Offensive line carries Cajuns to 4th Straight Victory

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The University of Louisiana rushing attack entered Saturday's game against Florida International ranked No. 9 in the nation. Thanks to the offensive line's performance during a 21-7 victory at Cajun Field, it's a pretty safe bet the Cajuns will climb higher in that category. UL (5-5) and its zone option attack recorded its fourth 300-yard rushing game of the season (333) and set school records for rushing touchdowns (27) and rushing yards (2,479) in a season. "It's definitely been exciting for us," center Greg Hodges said. "As an offensive line you always like to find a rhythm of being able to run the ball. It's been a fun year watching these guys work back there. They're great athletes. "Really whoever gets in there, it's kind of the way our offense is set up. I feel like we're in such a rhythm offensively. Really whoever steps in there, they get the job done as well." Like most games this season, Saturday was Tyrell Fenroy's turn to get the job done. Fenroy rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries (5.4 average) and credited the effort to his blockers up front. The rest of the story Michael Krieg mkrieg@theadvertiser.com

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What's this? A one-sided victory? A game not decided by a late drive to a touchdown or field goal? What a luxury for Louisiana Ragin' Cajun coach Rickey Bustle, whose squad controlled the ball for 38 minutes and thrashed Florida International 28-7 on Saturday at Cajun Field. The Cajuns rushed for 308 yards, giving them a school-record 2,454 yards this season, and recorded four touchdowns on the ground for a new UL season mark of 28. But they ran for 457 yards earlier this season at Arkansas State, and still managed to lose by a 39-36 score. The difference was defense. "The biggest thing was our defense," Bustle said. "They made stop after stop tonight." That's saying something, because FIU defeated UL Monroe 31-29 last week and in a 66-24 loss to Arkansas State earlier this season the Panthers still gained over 500 yards. "We were moving the ball pretty well most of the night," Bustle said. "And on defense, we gave up just one big play. "I felt like a game like this was coming. We'd seen flashes of it. That's why our defense made the biggest difference." "This was our best defensive game of the year," said Rodney Hardaway, who led the Cajuns with five tackles, a sack and 1 1/2 tackles behind the line. "We had a lot of pressures. We intended to close the pocket." FIU's Josh Padrick managed to hit 18-of-34 passes, but for just 162 yards, and the visitors netted a mere 64 yards on the ground. "This may be one of the best team wins we've had," Bustle said. "We made some great plays on defense on fourth down. There were several great stops." The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com