The Book: 2007 Football

[CajunCharlie]

_ Whoever wants to can be as negative as they want, but they can't take away the fact that it was a win that was DESPERATELY needed. You can make a negative out of anything if you truly look hard enough, but I thought there were more than enough positives to outweigh the negatives.

For instance,
+2 in turnovers
We won the second half for the second week in a row
We won without Wallace and with fenroy at about 70%
We won without both of our Starting tackles out (and both new guys came into their own in the second half)
Defense held 3rd and long conversions to a minimum vs a team that specialized to convert those types of plays.
and biggest player of the game, Dez gets 2 with his feet, and 2 with his hands.

With this being a win, I'll let the coaches take care of pointing out the mistakes.

Tuffguy _

Tuffy, I have said it time and time againCajun fans don't know how to win, and we don't know how to lose. Its _____ing and griping all the way.

As for the win Saturday who will remember two or three years from now, when looking in the archives, that we played so-so. What we will see is a big W besides the score.

Heck, I would love for the guys to play "lights out" every game. But we are dealing with realities hereinjuries, inexperienced replacements, weather, etc. I'm with you. Lets take the W and don't look back.

[CajunGuru]

_ You know I think the money is there also. but they need a vision. someone to tell them by spending that money something is going to change. That an agressive approach will be forthcoming Im serious about the type of announcement I proferred come out and state publically that we are the #2 university in this state. that we are going to act like it. that we will pay homage if need be to the Grand Dragon in BR but we want them to not hinder our attempts any further Call them out in the public. then go after the other state schools who suffer from the funding issues like we do. Show some $#@# leadership.

Quit accepting that "We cant do nutin cause poor ole us dont have no monies"

oh well. when does baseball start???? lol _

No, you misunderstood my post. The money is from an outside source, but they have not approached Walker yet. Several local business men have stated they have the money to do so, we will see if they are willing to approach David Walker by the end of the season.

[Zeebart21]

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008763459

According to the school's newspaper, the Beacon, "an infraction report from Aug. 25, 2005 showed that FIU broke NCAA rules," and as a result, FIU "is now subject to penalties under repeat violators, which may include the prohibition of some or all outside competition in the sport involved for one or two sports seasons."

Z

[Turbine]

_ http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008763459

According to the school's newspaper, the Beacon, "an infraction report from Aug. 25, 2005 showed that FIU broke NCAA rules," and as a result, FIU "is now subject to penalties under repeat violators, which may include the prohibition of some or all outside competition in the sport involved for one or two sports seasons."

Z _

Great the Sun Belt Conference Associate Commissioner did it . . . if true.

[RaginFan2]

_ Well, I guess you can say that I'm in the minority when I say that I didnt see alot bad. The only true negative I saw last night was the inability to convert turnovers into points, but here are some that I thought was neat.

first, Oline play is still rough, but after the first quarter they started to Gel and it seemed like some things are just starting to click now. WR's dropped alot, but I think the slick ball helped that out as well. Fenroys still not 100%, and that was apparent with only 7 carries, the odd part is he had 123 yards on those 7 carries. Next week with a dry ball and a healthy Fenroy, things will look even better.

On Defense.wow, can we keep the 3 man front thing. Seriously, take away a fumble that popped into the endzone (which, I dont know, last I checked, an offense could not advance a fumble) and the pop up off the defensive backs hands, and we hold them to the neighborhood or 20 points. We didnt sack Vizza alot, but man did we pop that guy. There wasn't a single drive that I can remember where he didnt get hit atleast once. Also, almost forgot to mention that we seemed to slow a potent offense. People would point to the turnovers as the ends of the drives, but you can take 2 of those turnovers away because they came on fourth downs, so the defense was acctually stopping them.

I'm happy with the win, not satisfied yet with where we are, but a win starts the wheels of change.

Simply put, Congrats to the guys on the win, keep up the intensity.I saw it this week.

Tuffguy _

I went up to Ft. Worth this weekend to see my ailing mom. I was surprised to find out that the game was being televised. I got a chance to watch the Cajuns on TV. It was fun to see and especially to be able to watch a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! The announcers called us all of the names: Louisiana, Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette, etc. But they generally said good things about us. The pitifull shots of the stands filled with lots of empty seats was just sad. However, the announcers made numerous comments about the deluge just prior to the game and showed footage of the "waterfalls" coming down the stadium steps. One thing I really liked was seeing the energy the team was playing with. The defense, including the coaches, were really getting fired up after big plays. Overall, pretty good showing despite the flaws.

