The Book: 2007 Football

[BrudaCajun]

We win in Baseball/Softball, is it not good enough? Jus messin wit ya T.

[NewsCopy]

Despite the 0-5 record and the absence of two-time 1,000-yard rusher Tyrell Fenroy the last two weekends, UL goes into next weekend's Sun Belt Conference contest against North Texas ranked ninth nationally in team rushing with 238.0 rush yards per game. That figure also leads the Sun Belt. Quarterback Michael Desormeaux ranks 33rd nationally in rushing despite having a streak of three 100-yard rushing games snapped at Central Florida. His 92 rush yards gives him 514 for the season and a 102.8 average per game, good enough to rank him second in the Sun Belt in rushing behind UL Monroe's Calvin Dawson (139.0). The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

UL's football team has blocked 30 kicks over the last six seasons. Cajun opponents aren't close to that total, but Central Florida got a big one Saturday and turned it into the pivotal play in the Knights' 37-19 win that dropped UL to 0-5. After a time out with only seconds left in the first half, UCF's Augustus Ashley stormed in to block Spencer Ortego's punt and then returned it himself 19 yards for a touchdown that gave the Knights a 30-6 halftime lead. That score eventually allowed UCF to keep the Cajuns at bay and rendered moot UL's two second-half touchdowns, providing enough of a margin to allow the hosts to coast through the second half and give the visitors another dose of what could have been. "We have to play on offense, defense and on special teams," said junior receiver Derrick Smith, who caught a 28-yard pass from Michael Desormeaux for UL's last score and set up the other second-half tally with an 86-yard kickoff return. "We've got to do what we're supposed to do in all three areas, and we didn't do that." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Crowley Cajun]

I don't know what the answer is as to how to fix things because I think that there are alot of factors, not just one. I'm sure money is probably the top if not one of the top things. I see alot of posts as to firing Bustle. Fine. Where will the money for his buyout come from? And, we want a better coach. Who? Crowten from LSU? That wouldn't be bad. But where is the money going to come from?

I don't know why we haven't progressed as far as I thought that we should have. When Bustle came in, I saw the attitude of the players change, even with Baldwin players. Now, with his players, the same positive attitude is there, but the team hasn't seem to progressed as far. We've seem to level out. Why? I don't know. Is it the coaching? The talent level? I don't know. One thing that I'll never question is the heart and soul of this team. They fight. But they are missing something. The "X" factor. What that is, is beyond me. I know that we've been told to be patient. I understand that. It just hurts like salt on a wound when you're constantly being told that and then on the east coast, a university that didn't even have a football program 11 years ago is now ranked #6 or #9 in the nation, depending which poll you look at. I know that it has more students, money, bigger budget. But it still hurts.

[DestinCajun]

_ Might be a mistake.

They have him as a Sophomore, which would make him a freshman last year. Except I can't find a single UL football reference for Rob Campbell.

2006 signees: Not listed
2006 walkons: Not listed

He might have been enrolled at UL, hoping to walkon at some point in time _

They do have transfer Hargrove or Hargroder (whatever) from Lafayette.

[DestinCajun]

But what, Fun? Don't leave us hanging! The suspense is killing me!!! _

He was going to say the bottom line is we should be a "football factory"......

[DestinCajun]

I opened up the Saturday edition of the Orlando Sentinel to the sports section and found a great front page article on Florida State vs Alabama outlining the personality differences between Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban and also a smaller article on South Florida's Friday night win over West Virginia.

After flipping all the way to page D6 I found a write up on UL vs. Central Florida.

Talk about support for the Orlando home team from the local newspaper!!!
NOOOOOOOOOTTTTT

LOL!!

[Essency]

En route to my parking spot Saturday I saw a large red tent nestled up against UCF's baseball field and a "Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ" van parked beside it. I knew I had found the UL fans.

I visited the y'all briefly before the game and you seemed to be a great bunch of folks. I wish I could have stayed longer.

I wish y'all the best the rest of the season. Hopefully you can get things turned around for the UNT game and the remaining conference slate.

Geaux Cajuns and GO KNIGHTS!!!

[HoustonCajun]

_ The answer is many fold. For one, the Lafayette and SW Louisiana community is not behind Cajun athletics as a whole.

Too many 4 years schools in LA. All competing for the same athletes.

LSU is only 55 miles down the road. Ain't no way they'll lose an athlete to us that they really want.

We don't pay enough to land a good coach with a name.

We have a terrible tradition in football-forever! emphasis on "tradition" we have none except as a rent-a-win for major universities. _

I don't totally disagree with you, but let's look at Troy.

Troy is in a state with 2 NATIONAL POWERS, not just one, in Alabama and Auburn. There is also UAB, so that is 4 1A schools. They are in a tiny town about the size of Abbeville. Yet, look at what they are doing, the money they are raising, their improved facilities, wins over BCS schools, etc., etc. And, all of this in just a few years of 1A football.

