Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down the Cajuns loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane!
1st Down: Run Defense Continues to be Non-Existent
After last season, the Cajuns looked to be poised to have one of the better run defenses in the conference. Fast forward to now and it seems like their run defense isn’t entirely there.
For a frame of reference, let’s look at the 11 regular season games with Mike Lucas in place as the interim defensive coordinator last season. Against the run in 2016, the Cajuns allowed 1,521 yards. In just two games, the Cajuns defense has allowed 767 yards rushing. That might not be entirely Lucas’ fault.
Just look at the inexperience at the linebacker position and there wasn’t a whole lot of live action during fall camp. That alone explains why we’re not seeing the defense wrapping up on those tackles.
2nd Down: Davis Proves Himself
While the defensive effort left something to be desired on Saturday, Jordan Davis showed a lot of potential. The junior showed a lot of poise, keeping the Cajuns within striking distance anyway that he can do it. He got things done through the air with 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Davis also found ways to get some yardage on the ground with 60 yards and two touchdowns
He’s even begun to find some favorite wideouts in Ryheem Malone and Keenan Barnes, both of whom had over 100 yards receiving. While the defense still needs to kick the proverbial rust off, it looks like the offense is fine-tuned and ready to get this team some wins.
3rd Down: Ragas Impresses
Another aspect of the offense for the Cajuns that was impressive has to be Trey Ragas. Ragas wound up being out for the second half of the game against Southeastern Louisiana after suffering an injury. He came back in a big way this weekend with a 130 yard game off of 11 carries.
While it wasn’t the 262 yard game that D’Angelo Brewer put up, you have to give a lot of credit to the Cajuns offensive line for opening up some holes for Ragas and several others to run through for some solid gains.
4th Down: Road Gets Tougher
The Ragin Cajuns are out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire next week when they take on Texas A&M in College Station. This is a team that has underwhelmed in their first two games of the season and will be looking to show something towards the Board of Regents that head coach Kevin Sumlin should hold onto his job as the head coach of the Aggies.
The Cajuns defense may continue to underwhelm in this matchup against an SEC team, the road will continue to be tough and if this team wants to achieve their goals they will need to improve in some form or fashion in the next two weeks. Once that UL Monroe game comes around, the defense will need to show drastic improvement.
-Clint Domingue