The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns now have a decision to make.
Thursday night's shocking 28-10 home loss to lightly-regarded Florida Atlantic at Cajun Field dropped coach Rickey Bustle's team to 1-4 on the year and got the Sun Belt Conference race off to a sour start.
Now, with a road game at Arkansas State next Thursday looming on the horizon, it's time to assess their chances.
"This could be a breaking point or a turning point for us," said freshman quarterback Michael Desormeaux, who suffered through a 6-of-18 passing night in his first college start.
"We could totally tank it, and just win one or two more games. But I think, with the character we have on this team, it will be a turning point.
"We have a road trip coming up next week, and I think we will play well."
Bustle called on frustrated Cajun fans to stick with his team, which was held to just 217 yards by FAU - 112 of those in the last three quarters.
"Don't let go of the rope," Bustle said. "We felt we were prepared about as good as we could be on a short week. It wasn't an advantage or disadvantage to either team, because they had to go through it, too.
The rest of the story
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com