The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (0-1) are set to face the McNeese Cowboys (1-0) in an in-state showdown on Saturday night at 7 PM.
The Cajuns were beat by Rice 14-12 in the season opener, failing to put together a last minute drive after an injury to starting quarterback Walker Howard. They will look to bounce back this week.
The Cowboys were dominant in a 54-9 win over Louisiana Christian in Lake Charles. While the performance was impressive, their level of competition takes a massive step up this weekend.
Kickoff between the Cajuns and the Cowboys from Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium is set for 7 PM on Saturday night.
QUARTERBACK QUESTIONS
Cajuns’ starter Walker Howard went down late in the game against Rice. Now he has had surgery on an oblique injury and is out for the game against McNeese and likely out for the season. Daniel Beale will get the start with Lunch Winfield also seeing some action. It will be two unproven options for Louisiana in this game taking the snaps.
McNeese on the other hand saw Texas Tech transfer Jake Strong look good in his Cowboys’ debut a week ago. He will look to build on that performance against the Cajuns in this contest.
FAMILIAR FACES
When coaches Michael Desormeaux and Matt Viator meet at midfield after this game, it will be far from their first interaction.
In fact, Desormeaux coached with Viator at UL, and even retained him on the coaching staff when he took over as head coach of the Cajuns. Viator served as the quarterbacks coach for the first couple years of Des’ tenure at UL, and the two remain close friends.
Their familiarity with each other adds another wrinkle to this game as well. As Coach Des mentioned in his Wednesday presser, he doesn’t anticipate a “whole lot of surprises” given how much these two coaches know about each other.
BOOT BATTLE RENEWED
While the Cajuns and Cowboys have an extensive history of battling in plenty of sports, the football rivalry hasn’t been renewed since 2016. Additionally, the teams have only played twice since the turn of the century.
Back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, the rivalry was played regularly. McNeese leads the all-time series, but the Cajuns have won two of the last three including a 30-22 win in 2016.
Saturday will mark the first time the teams have faced off in nearly a decade, and will give bragging rights for the forseeable future.
SERIES RECORD: McNeese leads 20-16-2
Last 5 Meetings:
2016: LOUISIANA 30 – MCNEESE 22
2007: LOUISIANA 24 – MCNEESE 20
1986: LOUISIANA 33 – MCNEESE 13
1985: LOUISIANA 3 – MCNEESE 14
1984: LOUISIANA 17 – MCNEESE 30
STAT LEADERS:
Louisiana:
Walker Howard: 10-22, 88 Yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Bill Davis: 11 Carries, 58 Yards, 0 TD
Shelton Sampson Jr: 4 Catches, 59 Yards, 09 TD
Terrence Williams & Jaelen Crider: 1 Sack
Jaden Dugger: 10 Tackles (8 Solo)
N/A: 0 INT
Tony Sterner: 2-of-2 Field Goals, Long of 51, 0-of-0 PAT
McNeese:
Jake Strong: 22-28, 329 Yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Marquez Davis: 12 Carries, 97 Yards, 1 TD
Makhi Paris: 3 Catches, 65 Yards, 0 TD
5 Players Tied: 1 Sack
Shyaub Brinkley: 7 Tackles (5 Solo)
Shyaub Brinkley: 1 INT
Fabrizio Pinton: 1-of-1 Field Goals, Long of 38, 7-of-7 PAT