Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs, where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week, I look at the Cajuns disappointing loss to Georgia Southern.
1st Down: Defense Outmatched by Triple Option
The Cajuns defense had only one job and that was to keep the triple option contained. It didn’t look good from the outset with the Eagles triple option working to great effect on an 11-play opening drive capped off by an eight-yard run by Wesley Fields.
The Cajuns did tighten up after the first couple drives, but it was still a pretty bad look from a defense that has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster at the State Fair. Yes, the Eagles did throw in some new wrinkles in the offense with occasional pitches, but you know that this team’s about as run-heavy as some prep football teams in the Acadiana area and the defense becomes a sieve on the most important game of the season for the Cajuns.
2nd Down: Indecision at QB Rears Its Ugly Head
It seemed like a no-brainer for Mark Hudspeth after the win over New Mexico State to put in Jordan Davis as the starter. Nothing’s ever simple though when it comes to the Cajuns as he made the decision to start freshman Levi Lewis against Georgia Southern on Saturday.
From the first play from scrimmage, the Scotlandville product was scrambling every which way trying to avoid defenders. It took Hudspeth three drives before he put in Davis and even then it felt like he wasn’t the same quarterback that got the nod 20 minutes prior to the start of the New Mexico State game. Heading into Saturday, it felt like this team had a legit chance to make it to another bowl game, but now the odds of extending their season are out of the window with a road trip to Boone on the horizon.
3rd Down: Why Decline the Penalty?
One of the biggest points of debate amongst the members of the Cajun nation came in the second half after Stevie Artigue made a 50-yarder to chip away at the lead. After the kick, one of the defenders was called for roughing the kicker, which would have been an automatic first down at the 18-yard line. However, Hudspeth chose to decline the penalty and take the points.
If this were in the first half and it wasn’t 24-7, it would make some sense. However, being down that much and they had a chance to get in excellent position to put a touchdown on the board to make the deficit ten points and possibly turn the tide seems like a no-brainer. While it wasn’t the biggest reason why they lost, it was definitely one that hurt.
Hudspeth’s rationale may be more damning though. “I would do that 100 times over again.” Hudspeth said, “We had to have three scores: a field goal and two touchdowns regardless. We got the field goal guaranteed so now we’ve knocked out one of them. Now all we needed was two touchdowns; you take that off the board and you go down and miss a field goal or you don’t score and turn it over, you’re still down three scores. That was the 100 percent right thing to do, you can never tell me any different.”
4th Down: The Future of the Program
Let’s be honest with each other, when you look at the replay of the game on Saturday you see a lot of empty seats. In fact, the announced numbers for the game was a paltry 12,993 with hardly anyone in the student section.
When you look further into the numbers, the average attendance this year has been 15,750 which is less than what Rickey Bustle’s Cajuns were drawing in 2010. The future of the program may look bleak now, but there’s a still a chance to make some changes and get the fans back into Cajun Field.
-Clint Domingue