Bustle: Don't give up on UL

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Rickey Bustle said there was a good crowd at Monday's University of Louisiana Quarterback Club meeting, which concerned him. "I thought at first it was a mob," Bustle said, "but nobody had any rope." Things aren't that bad for the Ragin' Cajun head coach, but things would be a lot better had his team not self-destructed last Saturday at Eastern Michigan. The 0-2 Cajuns lost four fumbles, had untold mistakes on usually-solid special teams and had only one touchdown in a 31-10 loss to statistically one of the nation's worst defensive teams over the past five years. But Bustle implored fans not to abandon the ship yet, heading into Saturday's home opener against Northwestern State. "Tell them not to give up on us yet," he said. "We're not giving up on this team. I fully believe this team is going to straighten out, and it's going to be a good team to watch." Cajun followers will get three straight chances to watch UL at home beginning with Saturday's 7 p.m. Cajun Field contest against the Demons (1-1). UL will also face Central Florida on Oct. 1 and open the Sun Belt Conference season on Thursday, Oct. 6, against Florida Atlantic during the homestand. Bustle and his team expected to have a win under its belt at this point, and that win wasn't planned against Texas two weeks ago. "Realistically, we thought we'd be 1-1 right now," said junior linebacker Wes Simon, whose 10 tackles led UL against the Eagles. "It's disappointing, but there's nothing we can do about that now. But the good thing is that we haven't started conference and we feel like we have a chance to win a lot of these next few games." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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LAFAYETTE -- When Rickey Bustle showed up for his weekly address to the University of Louisiana Quarterback Club on Monday, he didn't know what to make of the larger than usual gathering. "At first, I didn't know if it was a big crowd or a if it was a mob. I was just glad when I didn't see a rope," a chuckling Bustle said later when he addressed the local media. Leave it to Bustle to find humor in the moment. And at the moment, things aren't going well for he or his team. His Cajuns, who had -- and still have -- high hopes for the 2005 season, are suddenly 0-2 on the year and reeling from a mistake-filled 31-10 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday. A 60-3 loss at No. 2 Texas a week earlier was expected. Saturday's loss was not. "We thought, realistically, that we'd be 1-1 right now," said Bustle, whose team is one of four winless Sun Belt Conference teams after two games. "We're 0-2; we're a game off schedule. But there are still plenty of games left to play; plenty of games left to win and we won't win 'em until we straighten out some of the things we're doing." Bustle said the Cajuns began straightening out those things Sunday. "We practice hard, but we have to practice with more of a sense of urgency," he said. "You can't just wake up on game day and all of a sudden 'boy, this is important.' It's got to be important on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I don't know for 60-something players if that's been the case." With nearly a third of the team made up of freshmen, Bustle said getting the Cajuns to that stage is a learning process. But despite that and the 0-2 start, he is still encouraged. "I really like this football team," he said. "I'm disappointed in this game as they are. I thought we had a heckuva practice last night, but the mission is to make it important every day and make every play count and we'll get it fixed." Mistakes, particularly by ULL kicking teams, doomed the Cajuns from the outset Saturday, helping Eastern Michigan explode for a 21-0 lead. The rest of the story By GLENN QUEBEDEAUX Special to The Advocate