Ask most members of the University of Louisiana football team, and they'll tell you the source of the Ragin' Cajuns' late-season surge.

UL was stumbling along at 1-5 at mid-October and had just dropped a 39-36 heartbreaker at Arkansas State after holding a 29-14 fourth-quarter lead. That's when the 13 senior members of the squad decided a Sunday players-only meeting was in order.

"All the seniors had something to say," said senior wide receiver Bill Sampy. "We felt like we had to step up and talk to everybody, let them know how we felt and that we still had a shot at this thing."

That meeting came before the Middle Tennessee game, one in which the two-touchdown-underdog Cajuns went on the road and pulled off a 13-10 upset. Since then, UL hasn't lost, and the four-game win streak has the Cajuns within one win of a Sun Belt Conference title and a possible bowl-game berth.

"Things didn't go well before that," said senior deep snapper-fullback Justin Venable. "We had to make sure everyone still believed we could do this. Since then, there's been an emotional change in the team."

"I've said since day one that this team had strong character," said Cajun coach Rickey Bustle, "and it showed. That was a tough time for us, but character is what got us through."

That character and those emotions will likely be on display Saturday when the Cajuns (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt) travel to face Sun Belt front-runner UL Monroe (5-5, 5-1 Sun Belt) in a 2:30 p.m. contest at ULM's Malone Stadium.

A ULM win gives the Indians the outright title and the Dec. 20 New Orleans Bowl berth, while UL can claim a share of the league title with a win and, coupled with an Arkansas State loss at North Texas, would grab their first-ever Division I-A bowl bid.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com