The Book: 2004 FOOTBALL

[RaginRash]

That downloadable sked rocks. I got the football one all up in my Outlook at work. Sah-weet.

[gorcajun]

I tried to get the SID to put the Fall Ball schedule in the same format, so far, no luck. I will keep trying.

You may want to contact that GENIUS of SID to plead with him to continue the project of ALL UL sports activities.

He said that he would not support the "secondary" seasons (fall ball, spring practice, etc.)

[RaginRash]

Hell Yeah! bartender, i'll have what he's having!
DomeBound Cajuns sounds good to me!

[CajunRebel]

Turbine, let me modify your plan a little.

Instead of the High Schools selling their own tickets, UL could give High Schools General Admission tickets to Cajun Field to be used in place of the normal ticket for a tiny fee (because they can't be given away free). And there are plenty of things that you can give to the schools in exchange:

-Each ticket has a barcode on it, and if UL keeps track of what tickets go to each High School, they could easily tabulate how many tickets were used at Cajun Field by each school.
-Each school could be given a donation of a flat dollar amount by the University.
-Free admission for coaches to a UL coaching clinic. (nearly free to the University)
-Free admission to a UL QB camp for that High School's QB. (also nearly free to the University)

Because we are winning, there are probably a whole lot of people who are interested in our program. Because we will be putting "free" UL tickets right into the hands of thousands of football fans, we are sure to get a great crowd. Especially if the game is versus the three time conference champions and it's on ESPN.

[NewsCopy]

From here on out, every week gets bigger for UL Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns.

The only teams left on the schedule are Sun Belt foes, so starting with today’s trip, a Dec. 14 date in the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl will be riding on every game.

It’s been a long time since that’s been the case.

UL was still known as USL, and was a Big West Conference member, when the Cajuns were last in contention for a conference championship from 1993-95.

Saturday foe New Mexico State was also a Big West member back then.

Coach Rickey Bustle’s Cajuns are 1-0 in the league, tied atop the standings with three-time champion North Texas and Arkansas State, and join Troy as the only two SBC members boasting winning season records at 3-2.

What matters now, though, is UL’s performance in the final six tests of the campaign.

“It’s a big ball game for both of us,” Bustle said. “We are all getting into conference play. Sometimes you don’t really know what you have.

“New Mexico State had the big win against Troy, which wasn’t surprising to me. I think it will be a heck of a game.”

Since the last three games between the two schools have been decided by 3, 3 and 2 points on last-minute field goals each time, Bustle could be right.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[Jason]

Bourbon St will look sweet covered in vermillion and white!!

GEAUX CAJUNS

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE -- Jerry Babb has the ability to get teammates laughing in the huddle and leave opponents perplexed on the playing field.

With those diverse skills, it's perhaps not surprising that Babb leads the Sun Belt Conference in total offense.

Babb will try using his multiple skills to help the University of Louisiana (3-2, 1-0) remain undefeated in the SBC when the Cajuns visit New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., at 7 p.m. today.

The ULL sophomore quarterback ranks No. 19 nationally with 1,355 total offensive yards.

Middle Tennessee quarterback Clint Marks (1,091 total yards) is slightly ahead in average total offense per game (272.8 yards), but he has played one fewer game than Babb (271.0 yards).

Senior center Ronnie Harvey said Babb might already be the best quarterback in the conference.

"(Babb's) numbers might not be everything compared to what other quarterbacks have, but some of the things he does on the field they can't touch," Harvey said of Babb. "Jerry has the ability to take things in his own hands and make plays. He's a double threat, because he can step up and throw it or just turn around and run it."

Harvey said Babb's humor sometimes comes to light when the Cajuns are in critical yardage situations.

"He sometimes comes in and tells us a joke when we're in the red zone. That loosens everyone up and shows us we're going to get it in," Harvey said.

Babb, who started several games as a freshman last year, said he didn't expect to accomplish so much so soon.

"I thought it would take awhile. This was the year I thought I would actually first start, but (Eric Rekieta) got hurt and Jon (Van Cleave) quit school," Babb said of last season.

Babb was a multi-talented athlete at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette. He played quarterback, wide receiver and returned kicks. He also played defense.

But quarterback was the position he wanted to play in college.

The rest of the story

By BOBBY ARDOIN

[NewsCopy]

LAS CRUCES -- The reeling New Mexico State Aggies face the prospect of trying to right themselves while staring point-blank at a crucial Sun Belt Conference game -- tonight's home matchup with Louisiana.

"We're sitting at 1-1 in conference play and can't afford another one," Aggies head coach Tony Samuel said.

