The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns are looking to wrap up their home slate on a positive note when they take on the South Alabama Jaguars. With a win, the Cajuns can become bowl eligible with their sixth win of the season and get one step closer to a Sun Belt West title game in Monroe after Thanksgiving.
Without any further delay, let’s get started with the preview!
Last Time Out:
The last time the Cajuns took the field, the Cajuns held their own against Georgia State, coming away with a 36-22 win to win their third straight home game. The Jaguars on the other hand fell to the UL Monroe Warhawks 38-10 to drop them to 2-7 and 1-4 in the Sun Belt.
Last Meeting:
The last time these two teams faced off, the Cajuns were able to knock off South Alabama 47-34. The Cajuns hold the overall series lead 4-2 and have never lost inside Cajun Field since the series started back in 2012.
Storylines to Watch
Three Headed Monster at Full Strength
One of the more interesting stories coming out of the Cajuns win over Georgia State was the fact that Trey Ragas was missing in action due to what Napier called on Monday a soft tissue issue. Thankfully Raymond Calais went full beast-mode on what he called a very basic defensive scheme and preyed upon it.
With Ragas hopefully back for Saturday’s matchup, this could very well be too much for a defense that has been stout against the run in recent weeks allowing 330 rushing yards against Arkansas State and UL Monroe.
Focus Stays on South Alabama
The Cajuns have a chance to exceed everyone’s expectations in the next two weeks with wins over the Jaguars and the Warhawks. You do that, you’re getting into the Sun Belt Conference title game and have a very good shot at clinching a bowl berth.
That being said, they can’t overlook a South Alabama program that has had a tendency to play spoiler in at least one game (see: Troy game in ‘17, Mississippi State in ‘16). The focus can’t drift towards UL Monroe and the coaching staff will need to make sure of that if they want to have a chance at getting the West Division locked down.
Defense Needs Another Good Performance
The Cajuns defense looked really good against Georgia State throughout last Saturday’s game. While the final drive was less than ideal, it was still a great performance against a team that has had a tendency of getting into high-scoring ballgames.
South Alabama’s offense isn’t exactly setting the world on fire, averaging 22.1 points per game. Stranger things have happened, but there needs to be a similar performance to what they had from last week if they want to guarantee a big win to send the seniors off the right way.
Louisiana Will Win If:
The Cajuns can get to six wins if the offense can be a little bit more potent. They’ve been able to score at a fairly high clip at home, but wound up only getting 36 points in the win last weekend. It felt like we could’ve seen more points on the board. Against a team like South Alabama, there needs to be a little more killer instinct and finish this off early.
South Alabama Will WIn If:
It feels unlikely that the Jaguars will get a win this Saturday, but if their defense can slow down the run game they have a chance. The Cajuns offense has been able to get it done through the air better than recent years, but it’s still a work in progress and the run game has really been the calling card. They slow it down like they have in the last two games, that might play a huge factor in the game.
-Clint Domingue