Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs! In this week’s edition, we look at the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns track meet against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
1st Down: What’s Defense?
The name of the game on Saturday certainly wasn’t defense as both teams combined for 70 points at the half. The even more incredible part is that three of the touchdowns came off of the most overlooked phase in the game: special teams. You could even count Eugene Bethea’s second touchdown as one because of Max Lyons getting the Lions to the two-yard line with another solid return.
Whether you were among the 18,289 inside of Cajun Field or watching it through the online streaming service that the mothership runs, one thing was clear: the Cajuns were not wrapping up tackles throughout the season opener. The defensive play improved in the second half once Tracy Walker returned to the field. He was out for the first half due to being ejected for targeting during the second half of the New Orleans Bowl last year.
The first game of the year did see a lot of inexperience, but if the Cajuns want to achieve their goals, then the performance on defense will have to improve considering the teams that still remain on the schedule.
2nd Down: Davis’ OK Debut
One of the biggest positives headed into the season was the fact that the starting quarterback for the Cajuns was decided after the spring game. After two seasons of instability at the position, Jordan Davis may be ready to handle everything that comes with being a starting quarterback. While his passing ability still needs work, he was able to stay vertical for much of the game and had what head coach Mark Hudspeth called “flashes of brilliance”.
3rd Down: The Second Book of Eli
After one of the best running backs to ever play for the Cajuns left to try and make it to the NFL in Elijah McGuire, the biggest question was who will fill those shoes? For now, it is running back by committee but freshman Elijah Mitchell has proven that he can be called upon and give the Cajuns points on the board. The Erath native had the bulk of the workload amongst the backs with 11 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The expectations for Mitchell were high even before he set foot on the field, but it looks like the answer for who would replace Eli is Elijah.
4th Down: Time to Hit Panic Button?
After the first half was finished, it seemed like several fans were already down on the Cajuns. It’s justifiable because of the fact that an FCS school put up almost 50 points against a defense that looked on paper to be one of the better defenses in the conference, especially when it comes to the run defense. Allowing 343 net yards on the ground is far from ideal.
Combine that with 171 yards on the evening and the Cajuns defense looked awfully familiar from the season opener last year against Boise State. Could this have the same end result for Mike Lucas? Odds are, this is because of how the Cajuns handled fall camp with some minimal live action to avoid having injuries. Keep the panic button close by, but don’t hit it just yet.
-Clint Domingue