'Everybody Playing as ONE': Cajuns' offensive line excelling despite playing better defenses

[NewsCopy]

On paper, games against the Sun Belt’s top defenses in South Alabama and Marshall didn’t seem like the best opportunity for UL’s offensive line to take its biggest step forward this season

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[fanof71]

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[Bandwagon King]

Well, there we go. The running game is fixed. The QB situation is set & the field goal kicker has been kicking the air out of the ball. I'm expecting blowout tomorrow & can't wait to see Jefferson & company show out.

[CajunNation]

Seriously though, Mr. King, if the Louisiana running game we know and love shows up Saturday, it is going to be a looooooong day for stAte.

[Bandwagon King]

Seriously though, Mr. King, if the Louisiana running game we know and love shows up Saturday, it is going to be a looooooong day for stAte.

I think they did show up. It was 38-18, but let's be honest. If they keep the starters in on offense this game easily could have been 52 - 12.

[CharlieK]

I think they did show up. It was 38-18, but let's be honest. If they keep the starters in on offense this game easily could have been 52 - 12.

I’m glad we got backups some playing time but I sure would have liked to see Ben get #6

[RaginDave]

stAte played without James Blackman. That was huge.

[Bandwagon King]

stAte played without James Blackman. That was huge.

UL played without Fields, so it was a wash.

[CharlieK]

Bump

Getting better every week…you love to see it.

[fanof71]

Getting better every week…you love to see it.

Cutback lane was open all night, The Fly would have gone for a buck 20 had he played...

[Cajunsmike]

stAte played without James Blackman. That was huge.

I agree the Red Wolves not having their starting QB was a factor. However, he does not play defense. The OL did have their best game of the year as evidenced by the 200 yards rushing. Coach Dez said at the QB Club that the staff felt we had a chance to be able to run effectively on them. Part of the success running the ball was the improvement of the backs. At times they seemed to be late in picking the appropriate hole. They ran more aggressively and with better vision as the night went along. That improvement will need to continue against USM. Golden Eagles held Texas State to negative yards rushing yesterday. Some of that was due to sacks they put on the Bobcat QB. Two teams playing with more confidence will meet at USM on Thursday night.

[Bandwagon King]

Seriously though, Mr. King, if the Louisiana running game we know and love shows up Saturday, it is going to be a looooooong day for stAte.

You may have thought I was being facetious, but one thing I have learned about Mike is this was on the verge of trash talking for him. He isn't going to say something he doesn't absolutely believe. Personally I hate the zone read offense because of the laziness it creates for coaches who have no imagination. The blocking schemes seem simple, but technically are extremely hard for the offensive line to execute on an individual basis. And IMO the only way to properly run the thing to perfection is to have a true dual threat QB like a Lamar Jackson type. But it also requires patient running & a huge amount of cut backs to be made by the runners as well to have any chance to succeed.

We weren't getting much of either for the first five games of the season. Chris Smith started to show some success in the ASU game then went down with an injury. Last night for some strange reason, the light sure seemed to go on for our running backs as well as our offensive line being able to handle their D. line. There were a ton of cut backs made & before you knew it guys were running wild in their secondary. For people at the game, there was at least a dozen, or more times it felt like the running backs were going to break free & go for huge runs. And it looked like the backs were in shock when they got to the second level & almost didn't know what to do with all the space they had.

This could be a function of how bad ASU is on their D. line, or it could be that some really bad communication issues have been fixed between the O.line & the running back group. Either way, I had a feeling reading this article that Mike was able to see something solid in film that he felt like could be addressed at least for this game. I am hopeful this is just the beginning of the real Cajuns offense coming to life & not just a really bad football team that we just raked over the coals. We will see in just a few days.