Cajuns turn focus towards UH Cougars
Louisiana has solid week of practice
Posted on September 12, 2002
LAFAYETTE - The Cajuns had three solid practices this week, stringing together good outings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Coach Rickey Bustle said preparations for Houston have gone better than any of the two prior games, and hopes the Cajuns can bear down and have a good practice today to complete a solid week.
The team has not let its 0-2 record get them down. The consensus following film review by the players was that they all could have played better, and each practice this week spent some time helping players work on fundamentals.
But the day was also spent reflecting on the one-year anniversary of terrorist attacks last Sept. 11.
"Every time you think about what happened last year, it puts a bad feeling in your heart," Bustle said. "A lot of folks were taken away from their families for no reason. I think we use football to take our minds of it for a few hours."
The Cajuns will rely on their defense and special teams to continue to play well, at the same time hoping the sputtering offense protects the ball and scores points.
"We keep talking about good fundamentals in carrying the football and making good decisions in throwing the ball," Bustle said.
"It will take a solid day of execution. One play is not going to do it. We need to play one play at a time and execute to the best of our ability. We can not keep turning the ball over.
"If our quarterback and tailback breakout, everyone's going to notice."
Houston's run-oriented offense, meanwhile, will challenge the Cajun defense.
"We play good defense, but we can't allow big plays," Bustle said. "Last week we allowed too many big plays. Our special teams have been good in all areas."
"They have an excellent running back. The team is committed to running the ball. Their offensive linemen are big, so we need to get around them. Our guys need to do a better job of getting off our blocks.
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