Bustle anxious to hit stride
LOUISIANA La - Through the tough losses - two by last-play field goals in the last three weeks - Rickey Bustle has maintained that his University of Louisiana squad is nothing if not resilient.
He's also maintained that the Ragin' Cajuns still have a chance in the Sun Belt Conference race, and he didn't back off from either feeling Monday.
"If you have an ounce of pride, that's how you are," Bustle said. "I have felt right from the start that this is a very resilient group. They know if you lose your pride, you have nothing.
"They know they've been close . legitimately close, not just saying that. But you have to win to get over that hill. Maybe the problem is not knowing because that hasn't happened much to us."
It hasn't happened in the last three weeks in losses to Central Florida (24-21), Florida Atlantic (28-10) and at Arkansas State (39-36), the last one coming last Thursday.
The first and third of those losses came on those two field goals, and the latter two put the Cajuns (1-5, 0-2) in a big hole in the Sun Belt race.
But Bustle said Monday that 5-2 can still be in the hunt in what he called a much more balanced league, and insisted that his team can run the table in its last five conference games beginning Saturday at Middle Tennessee (2-3, 1-1).
"There's always that chance," Bustle said. "It's like Larry (Troy coach Larry Blakeney) said, there's still a lot of corn to be shucked."
Blakeney made that comment during Monday's Sun Belt coaches teleconference, but his Trojan team only has one league loss. The Cajuns have two, and they play three of their last five on the road.
"If we have guys step up," he said, "there's no reason we can't win five games. We have a lot of talented guys still trying to find their way, and it breaks my heart to see how hard those guys have worked and to have things go the way they have."
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
Quote
Re: Bustle anxious to hit stride
How is Bustle's job security?
Originally Posted by KimoSC