The Aggies are 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play after last week's 45-0 loss to UTEP at the Sun Bowl. The Aggies have been outscored 83-3 in their past two games, losses to rivals UTEP and New Mexico, while Louisiana-Lafayette is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt.

"We have a chance to knock off one of the top teams in the conference this week, and that puts us in a good position," Aggies senior quarterback Buck Pierce said.

Pierce, who has thrown for 535 yards and five scores this year, didn't play much last week against UTEP because of a sore right shoulder. But Pierce said he felt better and could get the starting nod today after practicing all week.

"Our job is to go out there and get more than three points," Pierce said. "We have to execute better on offense."

The Aggies are averaging just 227.4 yards on offense and 10.4 points per game, both last in the Sun Belt.

"We're still trying to create things on offense," Samuel said. "We just have to keep working at it."

Louisiana-Lafayette presents several challenges for the Aggies. The much-improved Ragin' Cajuns, who have won seven of their past 10 games, are averaging 372 yards of offense and are plus-5 in the turnover category.

Quarterback Jerry Babb has been the catalyst for the UL offense, throwing for 1,116 yards and rushing for 239 more. He has thrown six touchdowns and ran for three.

The rest of the story

Felix Chavez
Las Cruces Sun-News
fchavez@lcsun-news.com

[NewsCopy]

Cajuns, Aggies have made a habit of fantastic finishes

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — If there’s one thing UL needs to do today, it would be to put pressure on New Mexico State quarterback Buck Pierce.

The Ragin’ Cajuns resume Sun Belt Conference play at 7 p.m. (CDT) against an Aggies team that has found touchdowns as hard to find as rain in the nearby desert.

New Mexico State has scored just 52 points en route to a 1-4 start and has been outscored 117-23 in the first half. Some of that is understandable, since the Aggies have paid visits to Arkansas and California, but in the last two weeks they have been outscored 83-3 by rivals New Mexico and Texas-El Paso.

Adding insult to injury, the UTEP loss was a designated Sun Belt Conference contest.

Pierce knows about injury. His playing time against UTEP was limited to a pair of third-period series, but he’s expected to start tonight. He has hit 60-of-88 passes for 535 yards and five touchdowns, with a 133.5 quarterback efficiency rating.

Paul Dombrowski has been used in a variety of ways (81 yards rushing, 8-of-33 passing for 125 yards, and six catches for 90 yards), often joining Pierce on the field at the same time.

It looks like Pierce offers the one chance NMSU has of waking up that attack, so coach Rickey Bustle’s Cajuns have to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“They run a two quarterback system, and they’re keeping both on the field this year with one as a wide receiver,” said Bustle, whose team is 3-2 on the year. “You don’t know which one you’ll get at the line of scrimmage.”

Although the Cajuns won the last two games over Middle Tennessee and Florida International, those two foes hit a combined 57-of-81 passes for 507 yards. UL is holding foes to short gains on completions, but quarterbacks have had time to deliver.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State coach Tony Samuel and his players realize there's no more room for error.

"We're sitting at 1-1 in conference and we can't afford to lose another one," says Samuel of the sense of urgency the Aggies (1-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) face heading into the second half of the season.

The next chance to turn the season around comes Saturday when New Mexico State plays Louisiana (3-2, 1-0).

Unlike the Aggies, the Ragin' Cajuns have a two-game winning streak and making plays in the clutch. Louisiana beat Florida International 43-34 last week on Sean Comiskey's 41-yard field goal with 25 seconds left and Antwain Spann's 31-yard interception return for a touchdown with 11 seconds left.

But the Cajun that most concerns Samuel is quarterback Jerry Babb. Babb had a breakout game against the Aggies last season, rallying Louisiana-Lafayette to a 26-24 win.

Babb took over when starting quarterback Eric Rekieta was injured in the second quarter. He threw for one touchdown, ran for two more and set up Comiskey's game-winning 21-yard field goal with back-to-back scrambles that got the Cajuns to the NMSU 4-yard line.

"He's the difference," said Samuel. "Things get real interesting if he pulls that thing (ball) down. We found out about him the hard way last year."

The 6-foot-3 Babb earlier this season had an 80-yard run against Kansas State and last week threw for 302 yards against Florida International by completing a career-best 30 of 42 passes.

The trio of Babb, Comiskey and Spann have delivered plenty of big plays for the Ragin Cajuns. Spann's interception on the goal line preserved Louisiana's 24-17 conference win over Middle Tennessee State last month.

New Mexico State's only win this season was against Troy. Since then the Aggies have failed to score a touchdown and their only offensive production was a field goal in a 38-3 loss to New Mexico. Last week they were shut out by UTEP 45-0.