[MissingMandy]

_ Yeah. I didn't catch that until today.

I'm a slow one. _

I was thinking the same thingI'm glad that was pointed out cuz I surely didn't remember that GLARING fact. LOL Still proud of the 1 part!!!!!! Can't take that away no matter who tries to rain on my parade!! I like your posts Cajunbanderthey are always funny and positive.

[Cajunbander]

I was thinking the same thingI'm glad that was pointed out cuz I surely didn't remember that GLARING fact. LOL Still proud of the 1 part!!!!!! Can't take that away no matter who tries to rain on my parade!! I like your posts Cajunbanderthey are always funny and positive.

Hey, we're not 1 and 5. We're 1 and 1*

* In conference play. (All that really matters)

Anyway, you have to be positive. The glass is half full. Unless its something nasty, like gutter water, I'd say the glass is half empty. It's all relative when you make the half full/ half empty assertion.

[MiamiCajun32]

_ Yo. Is this the same Miami who a couple of months ago was saying the sunbelt sucked and coach Lee was headed in the wrong direction? If this is the same MC what happened? Have you been breaking into my Koolaid stash. I had an emergency stash that seemed to be running low. I don't really mind though. Welcome to the Club. And if we run out, we got Domefoam right around the corner. If you happen to be in town whenever I can free myself I will buy you a couple. _

In football, the Sunbelt has gone from D1AA quality football to being a competitive D1 conference, with several teams that can beat any team, bcs or otherwise, outside of the top 40 on any given day. This is incredible improvement and I believe that the Cajuns will ride this wave and when the stars align in future and Cajuns are able to take advantage of potentially being positioned, geographically and otherwise, to be the #2 recruiter in LA, afer LSU, then a lot of success will come. In order for this to happen, the sunbelt has to continue to improve and continue to play at level of Conference USA or better. Things are heading in this direction

In basketball, the sunbelt has gone from being one of the very best conferences outside of the few major conferences, to being perhaps even worse than they are in football. It has been an astounding drop in quality for the conference in basketball. First and foremost is the Cajuns going from being an almost every year very competitive to outright dangerous mid major team, on national scene, to being one of the worst teams in the country. There has also been very significant drop offs at Western Kentucky, Arkansas St., Little Rock, South Alabama, UNO, and others.

Cajuns in basketball were every year winners in a much tougher sunbelt conference and now they are at the bottom of a sunbelt that is not any better than today's southland. It is downright embarassing.

Is Lee the worst coach in the country? I don't know enough about coaching to know. All I can see is the facts and Cajuns have gone from being a top 40 team to a bottom 20 team almost overnight. Yes, there are new rules re academics and I understand that Lee is addressing those new rules and trying to reshape the program. This is commendable, but if Cajuns don't have amazing turn around this year, then he will have single handedly turned the Cajuns from a consistent winner into a consistent loser overnight. And they way his teams can play 40 points better or worse against the same team from one week to the next is just mind boggling. Consistent in major losing record for the season, but so inconsistent from one game to the next.

Anyways, that is just my opinion. I am happy with what is going on in sunbelt football wise. What a run of improvement and I expect continued improvement and more competitiveness over next 5 years. On the other hand basketball is appalling in the sunbelt right now and, unlike in football, the conference had already been very competitive in basketball on the national scene.

[MiamiCajun32]

_ Yo. Is this the same Miami who a couple of months ago was saying the sunbelt sucked and coach Lee was headed in the wrong direction? If this is the same MC what happened? Have you been breaking into my Koolaid stash. I had an emergency stash that seemed to be running low. I don't really mind though. Welcome to the Club. And if we run out, we got Domefoam right around the corner. If you happen to be in town whenever I can free myself I will buy you a couple. _

don't know when I will be in town next, but will definitely appreciate the beer offer! thanks

[NewsCopy]

