The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — In a game full of big plays and big yardage, it was one of New Mexico State's smallest players who came through with the big performance Saturday night.

Muammar Ali, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 169 pounds, rushed for a career-high 146 yards on 27 carries and had two touchdowns to lead the Aggies to a 35-32 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in Sun Belt Conference action.

"I went out there and got locked in," Ali said of his performance. "I knew that I had to play big."

Ali, a sophomore who came into the contest averaging only 29 yards rushing per game, scored on runs of 26 yards in the first half and 4 yards in the second half. His backup, freshman Justine Buries, also scored two touchdowns.

The Aggies (2-4, 2-1) and the Ragin' Cajuns (3-3, 1-1) combined for 984 yards in total offense — 500 for Louisiana-Lafayette and 484 for New Mexico State. The Aggies came into the game averaging only 75 yards rushing per game, but racked up 212 against the Ragin' Cajuns.

"We got our running game going which opened up a lot," said Aggie quarterback Buck Pierce, who completed 16 of 25 passes for 274 yards. "We had a pretty balanced attack. We come in each week wanting to do that. Finally, this game we got them both going."

"That was so critical," added NMSU coach Tony Samuel of the team's running game. "I felt we needed to put a little spark in there. It was great to see."

Defensively, New Mexico State forced three second-half fumbles that gave the offense good field position.

"At some point, you got to stop their offense and offensively, you can't lay the football on the ground," said Louisiana-Lafayette coach Ricky Bustle.

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Aggies get the win over Louisiana

It looked like it was going to be another long night for the Aggies after they gave up a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown. The Aggies first drive ended on the Louisiana 29 yard line after they failed to convert on fourth and short.

The Aggie defense would force a Louisiana punt on their next series and the Aggie offense drove 52 yards on two plays down to the Louisiana 28 yard line only to fumble the ball away. The Aggie defense stood tall forcing a three and out by the Cajuns. The Aggies then drove 82 yards on 10 plays and with 2:23 left in the first quarter the Aggies broke their 8 quarter touchdown-less streak to tie the game at 7-7.

The Aggie defense then forced another three and out and the Aggies put together an 8 play 37 yard drive for their second touchdown of the evening. The extra point was missed and the Aggies led 13-7. The Cajuns would then answer with a touchdown of their own to back on top 14-13.

The Aggie offense then put together another impressive drive going 69 yards on 8 plays only to have HB Justine Buries fumble the ball on the 11 yard line of the Cajuns. The Cajuns would capitalize on the turnover putting together a 14 play 89 yard drive to take a 21-13 lead into the half.

The Aggies received the ball to start the 3rd quarter and promptly drove 60 yards to score a touchdown. The Aggies went for two but a false start followed by an incompletion left the Aggies down 21-19. The Aggie defense then forced the first of three 3rd quarter Cajun fumbles. The Aggies took the ball 24 yards and score their second touchdown of the quarter, were successful on their two point conversion to go ahead 27-21.

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On the overall game vs New Mexico State
“It was a team loss”.

“The only thing worse than losing this game will be if we don’t get over this and get better.”

“We played as poor on defense as we have all year.”

“Our kickoff team set up some short drives for them.”

“We’ve lived on the edge too many times and it finally got us.”

“We knew we’d have dogfight. It’s a game we could have won and should have won.”

“I think we made some plays, but they weren’t for us.”

On the defensive scheme…
“We’re playing gap, but we’re getting pushed out of our gaps. There were some big holes. We’ve got to give our guys a chance.”

“We’ve got to finish plays defensively. We weren’t as disciplined in the secondary.”

On turnovers…
“We’ve got to take care of the football. We had three different backs fumble the football.”

On Idaho…
“I think they are an improving football team. They played a great game against Monroe.”

“In the last couple of games they have come alive. They are an improving football team and we have to be ready to play them.”

“I think they do a good job offensively of spreading the defense out. They are going to run zone plays and I-powers. They make it tough for you to get pressure to them.”

“They play a lot of people around the ball. It’s all in the scheme.”


On conference championship goal…
“We can still win a conference championship, but we’ve got to take care of this next one.”

“We’ve still got goals of winning the conference. I think there’s a chance you can get away with a loss in this conference.”

“One more loss and we’ll be out of this race. I think two losses will put you out of it.”

“It’s tough to win the conference with two losses.”

On defensive woes…
“We just want to make sure we get better technique wise.”

“Maybe we’re giving them too many things to do to get prepared.”

On offense and going for the big play…
“We can throw better, catch better, run block better and we are getting production out of the offense.”

“I just think it’s our style. We want to call aggressive plays and that’s just our style of offense.”

“I want to be able to run the football but I want to get the ball down field too.”

