The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[BrilesBall]

Here's my honest predictions...no butt kissing or bush beating


9-4-04 NORTHWESTERN STATE W
9-11-04 at Louisiana Tech W
9-18-04 at Kansas State L
9-25-04 MIDDLE TENNESSEE W
10-2-04 at Florida International W
10-9-04 at New Mexico State L
10-16-04 at Idaho W
10-23-04 ARKANSAS STATE W
11-6-04 NORTH TEXAS L
11-13-04 TROY STATE W
11-20-04 at Louisiana-Monroe W

Kansas State is pretty much the only game that I see that you guys can't win... of course any given Saturday but you guys know what I mean...

UL has to beat ULM and i dont care if it's on the road or not...

8-3 but no New Orleans bowl because UNT wins the Sun Belt unbeaten... my pre-season prediction

Bustle will land some quality Louisiana kids who realize it's okay to stay at home...also make another big splash in Texas and w/ the JUCOs

What do you guys think?

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. - The 2004 college football season is rapidly approaching and to start the year off right the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns football staff would like to invite everyone to join them for Fan Day 2004. It will be held at Cajun Field on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004.

Fan day is free and open to the public.

Fans are asked to arrive at 6 p.m., entering the field through the tunnel located behind the athletics complex building. All festivities will take place on the playing field.

Ragin' Cajuns pennants will be handed out to fans for use in autograph opportunities.

Ragin' Cajuns football players and coaches will be on hand for autographs and photos. The volleyball and women's soccer team's players and coaches will also be in attendance.

Parking will be available in the stadium parking lot via the Gate 5 entrance (parking lot between Cajun Field and the Cajundome), which is adjacent to the practice fields off of Cajundome Blvd., and located behind the visiting team side of the football field.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — Univerity of Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun football program has not had a winning record since 1995, when current Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was a junior and UL was 6-5.

Since that season, the best the Cajuns have done was 5-6 in 1996.

Not surprisingly, none of the top 15 single-game home attendance marks at Cajun Field has occurred since 1996.

Delhomme left after the 1996 campaign, and the Cajuns plunged into records of 1-10, 2-9, 2-9, 1-10 and 3-8 before Rickey Bustle took over the program as head coach.

The Cajuns are 7-17 in two years under Bustle.

Last year’s squad finished with a flourish, winning four of its last five games after a disheartening 0-7 start and giving Cajun fans hope that their long wait for a winner was nearing an end.

That optimism may boost attendance at 31,000-seat Cajun Field above the 15,056 and 13,995 averages so far under Bustle.

The 2004 Cajuns report back to Bustle a week from today, eyeing a Sept. 4 season home opener against Northwestern State and a schedule that appears more reasonable than guarantee-loaded slates in years past.

“The schedule is very fair,” Bustle said. “We’ll always have one or two of those kind of (guarantee) games, but that’s better than having six or seven.”

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. -- Admittedly, Rickey Bustle has extended himself a time or two over the past two years beyond his realm as football coach in order to give his program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette a voice.

His agenda has been as conventional as Kiwanis and Rotary speaking engagements, tapering off dramatically to more unorthodox methods.

Bustle attended his first Bishop's Charity Ball dressed as a ... well, a Bishop.

"I had to study up on which one I was going to be," he said.

Bustle's even crossed over into the world of reality television. He's cut his share of local commercials that trumpet the arrival of a new season, urging students and fans alike to purchase season tickets and pledge their support for the team.

Unlike some pitch men, Bustle acknowledges being unpolished and uncomfortable in front of the bright lights. But he refuses to accept a dime for his appearances, instead relishing the time to get a message across about the program and university that provided him with his first head coaching position.

"Whatever I can do to help the program," Bustle said of his sole motivation. "My players give me a hard time about the commercials I do. I'm the worst actor there is in the world. But I do it for exposing our program, to let people know we're willing to help ourselves."

UL-Lafayette President Ray Authement may be arguably the only other person outside of Bustle who yearns with such passion to see the Ragin' Cajuns win again in football.

It's been eight straight years since UL-Lafayette, including two on Bustle's watch, put a winning product on the field. The last time the Cajuns went to a bowl game, the 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl, current Athletic Director Nelson Schexnayder was a starting wide receiver on the team.

Never in the 102-year history of the school's program have the Cajuns experienced eight straight losing seasons. Yet there isn't a hint of the apathy and eroding fan base that reached epidemic proportions under former coach Jerry Baldwin.

The rest of the story

By WILLIAM WEATHERS
wweathers@theadvocate.com
Advocate sports writer

[NewsCopy]

UL is expected to make the biggest move in the Sun Belt Conference in 2004.

While they tied for second last year (three games back), many expect the Ragin' Cajuns to seriously challenge three-time defending champion North Texas for the league championship.

Key moves in the spring included switching to a 4-3 defensive scheme. Time will tell, but it appears to be the right decision for coach Rickey Bustle.

"I've been really happy with our defense," Bustle told the Daily Advertiser. "We obviously don't have the whole defense in yet, but I think they've made a good transition.

The secondary, led by all-conference safety C.C. Brown, should be particularly strong. Antwain Spann, Jarrett Jones and Jerrell Carter weren't at full strength because of nagging injuries, but Mike Adams, Terrell Fenton and true freshman Jemarcus Smith had good springs.

Offensively, the Ragin' Cajuns return sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb, who ended the season by throwing for more than 400 yards against Middle Tennessee. His further progress will be a key in the fall, as well as the running game.

UL struggled running the football last year, but Bustle was pleased with the improvement of Dwight Lindon, Josh Harrison and Abdule Levier.

"I think our running game has gotten better," Bustle told the Daily Advertiser. "I think we'll be able to throw the ball but we wanted to be able to take some of the pressure off the passing game."

If the Ragin' Cajuns can run the ball more effectively, they just might be in the championship mix in 2004.

The source of the story

[RaisingCajun08]

That was a pretty nice article considering the source. I have been seriously thinking about getting a newspaper delivered to my house. The Sadvitiser is not an option but the Advicate is. Sad but true

[nujaC 1]

Catching up on my reading great job saving snippets in time

[Hammer58]

Its the classic example of trying to choose the lesser of two evils. I get the Advertiser because the Advocate Acadiana edition is just a few filler stories about stuff in the wide ranging Acadiana area not Lafayette specifically. And its hit or miss on sports coverage of UL. However there are several days during the week that the Advertiser might not have anything on UL at this time of the year; today was one example.

[CajunKahouna]

You said it right......the SADvertiser - and not just on Sports.

[CajunKahouna]

Anyone know when will the football season tickets be mailed out?

[Oldman]

it seems as though CBS Sportline and me are the only ones who think that the cajuns can/will compete for the top spot in the conference this season, no one else think they can do that not even the people who suppose to be the big supporters along with the media (radio,paper,etc.) oh! by the way thanks NEWSCOPY, for that article. the only thing i hear is how good everyone is and we are.......well, so so, we still don't have the QB, no line,backs,etc. and those are the same people who said that we couldn't beat south carolina in 2000.

[1stTake]

Check it out did you see this alumni link?

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefoo...er/school/6672