joey Ramos, a sophomore.

DL - We actually lost two NGs, Ray Lima and Jahmal Johnson. Lima was a beast but wasn't able to stay as healthy last season. Jahmal Johnson played extensively and was a very solid player, so they both will be missed. Juco Latrell Bankston, senior Josh Bailey and sophomore Isaiah Lee will be tasked with replacing those two departed seniors. ISU has typically played a 3 Man front the past two seasons. JaQuan Bailey returns after being out most of last season due to injury. He will most likely leave as ISU's all time leader in Sacks. With him out last year, Zach Peterson got extensive playing time and really preformed well. Another player that will start, somewhere, is DE/DT Eni Uwazurike. He's 6'6" 310lbs and has played primarily at DE the past few seasons. He's one of the better players on our DL.

LB - Again, Dave noted that ISU lost Marcel Spears, who was a tremendous player. With our normal 3-3-5 defensive alignment, ISU usually has 2 Inside type LBs and then 1 OLB/S type hybrid LB. Mike Rose (6'4" 245lbs) and O'rein Vance (6'2" 248lbs) are manning those Inside LB positions and Jake Hummel (6'1" 230lbs) is the OLB. I expect Hummel to play primarily against the Cajuns because of your rushing attack. The three backups at those positions are all Freshmen or Sophomores with very little experience. Again, injuries at that position would be critical.

Safety - ISU returns two Safeties, Greg Eisworth and Lawrence White. Dave talked about losing Braxton Lewis. Here's the thing, Lewis was a former walkon and was basically a LB trapped in a Safety's body. He was very solid in run support but at times could be terrible in coverage.
Greg Eisworth is the star of our defensive backfield. He's a tremendous player who battled injuries last year. He played our "Star" position which is a third safety spot that sometimes rotates in for that OLB spot. He hurt his should last season and was never fully 100%. He's slotted at SS this season. Lawrence White is a solid, fifth year senior. The new "Star" prospect is Isheem Young. He's a 5'10" 205 lbs. redshirt frosh. He was a highly thought of recruit out of Pennsylvania. Sounds like our staff is pretty high on him. We'll see how quickly he adjusts to this level.

CB - Anthony Johnson is our left corner. He's 6'0" 190 lbs. He's been a very steady player. At right corner, looks like Tayvonne Kyle is going to get the start. He's 5'11" and a skinny 175 lbs. He's a converted WR. Plays well in coverage but last year he wasn't the most physical of corners. His backup is also a slight player, Datrone Young (170 lbs.).

Special Teams - Dave did an excellent job breaking down the kickers, punters and kick returners. Nwangu was a 2nd Team all conference kick returner in 2018. He's one of our faster players.

All in all I think this could be a very good game. One thing I'll mention is that typically under Campbell, ISU has started the previous seasons kind of flat. We usually play a FCS team to start and then have our big rivalry game with Iowa. Our fans always tell themselves that the coaching staff is playing it safe in that FCS game so that they don't show Iowa anything. Well, we don't play Iowa this season, so we'll see if that's the case or not.

Guys and Gals, I hope we both play well and everyone is healthy at the conclusion! I'm certainly looking forward to the game and definitely wish I could be at the game instead of watching at home but hey, at least we're playing! Go Clones and Geaux Cajuns!

Here is ISU's depth chart

You and RaginDave make for a good game.

[RaginDave]

Man, it's been a while since I've checked/posted here. Thought I'd swing by and see what your thoughts were on the game/ISU.

First off: Pretty Spot On analysis Dave! Us Cyclones are pretty excited about our team this year as we return quite a bit from last year's squad. As Dave noted, we lost quite a few of our starting OL so that is a concern.

A few notes to add to Dave's work:
QB - We have no backup QB. Our backup last year transferred out, so we have a walkon and two well thought of true freshmen behind Purdy. Purdy isn't the biggest guy and was dinged up for a good portion of last year so him making it through the season will be a huge component of ISU's success.

RB - Dave nails it. Breece Hall is the guy. Nwangu could be the primary backup though two others could see carries as well. Expect Breece to be the workhorse though.

WR - One WR to watch is #2 Sean Shaw Jr. He's another 6'6" WR. He's stepped into our "big" WR role. He had 5 TDs last year and could have a big year in 2020. Dave mentioned Tarique Milton and he will be moving into DeShante Jones role as our "little" WR. He's only 5'11" but is one of our faster players. Xavier Hutchinson came in from JUCO and is currently listed as a starter at WR (our depth chart lists 3 starting WR positions). We'll see what he brings to the table. Behind those three is a pretty deep position group.

TE - Charlie Kolar is the bellcow. At 6'6" he is Purdy's security blanket. He had a phenomenal season last year, having just shy of 700 yds receiving and 7 TDs. He will definitely be one of Purdy's primary targets. Chase Allen can also be on the field sometimes with Kolar. He's 6'7" and is a very good blocker. Then a third TE that will play, #89 Dylan Soehner is used more as a Fullback. He's 6'7" and 270 lbs.