UL - Each week, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns football coaching staff honors its outstanding performances from the previous week's game by designating them as Players of the Game. This week's Offensive Player of the Game award was given to junior quarterback Michael Desormeaux for the second time this season. Desormeaux rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for two more scores, helping the Cajuns achieve their first win of the season Saturday versus North Texas. He finished the night with 18 carres for 150 yards 10-of-20 passing for 114 yards while not committing any turnovers. The Defensive Player of the Game for the Cajuns went to Rodney Hardeway. He recorded five tackles on the night; two of them were recorded for a loss. The Special Forces Players of the Game honors went to Spencer Ortego and Drew Edmiston. Edmiston was 5-for-5 on extra points and nailed a 22-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining that sealed the victory. Ortego did an excellent job under wet conditions, while averaging 40 yards on six punts. The Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week was Lance Kelley. The Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week was Richard Brooks. The Cajuns honored Johnathan Decoster with the Thumper Award for the offensive biggest hit. Jarrett Jones received the Hammer Award for the biggest hit on defense, while the special teams biggest hit award, the Kahuna Award, went to Jason Chery. RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana's head football coach Rickey Bustle held his weekly media luncheon of the season Monday at the Cox Communications Athletic as his Ragin' Cajuns squad prepares for a critical Sun Belt Conference road game at Arkansas State this Saturday. Last Saturday, the Ragin' Cajuns used an outstanding performance from quarterback Michael Desormeaux to capture their first win of the season - a 38-29 victory over North Texas at Cajun Field. Desormeaux scored four times for Louisiana (1-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) with two rushing and two passing touchdowns. He finished the night with 18 carries for 150 yards and 10-of-20 passing for 114 yards. Running back Tyrell Fenroy rushed seven times for 123 yards and a touchdown, including a career-long 69-yard run late in the game. Arkansas State (2-3, 0-1 Sun Belt) has won both home games this season, including wins over Conference USA members SMU and Memphis. Last weekend, Louisiana-Monroe spoiled the Indians the Sun Belt opener 30-13 in Monroe. Louisiana leads the all-time series 18-16-1, while A-State holds a slim 8-7-1 margin in Jonesboro, Ark. Last season, the Cajuns defeated the Indians 28-13 in Lafayette. Following their trip to Arkansas, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns return home to face Florida Atlantic for their 62nd Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. RaginCajuns.com Press Conference Transcript

[NewsCopy]

UL football coach Rickey Bustle has always been a proponent of strong special teams play, and one kicking play had long-range repercussions Saturday during the Cajuns' 38-29 win over North Texas. The Mean Green scored an early second-quarter touchdown but missed the extra point to remain behind 7-6. "They miss the kick and then they had to go for two the next time and missed that," Bustle said. "That changed the whole complexion of the game." UNT trailed by two points at 14-12, 21-19 and 28-26 after missing a two-point conversion pass midway through the second quarter, and was never able to tie or take the lead. Two successful extra point kicks would have meant three ties and potentially different approaches late in the game. UL kicker Drew Edmiston was perfect on all five extra points and hit his only field goal try, a 22-yarder with 1:16 left that provided the final nine-point margin. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

The second-half blues experienced by UL's football team have apparently been laid to rest. At least, that's the hope of quarterback Michael Desormeaux and head coach Rickey Bustle. The Cajuns needed only 25 seconds to post a touchdown to open Saturday's second half, that coming on an electric 73-yard run by Desormeaux, and proceeded to score on four of their six second-half possessions in the 38-29 Sun Belt Conference victory over North Texas. "That (the quick touchdown) was a big boost for us," said Desormeaux, who recorded his career-long run in boosting the lead to 21-12. "At the beginning of the year, in the second half we didn't do anything offensively. In the third quarter, we were laying an egg a lot." UL didn't have a touchdown and had only one field goal after halftime in its first three games, and didn't snap that streak until late in the third quarter against Troy when Kevin Belton caught a one-yard pass from Desormeaux for a touchdown. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[IHateLaState]

_ No, you misunderstood my post. The money is from an outside source, but they have not approached Walker yet. Several local business men have stated they have the money to do so, we will see if they are willing to approach David Walker by the end of the season. _

No I think we were on the same page I was just stating that I dont think anyone will throw moeny at a buyout if something fundamentally does not change. Look at the President search. Same good ole boys

"Let's not upset anything around here by changing things.". And you see the results

[NewsCopy]

The University of Louisiana Alumni Association will commence homecoming week activities with a kickoff party from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Alumni Center. The event, which features food and music by Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, is sponsored by the UL Lafayette Alumni Association. Included will be the UL homecoming court, Pride of Acadiana Marching Band, Ragin’ Cajun cheerleaders and Ragin’ Jazz. Homecoming activities will culminate when the Cajuns host Florida Atlantic on Oct. 20 at Cajun Field. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. The rest of the story