There is absolutely no excuse for where UL is now in athletics, particularly football and basketball. And, basketball has dropped to being almost as bad as football. We are picked by Street & Smith as the second to worse team (behind Denver) in the SBC for 2007.

If we don't beat UNT Saturday night at home, we won't win another game, maybe FIU being the exception. And, we will not likely have 14,000 in attendance. The worse thing is people are starting to NOT CARE.

[Turbine]

Thanks for the kind words.

I have no doubt this team will/can "turn it around" all they have to do is stay away from all email, message boards, radio, newspaper, TV, and any kind of media or fans, and they will finish 6-6

ps Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ is an Orlando company

[Clutch0364]

_ WOW, so we're to be excited if we beat one of the worst teams in the nation(next to us)? Great we'll be 1-5.

Look at UCF. They beat us on a field goal two years ago. Which team has improved since that time. That's what I'm looking for.

We are not getting the quality athletes. You can't make a Div. I-A team out of Div. II or NAIA type of athletes. Until that changes, we will never be any more than what we are.

In my opinion, Fenroy is the only quality player we have. Des is a great athlete but he's not a qb.

Defensively, noone stands out in comparison to players from teams beating our behinds. _

I disagree about our talent level. Derek Smith was offered by Wisconsin and came here i think that says a lot about this talent. Deon Wallace had offers from k-State and UCLA thats also says a lot. then you have Grant Fleming who was offered by multiple d1a schools. Korey Raymond at DT was at Ole Miss before arriving here. Those are the guys I know of right off hand and there are more, the problem is getting the most out of these players which I don't see happening.

I see these players being positive but that doesn't always win football games...they need an attitude that they will win everytime they step on the field and attitude to knock someones head off when they are on the field. Positivity means a lot but they need an attitude as well.

I said it in another post and I'll say it here I like Bustle but I feel like he has gotten the program as far as he is going to get it. The talent is there to turn things around and I feel like if you bring in a new guy with fresh ideas and energy that the program can get to the Troy level quickyl. Dont just look at Troy however because Arkansas State and Florida Atl. have passed us up, also look at North Texas and what they have done in recruiting so far with Todd Dodge and Middle Tennessee isn't sitting back and look at Middle Tennessee a team I feel we have more talent than but they are very well coached. We are falling way behind right now and losing isn't going to help.

Everyone says if your going to say we should get a new coach how do you expect to buy him out...thats not my job to figure that out but I do know that unless they do something then we will fall even further behind. If this administration is serious about football than the money shouldn't be an issue, if they want to be taken seriously they need to step up and do what should be done and not wait another year. I can name a few coaches who I believe would do wonders here...Conque at Central Ark. , Major Applewhite OC at Alabama and a fast riser in coaching circle, Crowton OC at LSU, and Hatcher head coach at Georgia Southern. Thats just guys I came up with off the top of my head and all or proven winners and only one doesn't have head coaching experience.

I will be at every game the rest of the way andwill possibly make a trip to arkansas but I am hurting everytime I watch this team play because I know they are a better team than what they have shown.

[CajunCharlie]

_ You know things are bad when you go on the forum and see almost nothing about the game played tonight. That means apathy has set in and truthfully, apathy is worse than frustration. Bustle is now officially in baldwins position, where fans aren't mad anymore, they just don't care. So, "How'd we fall this far so quickly" you might ask...simple

We now have a...
6 game losing streak
4 game HOME losing streak,
Have lost 9 of our last 11, with SIX!!! at home (AS IN WE AREN'T PLAYING ON THE ROAD PEOPLE!)
We are tied for 7th longest acting losing streak in the country.

These are ALL bustle's players. We heard last year the excuse "Well, he had a small first recruiting class", "things will be better next year", "6th year is the year"...WELL IS OBVIOUSLY ISN'T!!!! And I'm sorry, the next person I hear say "well ya know, in 2005 we were 1-5 and we came back and we did this and that and won the conference and blah blah blah" I'M GONNA FREAKING GO INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS NOT 2005, WE SHOULDENT BE PUTTING OURSELVES INTO THAT POSITION TO BE THIS BAD THIS FAR INTO THE SEASON! To use the words of one of my friends "This is bad...like real bad...like 100 foot marshmellow man plowing through downtown manhattan and me without a proton pack bad".

Remember this line...Its great when people are happy and you win, its acceptable when people are mad when you lose, but when people stop saying anything at all, thats when your programs on life support.

END RANT! _

I guess, in a sense, it is apathy. I hate coming on this message board and others when all you read is doomsday material. So, other than this input I will not make any more due to my not reading the posted doomsday messages.