#4Downs: Louisiana Ragin Cajuns vs Grambling Tigers

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Welcome everyone to the return of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. This week, we look at the Cajuns impressive win over the Grambling Tigers!

1st Down: Bend, Don’t Break Defense

After the first play for the Cajuns on defense, it looked like we were about to see a high-scoring affair like the season opener last season against Southeastern. Those concerns quickly washed away as they forced them to settle for a field goal on the opening drive.

After that early score, the Tigers offense was stifled especially on third down as they went 6-of-16. Outside of a couple big plays, this defense showed us that they have the capability to do some really good things once they enter conference play.

2nd Down: Running Back Corps Are Multi-Dimensional

We already had an idea that this stable of running backs was going to be as deep as it has ever been. The big that we didn’t expect is to see them be multi-dimensional. You have Trey Ragas be the big hoss for the run game with 142 yards and a touchdown. They weren’t entirely reliant on him though as they had Raymond Calais, Elijah Mitchell and even Ashton Johnson got some playing time towards the end.

Each of these guys brings something different to the table and that helps the run game become tough to prepare for because you don’t quite know what you’re going to get depending which one of the backs is out there.

3rd Down: Nunez Established Himself as Starter

All throughout fall camp, there was no clear leader in the clubhouse and Napier waited until the Wednesday before the opener to announce that it would be Andre Nunez to take the first snaps. It was a rough start for him, going 0-for-2 and getting sacked on the first drive.

Once the offense got back on the field, he was able to get into a groove, completing 14 straight passes and ended up etching his name into the record books with the highest completion percentage in program history with a minimum of 20 passes. With that in mind, Andre Nunez locked down the starting quarterback job with that performance. Don’t get me wrong Levi Lewis looked solid as well when he was on the field, but the senior was much better in this ballgame. Honestly, having two good quarterbacks is a good problem to have if heaven forbid something does happen to either one during the season.

4th Down: Not Cause for Celebration Just Yet

While there’s a lot of positives to take away from this ballgame, you have to remember that this is an FCS program that they faced off against. It wasn’t a cupcake game by any means, but there are levels to these things and if the Cajuns didn’t win by two or more touchdowns it would’ve been considered a failure to some.

Even Napier mentioned after the game that they still need to improve. If that gets Cajuns fans to buy back into the football program after it started to get a little stagnant in the last couple of years, it’s going to be a fun season for the Cajuns.

Extra Point: Grambling’s Band Lived Up to the Hype

One of the big things that I was looking forward to seeing what Grambling’s band was going to do once halftime rolled around. We’ve all seen them on TV at one point or another. Seeing them live and in living color is another. The pageantry leading up to the band getting started is on another level. And then, they brought out Drake’s “In My Feelings” and it was all too clear that Grambling’s band is something that if you have a chance to see, you need to do so.

-Clint Domingue