FB Final: Louisiana 41, Texas State 13

[fanof71]

Expectations vs Reality is always a b I t c h.to your point, last year's team, a great team found ways to win.thats not underperforming, that team exceeded expectations.thats the reality, it actually happened. This year as team gave away 3 games.a hand full of plays away from being 9-3.the reality of 2 last second losses at CF and letting ULM win were disappointing, that's the reality.to say the entire season was disappointing is your reality vs your expectations.which is expected when laying down the green.

[JMV JustMyView]

Then let's be real and honest about last season's team. They weren't as good as their record. We were very fortunate not to lose at least two additional games.

Lack of experience both on the field and the coaching staff is the difference. That isn't an excuse it is a fact. We were talented pretty much every where except QB and OL, which is kind of important when trying to score points. IMO, people are letting their disappointment in the season, obscure the facts and trying to support their egos from missing predictions of the season.

I bet quite a bit of money on Cajuns over 8.5 wins, and I know realize I did that with emotion, not by looking in a realistically way at all the upheaval the program was going through. Yes, we had winnable games, in those moments, but didn't have the experience to close them out.

So, in my opinion, after looking at all the circumstances, the Cajuns could've won 8-9 games this season and it would have been a major overachievement. In reality, this was a 7 win team when combining experience and talent level. So yes, a somewhat disappointing team.

Good thing I didn't take you up on that 10K bet.

[ZoomZoom]

From the maroon and gold board…

The rock bottom during the game was our own fans actively cheering for the ULL defense whenever they sacked Hatcher or when he threw that interception. I have never in my life witnessed that, a team’s fans cheering for the opposing defense because they are all fed up with the personnel decision from a coach.

It wasn’t isolated incidents either, it was several of them all around me. Some from our most die hard fans who have never missed a game that I could tell, even the horrible weather one against Arkansas State.

[cajun4life]

Bottom line, mental focus and a consistent kicking game results in 3 more wins.

This team was still an 8-9 win team. Growing pains with the new coaching staff and an inconsistent FG kicker cost us three wins.

[CajunVic]

45 players gone, new first time HC, kicking woes . . . It’s all part of the season . . . still no reason for all the damn humbug about hiring CMD as our HC.

[ULGrad@HOU]

There is no doubt there has been a learning curve for this coaching staff and that should have been expected. As you stated the turnover of 45 players is a tremendous amount of attrition and that also includes the extra scholarships allowed because of Covid. I think it's fair to say that this team was capable of several more wins and it's also fair to say some people had unrealistic expectations considering the attrition in players and staff, top to bottom.

There are two other programs that are comparable to our situation in turnover in staff and players, Oklahoma and SMU. Both programs have had disappointing seasons with supporters asking similar questions. Do we have the right guy in place? My gut tells me yes, but I will give him time to prove himself.

My expectation for this year wasn't very high, it was more of a grit my teeth and take it in the gut because of my disappointment in the offseason. Going forward, there is obvious improvement needed on offense, and not just the players. I will say I am pleased in some aspects. I am surprised that the defense overall was as good as it turned out. There were some pretty bad breakdowns, but taking those away, we were aggressive and I like that.
My expectations for the future though, are high. I expect Des to recruit well, and get this team back to the top of G5. I expect this staff to improve this offense, both the run game and also develop a QB that can give the Cajuns a high caliber passing game. Can he do it, I don't know, but I sure hope he can.

[cajun55]

There is no doubt there has been a learning curve for this coaching staff and that should have been expected. As you stated the turnover of 45 players is a tremendous amount of attrition and that also includes the extra scholarships allowed because of Covid. I think it's fair to say that this team was capable of several more wins and it's also fair to say some people had unrealistic expectations considering the attrition in players and staff, top to bottom.

There are two other programs that are comparable to our situation in turnover in staff and players, Oklahoma and SMU. Both programs have had disappointing seasons with supporters asking similar questions. Do we have the right guy in place? My gut tells me yes, but I will give him time to prove himself.

Lost 45 players wow! Despite that we could easily be 8-4. We got the breaks in 21’ that we just did not get this season. Most expected around a 7-8 win season. The ULM and Troy games hurt bad, but this team never quit.

How does this team’s performance compare to Napier’s first team that went 7-7. Many people were not happy with Napier early on as well. Gotta give Desormeaux a chance to make this team his. If we can win our bowl game and finish 7-6 heading into 23’ that would be pretty close to the expectations going into this season. Not a good season but very palatable given the circumstances going into the season and momentum going into next year!

