The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[Cajun1997]

Abdule Levier had 53 yards on 7 attempts, 1 rush for 31 yards long. Wish they had played him sooner than the 3rd quarter. I do not think Lindon played and he was listed as doubtful before the game. With him out I really thought we would see what Levier could do, 7 rushes, not enough. I hope he gets 15 to 18 attempts next week.

[CajunCharlie]

He is a "breath of fresh air". I thought he had a chance to score on that long run. Hopefully, they play him more and he performs like he did today.

[Turbine]

I'll be honest I NEVER thought Louisiana would be able to rush the way they did against Troy. This was the #2 YARD PER RUSH defense in the country. 2.1 yards per carry.

Louisiana AVERAGED 4.1 How they did it I do not know. I mean this is the most yards Troy has given up on the ground ALL YEAR

TEAM     Att. Yards

Marshall  34    25

Missouri  36   112

N M S U   37   106

So. Car   47   132

Utah St.  42    99

A S U     40   124

L S U     36    57

Idaho     37    81

Fla.Atl.  33   -12

Louisiana 33   135 

[Cajun1997]

with all the hype about newcomers Troy and FAU and the good seasons they have had, people seem to forget that these teams have many seniors and 5th year seniors. They (TU & FAU) will be in rebuilding mode next season.

[RaisingCajun08]

Levier HAS to be our back going forward. I love the way he runs. He is so quick to the hole and he has great vision. He showed tonight that he has the ability to find the hole and get thought it quickly.

He only had 7 carries but an average of 7.5 yards a carry vs the #5 defense in the nation is GREAT!

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Stanley Smith and his defensive teammates had a point to make Saturday at Cajun Field.

They wanted to show that the Troy Trojans weren’t the only team in town with a sterling defense, and for most of the game their efforts paid dividends.

“We wanted to show them that we can play defense, also,” said Smith, the senior linebacker who recorded 15 tackles in his home finale as a Cajun. “I think we stepped up to their level.”

The Cajuns held Troy to 296 total yards, and the only Trojan touchdown came after a Jermaine Richardson fumble was disallowed on third down from the UL 22-yard line in the second quarter.

“I thought it was a fumble,” Smith said, “but you have to run with the cards you’re dealt.”

UL improved defensively last week in a 27-17 home loss to North Texas, and took another step on Saturday despite losing 13-10 to the Trojans.

“We knew they wanted to come in and establish the run,” Smith said. “We had to hold the fort, ‘man’ up and make plays ... see who’s the first to give up.”

“Our defense has played awfully good games the last two weeks,” coach Rickey Bustle said. “I think they’re just playing the scheme better. We’ve made enough mistakes early in the season, and now we’re learning from them.

“We’re taking plays on the right shoulder now, where you turn the play inside and don’t let them get outside. We’re playing the technique of the defense better.”

But the Trojans earned their national ranking. They held UL to 282 yards and intercepted Jerry Babb three times as he hit 17-of-35 passes for 147 yards and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.

The Cajuns did rush for 135 yards against a unit allowing just 80.4 per game, with freshman Abdule Levier notching a career-high 53 yards, but UL couldn’t get the big play it needed for the upset.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[Turbine]

The vertical passing game was the difference. I wasn't yet at the game for Kemmie Lewis big gain on the 1st drive, so I don't know if it was vertical or YAC (a screen I think). But the part of the game I saw lacked an effective vertical game.

It could have been any number of individual things or all of the below. A quaterback gets hurried, a receiver is held at the line, the receiver doesn't run at full speed, the quaterback puts too much on the ball . . . and on and on...

Without video I can't state the cause for sure, but it seemed to me that the vertical passing game was haunted by overthrown balls. Even an interception was beyond the receiver but not beyond the defender.

Louisiana's defense was stunning, the running game was far better than anyone predicted or expected, and I think a couple of deep connections would have spelled WIN.

Deep ball sails well beyond Christs' effort zone.

[NewsCopy]

Trojans’ defense proves too stingy for Cajun offense in home finale

LOUISIANA La. — Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns have reached the point where they are literally a play or two away from being a contender in the Sun Belt Conference football picture.

Unfortunately for coach Rickey Bustle and 18 seniors on Saturday, they still aren’t able to make those one or two plays go their way.

Troy University improved to 6-4 on the year with a hard-hitting 13-10 victory over Louisiana before 15,077 chilly fans at Cajun Field, ending the 4-6 Cajuns’ quest for the school’s first winning season since 1995.

It was one of those “what-if” games, the kind that leaves coaches talking to themselves.

The Cajuns surprised the visitors with a 47-yard pass from Jerry Babb to Kemmie Lewis on the game’s first play, and were threatening to score on second-and-goal from the 5 when Babb’s pass for Travis Cones was tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Johnny Faulk.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[USLJim]

Originally posted by nujaC 1
I don't know about others but this staff was pig headed in the first half. Going for it on fourth in the first was assanign. Forcing the rush against the number five ranked defense in the country is a sure way to keep them in the game.

I agree, maybe its time to start evaluating the coaching staff, too many praises from the Baldwin days maybe going to their heads, now it crunch time to save what they started. A lot of grumbling at tailgating parties. Sorry, I still bleed cajun red, but it's a business as the pencil pushers say and budget's demand..

[BabbForHeisman]

Originally posted by Turbine
The vertical passing game was the difference.

Turbine, I definately agree with you on this. As you alluded to in some of your other posts, we had to establish a good passing game because of Troy's run defense. I thought we were well on the way to doing that after the first play, even though most of those yards were after the catch.

Jerry has never been that strong at throwing the deep ball, but I thought it was getting better early this season (i.e. that long TD pass to Sampy against LA Tech). I don't know if its a result of the injury or just a return to older form, but that deep threat has just not been even close. And with the talented receivers we have (and will have in the coming years), we have to establish a deep passing game in order to really be successful.

[Cajun1997]

despite what he says, I do not think Jerry was/is even close to %100. Not an excuse because as already stated the long ball is not Babb's strength but he is better than he played yesterday.

[gorcajun]

Kimme Lewis' pass catch was a roll out to Babb's right. Kimme caught it and turned left across the field and down the sideline. The success was definitely YAC