The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[1stTake]

Who was the last great return man for UL?

[bigearl]

this was one hell of a game.... best game I was this weekend

[CajunCharlie]

Yeah, where is that clown!! After shooting his mouth off all last week about Babb needing to have his head on a swivel, big offensive line, etc he is nowhere to be found....all mouth, no substance.

[El Sidonio]

what the heck?!? Are they tryin to jinx us by putting a NO Saints pic for our article? Dont' they know how to take pictures of our game and put them with our articles?!? By the way, the article doesn't mention the slow fat-a** ref who stole our chance at getting one last play off before time ran out. All I know is that we beat Tech, but unfortunately the scoreboard didn't show it.

God Bless.

[El Sidonio]

i agree. no dang way they had 22,000. Ruston math = wrong!

[Cajun1997]

Monday, Sept. 13, 2004

FROM THE DESK OF THE A.D.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics Department and football program sincerely appreciates the support that was shown for the Ragin’ Cajuns’ football team by both its faithful supporters and student body Saturday night in Ruston against Louisiana Tech. Thank you!

It was the enthusiastic response from the thousands who made the journey from Lafayette and elsewhere that fueled the Cajuns rally and potential game-winning score.

“It was great to see Ragin’ Cajuns red in the stands,” said Director of Athletics Nelson Schexnayder. “I know our football team was truly appreciative to have its fan support cheering them on and believing in them.

“Though the result wasn’t in our favor, we hope that those who made the trip were left with the impression that this team will fight until the final horn sounds and that Ragin’ Cajuns football is headed in the right direction,” Schexnayder added.

The Cajuns next home game at Cajun Field is slated for Saturday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. against Middle Tennessee. We hope to see you out in full force for our 2004 Sun Belt Conference opener as we begin our quest for a conference championship.

LINK

[Cajun1997]

LINK TO PREDICT THE SCORE vs Kansas State

[NewsCopy]

Rickey Bustle on last week…
“We played a great team and a great game. We made some mistakes and that’s where we have to get better. I told the team that we played more together as a football team than I have seen since I got here.”

“I told the team that we’re doing the right things, and that they’ve got the right things in them. They believe in each other and trust each other and that’s a big part of this battle.”

“Moats was a guy that was just hard to stop and we didn’t tackle him well.”

“I think the momentum shift was after the blocked kick. But we didn’t get the touchdown like we really wanted to do.”

“As a total team they didn’t want to except losing that game, knowing that we could’ve won. I like what I see with this football team.”

On next week’s game…
“It’s going to be a copy of what we just saw.”

“We need to pick up were we left off and not go three plays and out, because then our defense gets tired.”

“They are going to be in a bad mood when we get there, but this is a program defining game. We are not supposed to win, but if you go in there and win you are in every newspaper in the country.”

On defense…
“Marshall Delesdernier had his best football game but our ends got swallowed up a little bit.”

“I think we are doing the right things and we are heading in the right direction.”

On Jerry Babb…
“(Last game) showed his competitive nature. He will lay his body out and stretch his body out for the team. A lot of people were impressed by that and they had nothing but good things to say after the game.”

Jerry Babb on the final drive of the game…
“We just got the first down and there was a miscommunication between the referee and Ronnie (Harvey). The referee told him to wait for his whistle before hiking the ball. I said hike four or five times, but Ronnie was waiting for him.”

“It was a learning experience, it was a non-conference game and when it comes down to the wire like that we need to learn how to get the clock stopped.”

“We knew we were going to score, we just came up one play short.”

On Kansas State…
“They are going to be mad after their loss last week. We’ll have out hands full on Saturday.”

LOUISIANA SI

[RaginFan2]

Originally posted by Chuck
Who was the last great return man for UL?

I know Clarence Verdin was awesome, but that was a long time ago (early 80s). I don't remember anyone great after him. We've had a few decent ones, but great??? I'm not too sure. Maybe someone remembers some more recent ones.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Rickey Bustle now knows how Jim Mora felt in 1986.

Mora guided the NFL’s New Orleans Saints to a 7-9 record in his first year with the club, competitive enough but not much for someone who had made a habit of coaching in the USFL title game.

So Mora was stunned when grateful Saints fans heaped high praise on him. He promptly let them know that 7-9 wasn’t good enough.

Bustle, whose UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns came achingly close to upsetting old rival Louisiana Tech in a 24-20 road loss last Saturday, was getting some appreciative pats on the back from fans on Monday.

“I know they meant well,” Bustle said, “but playing well is not where our expectations are.

“I had a player tell me today that he felt bad all day Sunday, and that’s progress. I was sick, too. I was fussin’ at the dog. They don’t want to accept this. It’s a total non-acceptance of losing that game.”

Bustle’s 1-1 Cajuns travel again this week, facing a Kansas State team still boiling from losing 45-21 at home to Fresno State and dropping out of the Top 25 in both college football polls. But the Wildcats are no happier than the Cajuns.

“We’re just as upset at losing as Kansas State is,” defensive end Anthony Hills said. “Losing is not acceptable any more around here. We want to win as much as anyone does.”

“I like what I see in this football team,” Bustle said. “We played more together, as a team, than at any time since I’ve been here. Everybody was hurting at the end.”

The Cajuns got a lift before halftime when Jerry Babb’s touchdown brought them within 17-7, and they gained a 20-17 lead in the third period.

“I told them at halftime that I wasn’t worried about our team,” Bustle said. “I told them 20 points would not be enough for Tech. And, we were able to hold them and outscore them in the second half. It hurt when we blocked a field goal and couldn’t take it in and score.”

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com