Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs breaking down what went right and what went wrong for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week, we look at the Cajuns road win over South Alabama.
1st Down: Good Debut for Lewis
Heading into Saturday’s ballgame, the quarterback position seemed to be shrouded in mystery. With Andre Nunez out with a concussion, it seemed like head coach Mark Hudspeth would go back to the player that started out the season in Jordan Davis.
However, he took a risk in burning Levi Lewis’ redshirt and it wound up paying off thanks in large part to a strong second quarter. The Scotlandville product ended his first collegiate game with 129 yards on the ground and 110 through the air. When you look deeper into it, almost his entire yardage came in the second quarter with 72 yards passing off of four passes for two touchdowns and 45 yards on the ground.
While some may begin to talk about it possibly being the beginning of the Levi Lewis era, it’s still a little too early to say that he’s the future.
2nd Down: Conservative Offense Late
One thing that was surprising was how conservative the Cajuns were in the fourth quarter. Each of the Cajuns plays late were run plays and they had varying levels of success. Why was the gas taken off the pedal then?
You have a chance to really deliver a knockout punch, instead decide to play the time of possession game. While that could work like tonight, it’s not how you should play when the scoreboard shows 19-7.
3rd Down: Defense Bounces Back
Two weeks ago, the Cajuns defense was dissected like a frog in biology class against Arkansas State and looked a lot like the team that allowed almost 50 points against Southeastern. It’s admittedly a step down in terms of competition with a maddeningly inconsistent South Alabama, but it’s a big win for that unit allowing 368 total yards and getting two interceptions.
If this defense can build on that, this team could be bowl eligible.
4th Down: Quarterback Musical Chairs
One of the things that Hudspeth has reiterated in press conferences is that he doesn’t want to be in a situation where he’s in a situation of musical chairs at the position of quarterback. That may be an issue now considering the fact that there have been three different starting QBs for the Cajuns.
While some of this you can put up to injuries, but it seems like even Hud doesn’t know which way he wants to go the rest of the season. After a win on the road against South Alabama, does Hudspeth play the hot hand and put a freshman starting in Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels? Hopefully it doesn’t come to that and we can see either Davis or Nunez (if cleared) take back the starting job.
-Clint Domingue