The rest of the story

[prasincajun]

Go To The Alum. Site On This Page And Print Out The Instructions It Works Fine.

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns struggled on defense for the second straight game, but contrary to last week, University of Louisiana could not find enough offense to muster a victory.

New Mexico State rolled up 484 yards of total offense en route to a 35-32 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

The difference in the game came in the third quarter, as the Aggies scored 22 unanswered points to turn a 21-13 halftime deficit into a 35-21 lead. In the quarter, NMS posted 177 yards of total offense, while the Cajuns had 100 yards and turned the ball over via a fumble on both possessions of the quarter.

The Cajuns made it a game late in the fourth quarter.

Sean Comiskey's 41-yard field goal at the 8:16 mark of the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 35-24.

The Cajuns had a chance to cut the lead to eight points, but Comiskey missed his 53-yard field goal attempt.

Jerry Babb directed a quick 84-yard drive in 1:23 to cut the NMS lead to 35-32 with 1:54 to play. Babb completed 5-of-6 passes for 78 yards, putting the Cajuns into the endzone on a 34-yard strike to Bill Sampy. Dwight Lindon rushed for the two-point conversion make it a three-point game.

The Aggies recovered the on-side kick, but the Cajuns had the ball in the final seconds. Both of Babb's desperation passes fell incomplete.

The loss is the first for the Cajuns when leading at the half under head coach Rickey Bustle.

Travis Smothers gave the Cajuns a lead in the fastest method possible. Smothers returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to give UL a 7-0 edge just 15 seconds into the game.

The kickoff return for a touchdown was the first for the Cajuns since Nov. 21, 1998. UL had returned 259 kickoffs over 63 games without a score.

Despite moving the ball early, New Mexico State's offense need three tries to get on the board.

The Cajuns stopped the Aggies first drive at the UL 28 on a fourth down incompletion. Stanley Smith forced one of his two first quarter fumbles to stop the Aggies second drive.

NMS tied the game at 7-7 following an 82-yard drive capped by a 26-yard touchdown run by Muammar Ali.

The Aggies finished the first quarter with the ball on the Cajuns 23 yard-line, leading in total offensive yards 169-27.

The hosts used a 14-yard touchdown pass from Buck Pierce to Paul Dombrowski to take a 13-7 lead with 13:01 left in the first half. Ryan Guardia missed the extra point wide right.

The Cajuns came back with a nine-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Babb to Sampy. Babb led the Cajuns down the field, completing all five of his passes for 35 yards, while adding a 20-yard scramble.

NMS continued to enjoy offensive success by spreading the Cajuns defense. The Aggies marched 67 yards on seven plays down to the UL 13. On the eighth play, Justine Buries rushed two yards and lost the football at the hands of Chris Klock, who forced the fumble and recovered the ball.

UL then flexed some offensive muscle of their own.

The Cajuns traveled 89 yards on 14 plays, using 5:27 of the 5:57 remaining in the half. Lindon scored his team-leading fourth rushing touchdown of the season on a two-yard plunge with 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the Cajuns a 21-13 lead at the half.

Louisiana did most of their damage on the ground, racking up 71 yards rushing on the drive. Lindon, Babb, Travis Cones, Chester Johnson and Abdule Levier each had 10-20 yards rushing.

Offense continued to come easy for the Aggies in the third quarter. The hosts moved 60 yards in just over three minutes, needing seven plays to hit pay dirt. Ali scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run, giving the sophomore running back 112 yards on 17 carries to that point. He entered the game with 117 yards on 43 carries the entire season.

NMS took the lead after a Johnson fumble was recovered and returned nine yards to the UL 24 by Matt Griebel. The Aggies needed five plays to find the endzone, scoring on a one-yard dive by Buries.

Momentum was completely in favor of the hosts, even after a lucky break went in favor of the Cajuns.

Smothers fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the UL 15 and the ball was recovered by the Aggies, but the officials ruled an inadvertent whistle stopped the play. The Cajuns drove 78 yards down to the Aggies seven yard-line, but Cones fumbled the ball back to NMS.

The unstoppable Aggies offense took the field and drove through the Cajuns defense 93 yards on seven plays. On third-and-eight from the NMS 9, Pierce hit a wide-open Andy Mooney with a 48-yard pass into Cajuns territory. Buries scored his second touchdown with a three-yard run. The Aggies converted their second two-point conversion to take a 35-21 lead after three quarters.

The Cajuns lost the ball on their next possession, marking the third straight series with a fumble. Ricky Thomas recorded his second interception of the year to get the ball back for the Cajuns.

LOUISIANA SI