2021 FB Final: Louisiana 18, Texas 38

[Cajunrunner]

You guys are ridiculous. Lines held their own. 3rd down conversions by Texas was the difference. Last year against Iowa State we played man and locked up on 3rd downs. Today we played zone on 3rd down and got picked apart. All those extra snaps led to the outcome and poor tackling in the 2nd half as they were gassed. Offense took too long to get going. From a talent standpoint I thought we looked every bit as good as Texas. X’s and O’s let us down. That will improve and we will be fine.

I thought we competed in the trenches pretty well, especially our defensive line, who ended up just wearing down in the heat late since the offense couldn't get going. Our D-Line and LB combo looks like it will be nasty in conference play.

Our DBs couldn't stop their best wideout from making plays, and their likely future All-American RB also turned our guys around in the passing game. And that's what I was afraid of all month leading up to this game.

They had better athletes on the perimeter, and it showed. We needed to be +2 in the turnover margin and have some sort of significant special teams play somewhere to have a shot late to win. We were -1, and that special teams play never came. So we lost by 20.

Pretty much what I expected to happen did, except I was hoping to see a bit more out of the running game. Time to move on. We had some posters throw up score predictions of 31-17/38-17 Texas, and I was afraid they'd be the most correct.

[Cajunrunner]

I'm not going to say last year's game with Iowa State was a fluke, but the stars simply aligned for us last year. We had to play an almost perfect game and get some breaks to beat Texas and for them to help us out.

1 - While Iowa State's RB is pretty damn good, he's no #5, and their athletic positions aren't as talented overall as Texas. ISU beat the Longhorns last year because Matt Campbell >>> Tom Herman.

2 - We got turnovers and two huge special teams plays vs. Iowa State. Combine that with their receivers not being able to turn our DBs around, and there's your win over one of the top-tier Big 12 programs.

[CrazyCajun]

We are missing Rob Sale, there is a reason he is in the nfl

[cajun4life]

We are missing Rob Sale, there is a reason he is in the nfl

I thought our OL and DL played well. QB, DB and WR needed to play so much better.

[JMV JustMyView]

I thought our OL and DL played well. QB, DB and WR needed to play so much better.

Especially QB.

[CrazyCajun]

I thought our OL and DL played well. QB, DB and WR needed to play so much better.

I think Rob had the relationship with billy to tell him he was being too conservative with play calling. Odd dynamic being the OC or CO-OC’s and head coach calls the plays. Takes a special relationship to tell your boss he needs to do better. JMO, I think Rob and Billy were on that level

[DieHard 1280]

I thought our OL and DL played well. QB, DB and WR needed to play so much better.

Agreed. There was a lot of talk prior to the game about it being decided in the trenches. IMO, it was decidedly not a big factor in the outcome of the game.

I think the defense not making plays on 3rd down was the biggest factor in the game, along with our refusal (inability?) to go downfield with the ball. When is Napier going to take the training wheels off of Levi?

[angeleast]

We have got to throw the ball down field sometimes.. Levi has to run to keep the defense honest. If the 2 previous situations don't occurr, our running game will be a shell of its self from previous years

[cajun4life]

Agreed. There was a lot of talk prior to the game about it being decided in the trenches. IMO, it was decidedly not a big factor in the outcome of the game.

I think the defense not making plays on 3rd down was the biggest factor in the game, along with our refusal (inability?) to go downfield with the ball. When is Napier going to take the training wheels off of Levi?

Levi is who he is. It’s not training wheels, it’s how he plays.

I’ve said it for 3 years now, Levi Lewis will go down as the winningest QB is school history. He will almost never cost us a game (MissSt), but he will rarely win a game for us by taking it over. His best asset is his ability to lead and win. The kids a winner, period. He will win 10 games again this year. Hell, Levi will win at life as well.

Another problem is talented WR’s who IMO are poorly coached. Our passing game is simple, which most RPO schemes are simple concept in the passing game.

WR’s have gotten poor releases off the line, improper depth on routes, not knowing where the boundary is. There is a multitude of improvements that those guys can make. They are a very talented group, but still raw.

[NewsCopy]

The offseason of hype and living off last year’s breakthrough season officially ended in Austin, Texas on Saturday for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns.

From beginning to end last season, UL coach Billy Napier was never comfortable with his team’s execution, despite finishing 10-1 and ranked No. 15 in the final AP poll.

Full Story
Advocate
Foote