On Travis Smothers’ run back…
“Any time your special teams makes a big play like that it is exciting.”

“I don’t think we had a let down because we knew we are in a battle.”

On upcoming schedule…
“If we can win this week then we’re playing at home, that gives us a good chance to win.”

On finishing out the road trip…

“It’s a successful road trip if we win two out of three.”

LOUISIANA SI

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Idaho football coach Nick Holt had 13 reasons to be angry about last week's disappointing 16-14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

The Vandals committed 13 penalties for 110 yards in the close loss that essentially eliminated them from any chance at the Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.

You can be sure that cutting down on those penalties will be a priority in practice this week as Idaho (1-5 overall, 0-2 Sun Belt) prepares for a conference clash with Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3, 1-1).

And how does the coaching staff plan to cut down the penalties?

"Just keep repping some of that stuff, and make the kids aware that this is a new formation or a new alignment and let them know they have to pay attention and execute a little better on that kind of stuff," Holt said. "I think a lot of it is the kids need to prepare more mentally and be focused for a longer period of time."

After reviewing the game film, Holt said he and his staff couldn't find all of the penalties that were called.

"Some of the penalties were hard to see on film and a little ticky tacky, but that's how it's going to be in every game," Holt said.

He attributed some of the other penalties to his team's effort.

"A couple were the kids trying to do things too hard and trying too hard," he said. "We've got to tell kids, 'Hey, when you're in a bad, vulnerable situation, you've got to get your hands off.' That's what happened on a couple of the holding calls."

Injury report

Idaho is expected to be without two key players in Saturday's game against the Ragin' Cajuns.

Offensive tackle Hank Therien won't play because of a high-ankle sprain.

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The Idaho Statesman

Nick Jezierny

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Holt struggles to adjust from winner to loser

MOSCOW, Idaho -- A year ago, Nick Holt was helping coach Southern Cal to a share of the national football championship.

Now he is the head coach at Idaho, coping with big losses, the murder of one of his starters, and a threat to drop the program back to Division 1-AA.

For Holt, 42, it has been a journey from football royalty to the ranks of the football challenged, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

"I've been preparing myself for this opportunity," the former linebacker at Pacific said. "There's a lot more responsibility, a lot more to worry about."

Chief among his worries is Idaho's record - 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference - heading into Saturday's game against Louisiana-Lafayette (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt). In Holt's three seasons as linebackers coach at Southern Cal, the Trojans lost just nine times. He could reach that total this year.

Holt was hired after the once-proud Vandals program went 11-35 under Tom Cable.

He was handed a big rebuilding job. The Vandals have been outscored 233-91 so far, and are playing 17 true freshman, highest total in the nation.

"I think we are making good progress," Holt said. "Everything that could have gone negatively has gone wrong. We are overcoming everything."

Asked to describe Holt, junior quarterback Mike Harrington noted that he was a linebacker in college and is now a head coach.

"That's two intense pieces of the puzzle," Harrington said. "He's an intense guy."

Harrington had his best game in Idaho's sole win, 45-41, at Eastern Michigan. That game was witnessed by his brother, Joey, quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

"That was my first win as a starter and coach Holt's first win as head coach," Harrington said. "It was awesome."

Safety Simon Stewart said Holt has brought a new intensity to the Vandals, particularly in practice. The fast-paced two-hour practices leave players exhausted, but they are more upbeat than in the past, said Stewart, a senior.

"He's going to turn it around," Stewart said.

The state's flagship university, Idaho has been overshadowed in recent years by the rise to national power of archrival Boise State. The Broncos pasted the Vandals 65-7 in the season opener.

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By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS

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Louisiana (3-3) at Idaho (1-5), 5 pm ET

Why to watch: UL's Sun Belt title hopes probably went out the window with a 35-32 loss to New Mexico State last week, but this is still one of the league's better teams with a relatively strong offense and a defense that's not playing all that poorly. Idaho is a young team continuing to search for some consistency. After beating Eastern Michigan on the road, the Vandals lost all momentum in a 16-14 home loss to UL Monroe. With road trips to MTSU and Troy coming up next, Idaho has to win to avoid a 1-8 start.

Why UL might win: Take away the 45 point outburst against Eastern Michigan and Idaho is averaging 9.2 points per game. The Ragin' Cajuns are averaging over 25 points per game with as consistent an attack as there is in the league. Idaho might not be able to keep up the pace Jerry Babb and the boys might set.

Why Idaho might win: Compared to last year's defense, this year's Idaho D isn't all that bad and is relatively decent against the pass. Lack of offense has been the issue more than the defense, so the hope has to be for the Idaho D to make big plays early and keep things close.