OL - As Dave pointed out, this is the position that makes ISU fans hold their breath. Technically, we lost 4 of 5 starters but our starting Center Colin Newell was a starter most of 2018 and was the starter at the beginning of last year before getting hurt. Listed as a starter in the current depth chart, LT Sean Foster is a 6'8" Senior. He was a former 4* recruit but has struggled much of his career. He's backed up by a Redshirt Frosh, Grant Treiber. The staff has been high on Treiber. I think they're giving Foster one last shot at it but don't be surprised if Treiber gets some time or eventually takes over. Similarly at RG, Rod Hudson (6'7" 360lbs) is listed as the starter but backup Derek Schweiger could see some time too. At RT is Joey Ramos, a sophomore.

DL - We actually lost two NGs, Ray Lima and Jahmal Johnson. Lima was a beast but wasn't able to stay as healthy last season. Jahmal Johnson played extensively and was a very solid player, so they both will be missed. Juco Latrell Bankston, senior Josh Bailey and sophomore Isaiah Lee will be tasked with replacing those two departed seniors. ISU has typically played a 3 Man front the past two seasons. JaQuan Bailey returns after being out most of last season due to injury. He will most likely leave as ISU's all time leader in Sacks. With him out last year, Zach Peterson got extensive playing time and really preformed well. Another player that will start, somewhere, is DE/DT Eni Uwazurike. He's 6'6" 310lbs and has played primarily at DE the past few seasons. He's one of the better players on our DL.

LB - Again, Dave noted that ISU lost Marcel Spears, who was a tremendous player. With our normal 3-3-5 defensive alignment, ISU usually has 2 Inside type LBs and then 1 OLB/S type hybrid LB. Mike Rose (6'4" 245lbs) and O'rein Vance (6'2" 248lbs) are manning those Inside LB positions and Jake Hummel (6'1" 230lbs) is the OLB. I expect Hummel to play primarily against the Cajuns because of your rushing attack. The three backups at those positions are all Freshmen or Sophomores with very little experience. Again, injuries at that position would be critical.

Safety - ISU returns two Safeties, Greg Eisworth and Lawrence White. Dave talked about losing Braxton Lewis. Here's the thing, Lewis was a former walkon and was basically a LB trapped in a Safety's body. He was very solid in run support but at times could be terrible in coverage.
Greg Eisworth is the star of our defensive backfield. He's a tremendous player who battled injuries last year. He played our "Star" position which is a third safety spot that sometimes rotates in for that OLB spot. He hurt his should last season and was never fully 100%. He's slotted at SS this season. Lawrence White is a solid, fifth year senior. The new "Star" prospect is Isheem Young. He's a 5'10" 205 lbs. redshirt frosh. He was a highly thought of recruit out of Pennsylvania. Sounds like our staff is pretty high on him. We'll see how quickly he adjusts to this level.

CB - Anthony Johnson is our left corner. He's 6'0" 190 lbs. He's been a very steady player. At right corner, looks like Tayvonne Kyle is going to get the start. He's 5'11" and a skinny 175 lbs. He's a converted WR. Plays well in coverage but last year he wasn't the most physical of corners. His backup is also a slight player, Datrone Young (170 lbs.).

Special Teams - Dave did an excellent job breaking down the kickers, punters and kick returners. Nwangu was a 2nd Team all conference kick returner in 2018. He's one of our faster players.

All in all I think this could be a very good game. One thing I'll mention is that typically under Campbell, ISU has started the previous seasons kind of flat. We usually play a FCS team to start and then have our big rivalry game with Iowa. Our fans always tell themselves that the coaching staff is playing it safe in that FCS game so that they don't show Iowa anything. Well, we don't play Iowa this season, so we'll see if that's the case or not.

Guys and Gals, I hope we both play well and everyone is healthy at the conclusion! I'm certainly looking forward to the game and definitely wish I could be at the game instead of watching at home but hey, at least we're playing! Go Clones and Geaux Cajuns!

Here is ISU's depth chart

Thanks for the kind words ISUCajunFan. These breakdowns get much easier during the season, this one was especially tough as we did not expect to be playing you guys for most of the offseason. I knew that I would probably be missing something as I was just going off of information I could gather from your roster, some of the publications and last years stats. Thanks for helping clear up some of the information that I may have missed.

I think you guys are a very good team and possibly with the exception of possibly App State, the best team we will face all season. We will learn allot about UAB tonight as they face Miami.

I really like this matchup for both teams and I am happy both administrations/athletic departments could work this out.

Good luck on the season and after Saturday I am pulling for you guys to run the table, but as far as Saturday goes....>Geaux Cajuns!!!!!

[NewsCopy]

The matchup no one knew existed five weeks ago in a season many prematurely gave up on months ago is apparently really going to happen in a place UL’s football program has never been at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Don’t be confused

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