Battle for win No. 2

Two programs with a lot in common meet tonight at Cajun Field, and both need a win to boost their hopes of reaching at least short-term goals.

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns and the University of Central Florida Golden Knights are both 1-2. Both have struggled mightily over the last couple of seasons. But both won their last game, snapping length losing streaks in the process.

Both have been ravaged by recent hurricanes, with UCF's Orlando home bashed by three 2004 storms and the Acadiana region slapped by Hurricane Rita and feeling the long-term effects of Rita and Katrina over the last six weeks.

Both are also in leagues that are very winnable this season - the Cajuns in a Sun Belt Conference that hasn't won a game against a Division I-A outsider this season, and the Knights in a watered-down Conference USA that saw several of its athletic powerhouses bolt for other leagues last summer.

Both coaches, Rickey Bustle at UL and George O'Leary at UCF, have had success at other stops in their careers before coming to schools that have never played Division I-A bowl games. Tonight's 7 p.m. battle won't lock up a bowl bid, but it could be another step toward long-range success.

"The main thing is changing the way people think about the program and seeing what it takes to get to another level," said Bustle. "You've got to somehow give some hope. We don't mind expectations, but we want them to be good ones."

The Cajuns have improved each season under Bustle, but only slightly - from 3-9 in 2002, 4-8 in 2003 and 4-7 last year. But at least they had multiple wins in those seasons. UCF didn't win at all last season in O'Leary's first year after going 3-9 in 2003.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com