Head coach Rickey Bustle gave his University of Louisiana football team a break Sunday and today, its first two-day stint off the field since mid-October.

But his Ragin' Cajuns have earned the time off.

Over the past four weeks, UL went from a struggling 1-5 team to one that is a victory away from no worse than a share of the Sun Belt Conference title, and maybe even a bowl berth.

Bustle said Saturday, minutes after his team's 28-7 victory over Florida International, that he didn't want to see the squad until Tuesday.

"We'll take a couple of days off," Bustle said, "and then get started on UL Monroe."

The Cajuns (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt) don't meet ULM until Nov. 26 thanks to a late-season open date Saturday created by Hurricane Katrina rescheduling. Now, with the developments of the last four weeks, UL has extra time to prepare for its biggest football game in over a decade.

Only minutes after a fourth straight league victory, the Cajun players weren't ready to hoist any banners or make any bowl plans.

"We don't get ahead of ourselves," said junior offensive tackle Brandon Cox. "We do what we do every day, every practice, every play. That's what we've been doing all year."

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com