Welcome everyone to another edition of #4Downs where I break down every game for the Cajuns, LSU, and the Saints! In this edition, I’ll break down the Cajuns loss to Boise State.
1st Down: Lack of Effort Between the Trenches.
During the midday matchup Saturday one thing became clear, the battle between the trenches was clearly lost by the Cajuns offensively. The Broncos brought the heat and caused offensive line to crumble like a piece of paper. The running game was barely there with McGuire barely getting 50 yards on the ground and Anthony Jennings got sacked five times was under pressure for much of the game. The Cajuns need to fix this problem right away or they’ll start the season the same way they have the last two seasons: with a 1-3 record. And if that happens, I just don’t think they’ll be able to achieve their goals this season.
2nd Down: New Defense, Same As the Old Defense
Brett Rypien showed that there are no signs of a sophomore slump against the Cajuns defense on Saturday. He amassed a little more than 300 yards before the half and only threw 10 passes in the second half. If Boise State wanted to, they could have had him continue to punish the secondary with a few more passes. A lot of the passing touchdowns, the Cajuns got completely burnt to a crisp throughout, especially when it came to the long ball. It felt like the new zone defense that has been implemented isn’t working for them at all through one game. That’s not a good look at all for co-defensive coordinators Melvin Smith and Charlie Harbison.
3rd Down: OK Debut for Jennings
Anthony Jennings in his debut for the vermillion and white did an okay job, but now what many fans expected him to do. He had a touchdown and completed 21-of-33 passes on Saturday, but only had 186 yards through the air. That was because most of the passes were screens and sideline passes. That’s not going to win games for anyone. The offensive line didn’t do him any favors either, but if Saturday is a sign of things to come, then we’ll see more of the same.
4th Down: Coutts Bright Spot of Game
You know it’s a bad game when the punter is one of the talking points after the game. Coutts had quite a few good punts that helped put Boise State back, but because of the defense that got shredded like some parmesan cheese, a lot of what he did didn’t matter at all. Looking ahead if the Cajuns can fix their issues before Saturday against McNeese State, they can get to .500.
-Clint Domingue