The Book: 2007 Football

[dland29]

your still not getting my point, anwser my question, why usf can do it and we can't. like i said tampa has 3 times more the popul. as baton rouge does. usf athl. 20+ million, lsu 100+ million. so don't give me that cop out ____ and say b/c it population, ull ____ed up somewhere and that comes back to my original questions. WHY CAN USF DO IT AND WE CAN'T. can someone elaberate please

[CajunDreDog]

your still not getting my point, anwser my question, why usf can do it and we can't. like i said tampa has 3 times more the popul. as baton rouge does. usf athl. 20+ million, lsu 100+ million. so don't give me that cop out ____ and say b/c it population, Louisiana Là ____ed up somewhere and that comes back to my original questions. WHY CAN USF DO IT AND WE CAN'T. can someone elaberate please

I am going to answer your question............ready?















$$$$$$$$ & POLITICS

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

[dland29]

lol....i hear ya. so whats the university gonna do to solve this problem?

[RaginFan2]

_ your still not getting my point, anwser my question, why usf can do it and we can't. like i said tampa has 3 times more the popul. as baton rouge does. usf athl. 20+ million, lsu 100+ million. so don't give me that cop out sh it and say b/c it population, Louisiana Là fu cked up somewhere and that comes back to my original questions. WHY CAN USF DO IT AND WE CAN'T. can someone elaberate please _

Well, smart guy, I guess you answered your own question. We f'd up. There, you got it! Florida has for decades been a breeding ground for top flight athletes. For most of that time the big time schools from all over came into the Sunshine State and scarfed up athletes for their programs. Louisiana has been known for high caliber athletes, too. But we haven't had the quantity of D-1A athletes that larger states like Florida, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc. have always had. Florida, of course, had top programs in Florida, Florida State, and Miami. But when some of the other schools like USF, UCF and more recently, FAU and FIU, have pushed into seriously putting an effort towards fielding strong D-1A programs, they had a number of quality athletes to help out. These schools, despite their smaller-sounding names have large student bodies (25-30K+) and lots of money for top flight coaches and facilities to make them competitive quickly. That fact along with their great demographics got them quickly into major conferences. That in turn made recruiting much easier. As others have pointed out already, it is the money that drives the move to quality programs, especially for the newer programs. The fact that BR is far smaller than Tampa is a ridiculous argument for LSU's success. Their program has been around for a long time and predates the big money requirement to build a program.

[RaginCajun77]

In no particular order here is why I think we are where we are:

1. Failure by the administration to support athletics and the growth of athletics 100% in the past 25 years.
2. Failure to set up a private fundraising organization.
3. Failure to market athletics properly.
4. Failure to get more donations from businesses and private individuals, both big donations and small donations.

You don't build a consistent winner without money. There is plenty of money in Lafayette and the Acadiana area. Unfortunately a great deal of money leaves this area and goes to Baton Rouge. Administration has to do a better job of getting people to "care" about UL athletics. We know football drives the bus so when we have a chance to prove we are on the rise, we need to learn how not to lay an egg. My belief is that after 1996 this program dropped to the very bottom of D-IA athletics and has been unable to turn the corner since then. We've had hopeful moments but I fear perception among the community is still where it was in 2000, when it comes to football. Doc A realized the importance of athletics to a university far too late and we are trying to playcatch up now and we've fallen so far behind it is scary. We have about an $8 million athletic budget and we need to increse it significantly by 2010. How we make that money will be determined by the decisions made by the AD and the new President. My only hope is that they realize the potential UL has and work to achieve our goals.

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns will face the Central Florida Knights at the new Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 5pm (CT). The Cajuns and Knights meet for the first time since a 2005 match-up at Cajun Field. UCF prevailed 24-21 in that game. Cajuns Quarterback Michael Desormeaux saw his first extended playing time under center in that 2005 UL-UCF game. Last week, Desormeaux posted 159 yards rushing vs. Troy. It was his third 100-yard rushing effort this season and fourth of his career. Desormeaux’s 159-yard game tied for 23rd best in school history. He currently is 29th in the nation in rushing yards per game (105.5) and is the only quarterback ranked in the top 40. Already tops among Cajuns running backs in career rushing yards and 100-yard games, junior Tyrell Fenroy needs two rushing TD’s to catch Kenyon Cotton for most running scores by a RB in school history (QB Brian Mitchell holds the overall record with 47 rushing TD’s). Fenroy will not get the opportunity this weekend, as his sore ankle forced him to miss the trip. The Cajuns rank sixth in the nation in rushing offense (257.5/gm) behind Navy (360.0), West Virginia (357.0), Arkansas (329.7), Oregon (299.8) and Illinois (265.5). Following the Cajuns walk-through on Friday, light rain dampened the Orlando area. Saturday afternoon’s forecast calls for isolated to scattered showers. RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

Norman Vincent Peale has nothing on Rickey Bustle. Bustle is a devotee of the power of positive thinking, and he's delved into that belief in a big way this season with the Ragin' Cajuns at 0-4 after three straight home losses. The Cajuns are the oddsmakers' pick to make that five losses in a row at 5 p.m. today when they take on Central Florida. "If this was a lack of effort, it would be one thing," Bustle said this week during the Cajuns' preparations for their next-to-last non-conference game of the year. "We don't have a problem with effort." UL's effort appeared much better last weekend than its previous two games, despite a 48-31 Sun Belt Conference loss to Troy. That loss, coming at home to the preseason Sun Belt favorites, put the Cajuns in an early hole in the league race. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Fifty-one weeks ago, UL's football team was going on the road to play a highly-regarded Conference USA opponent. It was one drawing attention in the national polls and expected to use the Cajuns as little more than a speed-bump. After all, Houston had just gone toe-to-toe with a powerful Miami team, eventually losing 14-13, and had won its first four games, including a victory over Oklahoma State. Final score: UL 31, Houston 28. It's not known if Central Florida coach George O'Leary has said anything to his Golden Knight team about that game. If he did, he probably added that Houston popped UCF 51-31 three weeks later. Cajun coach Rickey Bustle has certainly been talking to his squad about it. "We talked about it a lot on Tuesday," Bustle said. "We're playing one of the best teams in that conference again, and we were there at the end last year. Nobody was putting any money on us last year. This is no different." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

It took a late kick to beat the Ragin' Cajuns in 2005, but a lot has changed since then. The final score was 24-21 in his team's favor. But the number that sticks out in UCF Coach George O'Leary's mind from his last meeting with Louisiana-Lafayette two years ago is 11. "We ran the same play 11 times at the end of that game," O'Leary recalled about the Knights' final drive against the Ragin' Cajuns in 2005 to set up the eventual game-winning field goal. If he has his way, tonight's matchup against the 0-4 Cajuns at Bright House Networks Stadium will have more variety and less drama. Even with a pivotal four-game stretch in October that features trips to East Carolina, USF and Southern Miss, O'Leary has made sure his team's focus has been on and not past Louisiana-Lafayette. The rest of the story Kyle Hightower Sentinel Staff Writer khightower@orlandosentinel.com

[Cajunpride101]

Is it too early to tie-one-on? I could really use a beer this morning.

[Turbine]

I Hope Richie gets some balls thrown his way today.

"Catch balls it's what he does."

[Clutch0364]

_ Yep, I think he got noticed. Cherry, Smith, and Falgout would compliment each other nicely. _

That trio would be nice compliments to each other. You have a big play guy in Cherry, a hands guy in Falgout, and then you have Smith who is a big time playmaker.