Others may have given up on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, but their refusal to surrender to a rocky start helped them to scratch their way to a 13-10 victory at Middle Tennessee last Saturday.
And after a gut-wrenching road loss at Arkansas State the week before, the players took the MT game personally.
"The key was everybody not giving up," said fullback Booker Jenkins, who blasted into the end zone from 6 yards away for the game-winning touchdown. "We were going to keep fighting.
"Normally before the game the coaches come in and talk to us, but this week we asked it to be a team thing. A couple of guys stood up and said some things they needed to say."
An inspired Cajun defense sacked Middle Tennessee quarterback Clint Marks a school-record 9 times and slammed the door on the Blue Raiders after their first two possessions, while Jenkins and the UL offense staged a crucial late drive to survive.
"We had to break the ice," defensive end Tony Hills said. "This win takes some of the pressure off our backs. The defense shut them down and the offense came through when they needed to.
"On the last Middle Tennessee drive, we said we have to hold up our end of the deal. We knew they were going to air it out, so we had to get coverage by the defensive backs and get pressure. We finally got the win we were looking for."
"I've said all year how much I like the character of this team, and it showed," coach Rickey Bustle said. "The players really responded last week in practice.
"They hear that people have given up on them, even some of the students, but this time they found a way to win."
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com