Welcome everyone to the latest game preview for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week they will be taking on the Texas A&M Aggies.
Last Week: The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns were dominated last week on the road by Tulsa by the score of 66-42 allowing almost 700 total yards of offense. The Aggies bounced back after a crushing loss against UCLA with a 24-14 win over Nicholls State.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams faced off was back in 2006 when the Aggies dominated the Cajuns with a 51-7 victory in College Station. Texas A&M also leads the series 5-1.
Storylines to Watch
Lack of Defense: The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns have looked fantastic offensively and could probably be 2-0 if not for a defense that has been like a sieve in terms of the run. The Cajuns have allowed 383.5 rushing yards per game.
One of the things that has affected the Cajuns defense against the run has been because of the lack of depth at the second level. That may have been exacerbated with sophomore Tanner Holmes being granted a full release on Sunday. This linebacker corps needs to see some kind of improvement this week with their conference opener next week. Do they have to allow below 100 yards rushing? No, if the Cajuns can allow maybe 50-100 yards less would be the improvement that they would need to show that they are “turning the corner”.
Can Davis Handle SEC Atmosphere? All throughout the offseason and the first two weeks of the regular season, head coach Mark Hudspeth has talked about Jordan Davis’ maturity and how much he has improved. He has lived to the expectations over the last two weeks, but that was in stadiums that have a capacity of 30,000 and the amount of fans at the game are about half of that.
Now we really get to see how mature Davis is in a stadium that has a capacity of over 100,000. If he can be the same QB he has been throughout the first two games and don’t let the atmosphere get to him, you can expect him to do this the rest of the season at a solid level against the Sun Belt Conference.
Return of Thomas: While the defense has been poor throughout the first games of the season, one positive has been the passing defense. That may get a step better with Simeon Thomas coming back after being suspended for the first two games and will see playing time this week.
Having a talented player like him back in the lineup is huge, but it won’t have a significant effect until next week’s game.
Louisiana Will Win If:
The odds are against them, but you did see Nicholls tie it up early in the fourth quarter. However, the Cajuns have almost no chance of winning this game and the best you can hope for is the Cajuns keeping it competitive like they did last year against Georgia.
Texas A&M Will Win If:
The Aggies will win if Jake Hubenak can just hold his own and find Christian Kirk on the regular. You also need the defense to show up and force pressure on Davis and a win is within reach.
-Clint Domingue