The University of Louisiana's depth chart for Saturday's key Sun Belt Conference game at North Texas lists nine freshmen, including four probable starters and five in backup roles.

But Ragin' Cajun head coach Rickey Bustle said Tuesday he doesn't consider that group as freshmen any more.

"We've seen some young players growing up in the last few weeks," he said. "These are guys that have eight games under their belt now, and they're playing better."

It probably doesn't hurt that the Cajuns (3-5, 2-2 Sun Belt) will take a two-game winning streak into Saturday's 6 p.m. contest against North Texas.

"It's not just the young guys," Bustle said after Tuesday's two-hour practice. "There's more bounce in everyone's step ... coaches, kids, everybody. We've kept it upbeat, and the guys have really bought into what we've been doing."

TV STUFF: The UL-North Texas game will air as part of the ESPN Plus package and will be picked up by COX Sports (cable channel 26 on the Lafayette cable). It will mark the sixth time in nine games that the Cajuns have appeared on some form of television broadcast.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com