There's an old joke about the guy who was going through some dark times.

He finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and it turned out to be a train.

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns officially switched into opening game mode on Thursday after wrapping up their preseason camp with the third of three scrimmages at Cajun Field on Wednesday.

To a man, they're eager to get that preseason work behind them so they can turn their attention to the campaign ahead.

Of course, when your season opens with a trip to No. 2-ranked Rose Bowl champion Texas, it might look like that's a train coming down the tracks instead of a light up ahead.

No matter. It's time to get started.

"I've been getting ready for this game since it was announced on the schedule," said offensive tackle Brandon Cox, a former star at Nimitz High in Irving, Texas and one of several Texans on the Cajuns' two-deep.

"I'm just excited about getting to play again," said safety Lamar Morgan, a Copperas Cove product who missed the 2004 season with a knee injury. "But I know a lot of the guys on Texas's team. I played against some of them in district."

There won't be any problems with focus this week as the Cajuns point toward the Sept. 3 opener.

"We've been easing in little bits in practice, but now we're looking at Texas special teams, offense and defense," head coach Rickey Bustle said.

"Now they can see Texas," offensive line coach Ron Hudson said. "They've put in a lot of hard work during two-a-days, and now it's time to play.

"This is why you play college football. You want to line up against the best and see how you do."

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com