Geaux Cajuns!

[ZoomZoom]

This was a good year not to be 13-1. The P-5 cabal now voting for AAC teams more willingly to justify the moving up of a few. Any other G-5 teams could be perfect with a P-5 scalp would probably still be an outsider.

Happy we found a way to 6-6 after the horrid losses to Minute Rice and Uhlm.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Defense won the EMU game. How many turn over did they get in that 2nd half? Don’t remember the exact number but think it was 4 or 5 in that neighbor hood. Which all led to very short fields.

Just go back and look at the number of drops we had by receivers when playing 2 QBs compared to when he went with one. If you think that is just coincidence and has nothing to do with seeing the ball differently without consistency then you are just fooling yourself.

I can assure after winning the job in fall camp Chandler didn’t think those in game breaks did him good and he didn’t appreciate them much. It was evident in Monroe after he scored touchdowns in the first 2 possessions and got pulled the entire offensive momentum dropped completely off. CMD even admitted as much that he probably made a mistake there. As a matter of fact CF disliked those “in game breaks” so much I would not be surprised if he hits the portal.

He hits the portal and will end up in FCS

[LifeTimeCajun]

6-6 did not put butts in the seats. Hell, 10 win seasons didnt do it either. We can keep dreaming about bigger and better things (new stadium, additional support staff, enhanced experience for student athletes…) for this program, but until we fix that…i dont know that the program advances much further despite if Saban was the coach. Its a travesty amongst mid major athletics, BUT some have figured it out. Its time we get it figured out as fans and as a department. Never was ready to dump Des like most on this board, although there were times that made me scratch my head. I think he and the staff are good coaches. And as with anyone in a high profile new position…he did learn along the way.

[CajunVic]

I'm not making any predictions about next year, because I suck at predictions and, I am no expert on anything anyway, BUT Chriss looked DAMN GOOD on that drive.

This fan base is obsessed with cheering for the back up quarterback to replace the starter. It’s like someone thought, “I got an idea nobody has mentioned before and it’s brilliant!”

[CajunT]

Defense won the EMU game. How many turn over did they get in that 2nd half? Don’t remember the exact number but think it was 4 or 5 in that neighbor hood. Which all led to very short fields.

Just go back and look at the number of drops we had by receivers when playing 2 QBs compared to when he went with one. If you think that is just coincidence and has nothing to do with seeing the ball differently without consistency then you are just fooling yourself.

I can assure after winning the job in fall camp Chandler didn’t think those in game breaks did him good and he didn’t appreciate them much. It was evident in Monroe after he scored touchdowns in the first 2 possessions and got pulled the entire offensive momentum dropped completely off. CMD even admitted as much that he probably made a mistake there. As a matter of fact CF disliked those “in game breaks” so much I would not be surprised if he hits the portal.

I love the toughness of Chandler and Woolridge, both are good kids. But we all witnessed the future of the QB position in the 4th quarter. My gut tells me with Woolridge out this spring, #2 will be given every opportunity to win the job. Woolridge is going nowhere unless he drops down to FCS. Fields? I have no clue, but I don't see another G5 taking him on scholarship.

[CajunEXPRESS]

This fan base is obsessed with cheering for the back up quarterback to replace the starter. It’s like someone thought, “I got an idea nobody has mentioned before and it’s brilliant!”

With few exceptions everybody in football knows that the starter isn’t good enough and the backup might be better. The primary issue is the starter isn’t good enough. Nothing new here just a different fan base.

[Big Buds]

I love the toughness of Chandler and Woolridge, both are good kids. But we all witnessed the future of the QB position in the 4th quarter. My gut tells me with Woolridge out this spring, #2 will be given every opportunity to win the job. Woolridge is going nowhere unless he drops down to FCS. Fields? I have no clue, but I don't see another G5 taking him on scholarship.

Zeon is clearly the future, in my opinion. I get why Dez went with Chandler heading into FSU after Ben went down, and staying the course into TXST. But Zeon put everyone on notice in the 4th quarter last night. That kid can ball!

[CajunVic]

With few exceptions everybody in football knows that the starter isn’t good enough and the backup might be better. The primary issue is the starter isn’t good enough. Nothing new here just a different fan base.

For three years this fan base called for Levi to be benched and for a couple of them it was in favor of playing those they are now being called to be benched. How many games did we lose with Levi at the helm? I’m talking about this fan base . . .