Fresh off of a big win over Arkansas State, the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns will get out of the frying pan and go into the fire with a road trip to take on the Troy Trojans. The Trojans defense will be the ultimate test for the Cajuns high-powered offense and could lead to a whale of a ballgame.
Without further ado, let’s get going with the game preview!
Last Time Out:
The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns came away with a 47-43 win in the final moments last weekend against Arkansas State at Cajun Field thanks to a late defensive stop. The Troy Trojans had a little easier matchup last Tuesday with a 38-17 win over South Alabama.
Last Meeting:
The last time these two teams faced off, the Trojans came away with a 41-17 win over the Cajuns back in 2015. The Trojans hold the overall series lead by one game (8-7), but the Cajuns had won the previous four matchups prior to the loss in 2015.
Storylines to Watch
Iron vs Iron
The high-powered offense of the Ragin Cajuns is squaring off against one of the top defenses in the conference in the Troy Trojans. What’s interesting about this defense is that they’ve been on the field for a total of 578 plays.
You look at the Cajuns offensive output as of late, this might be a game where the Trojans defense will be off the field for a good chunk of it because of how quickly they can get points on the board and might be detrimental to their efforts.
Riding Wave of Momentum
The last couple of weeks for the Cajuns has been great with last week’s win and keeping it very competitive on the road against Appalachian State. While at first glance, this doesn’t seem like much but you have to think about how much the last few weeks have been a positive for the team.
They’re starting to see the fruit of their labor and have a lot of things in front of them as the calendar flips over to November and this matchup will still be difficult, but the Cajuns have the mentality that it takes to pull off the big upset.
Under Pressure
What’s interesting about the Trojans on the offensive side of the ball is that their offensive line has been suspect with 20 sacks allowed, which is seventh in the Sun Belt. The Cajuns defensive line might be licking their chops at that statistic, the offensive line will need to step up in a big way with a Trojans defense that has racked up a conference-leading 26 sacks.
It’s safe to say the battle between the trenches is going to be one to keep and eye on and the quarterbacks might be feeling the after effects of this game for a couple days afterwards.
Louisiana Will Win If:
The Cajuns can get another big win if there’s another big performance from the run game. They’ve been crucial all season long and with a three-headed monster that they have in the backfield makes it the most interesting part of the ballgame.
Troy Will Win If:
The Trojans can hold off the Cajuns on Saturday if the defense can force at least three turnovers. Troy has traditionally been a good defense and if they can pick off Andre Nunez. We learned that last week you’ll need to get after the quarterback a lot more if you want to come away with a win and make him make mistakes if you want to run away with a win against this high-powered offense.
-Clint Domingue