Who to watch: Idaho has a running back to count on for the next three-plus years. Jayson Bird started the season off with a 77-yard day against Boise State and ran for 249 yards in the first three games. After getting stuffed for 11 yards by Oregon, Bird ran for 125 yards and three scores against Eastern Michigan and 86 yards against UL Monroe. He needs to be a steadying force in an offense that needs playmakers.

What will happen: UL will get back in the Sun Belt race and have a winning season in its sights with a decisive victory.

CFN Prediction: UL Lafayette 28 ... Idaho 14 ... Line: UL Lafayette -4

The source of the story

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LOUISIANA La. - There’s no way Louisiana should lose to Idaho on Saturday.

There are, of course, several ways they could lose.

That’s the way life is when you’re tying to build a winner.

Coach Rickey Bustle has a team that is greatly improved from a year ago _ deeper, stronger, more athletic, faster — but the Ragin’ Cajuns are still finding out how to make all that work, week in and week out.

Last week’s loss at New Mexico State was a prime example of that stop-and-start process.

Travis Smothers took the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, the first time a Cajun had run a kickoff back for 6 since the 1998 finale, and UL’s offense promptly went nowhere on its first three possessions.

The Cajuns eventually hit the Aggies for 500 yards of offense, but they also fumbled the ball away three times at critical points — twice halting drives and once setting up a NMSU scoring opportunity.

A defense that had made strides regressed to allow 484 yards and lapses in the secondary allowed lumbering tight ends to gallop for big chunks of sod right down the middle of the field.

And special teams allowed the Aggies a short field more than once with poor coverage on kickoff returns.

None of those mistakes should have happened, but they do when you’re not used to things going right. It’s just human nature.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

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LOUISIANA La. -- Moscow, Idaho, doesn't resemble Las Vegas, but the University of Louisiana at Lafayette defense is ready to consider rolling the dice of change.

Expect ULL to gamble more defensively today when the Cajuns meet the University of Idaho in a Sun Belt Conference matchup in the Kibbie Dome at 4 p.m.

ULL coach Rickey Bustle has concerns about his defense, which has allowed 831 yards of total offense over the past two weeks.

One thing the Cajuns might display against Idaho is a defense with an altered look, Bustle said.

"We need to do some different things and we've been talking about it," Bustle said. "Maybe it's gotten to the point where we need to take chances. That usually means locking up in the secondary in man-to-man coverages a lot more. I think we can do that, because we have better people to cover with."

In last Saturday's 35-32 SBC loss at New Mexico State, the Cajuns allowed 484 yards to a team that was ranked last in several conference offensive categories.

This week Bustle said ULL's coaching staff has revisited its defensive philosophy and how the Cajuns employ personnel.

"We're probably not as athletic up front (defensively) as I hoped to be," he said. "We're not holding our ground there or fighting across our blocks as we should be. I think we've got to give our guys another way to come out the blocks better.

"What we're trying to teach them are the things we believe in and it's not working well for some of them," Bustle said. "There's more than one way to skin the cat and maybe we need to make some changes and give our guys more freedom."

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BOBBY ARDOIN
The Advocate

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Cajuns on the road again

MOSCOW, Idaho — Time flies when you’re having fun.

UL Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns didn’t have a whole lot of fun on Friday, even though they were flying ... eventually.

Eager to put a disappointing loss to New Mexico State behind them, the Cajuns thought they had an 8 a.m. flight out of Lafayette to head west for today’s Sun Belt Conference game with Idaho.

But that early wake-up call turned into a long wait for the charter plane to arrive from Orlando.

The Cajuns already knew that they would not be able to fly to Lewiston, Idaho, or even to nearby Pullman, Wash., for that matter. The destination instead had been changed to Spokane, Wash., some two hours from the hotel.

That’s just what coach Rickey Bustle and his squad needed — travel problems on the last leg of a three-week, 8,800-mile road swing.

Is it any wonder why Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters is moving to a more geographically friendly membership?

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[c-man]

bad loss tonight

[RaginCajunEQM]

yea this one meant a lot

[Cajun1997]

We have not played a good game since the last home game. We are lucky to have won 1 out of the 3 on the road trip the way the defense has played. Idaho had 2 players go over 100 yards rushing (Bird 134 yards on 16 carries, and Lumbala added 125 yards on 22 attempts) are you freaking kidding me? This is IDAHO, last week it was NMSU, those teams are not any good. What does that say about us? Same problem all season, same problem the last few years DEFENSE.

We need a spark...something, anything to get back going. ASU, UNT, TU and ULM remain on the schedule - if we play them like we have played the last 2 weeks, we will not win another game this season. SOMEBODY on this team needs to step up and lead, I don't care if it's a senior or a freshman. If we do not win at least 2 more games this season it will have been a failure and a step backward, just my opinion.