Welcome everyone to the latest game preview for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week, we break down the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Thursday night matchup against Texas State.
Last Week: After getting out to an early 20-19 lead in the first quarter, Texas State wound up falling to UL Monroe 45-27. The Ragin Cajuns had a strong showing defensively, allowing one touchdown on the road against Idaho in a 21-16 victory.
Last Meeting: The last time these two faced off against each other, the Cajuns dominated with a 27-3 victory in San Marcos. The Cajuns have won every matchup between the two teams since the Bobcats joined the conference in 2014.
Storylines to Watch:
Nunez Getting the Start: After coming off the bench the last two games, it looks like Andre Nunez has proved a lot to Mark Hudspeth. Nunez has earned the right to start this Thursday against the Bobcats after throwing for 500 yards and three touchdowns in his two appearances.
From what I had seen during spring practice, he had quite a bit of zip on the ball and looked like a solid backup if Davis winds up regressing or gets injured during the season. It looks like a little bit of both happened for the Cajuns after Davis got injured late in the first half against Texas A&M and the Cajuns have a little controversy on their hands once again. However, if Nunez has a complete game, he may become the starter the rest of the way.
Can Defensive Effort Carry Over? One of the biggest takeaways for the Cajuns after Saturday’s win over Idaho was that the defense looked much improved. While that performance was refreshing to see from the Cajuns on Saturday, can they keep that momentum going on Thursday against Texas State?
The Bobcats may be towards the bottom of the Sun Belt rankings in terms of total offense, but from what we saw in the first four games that could change. Hopefully, what defensive analyst James Willis has been telling the coaches has stuck.
Offensive Line Needs to Hold: While the defense looked stellar last weekend in Moscow, Idaho the offensive line didn’t have a great day allowing seven sacks on the afternoon. While some of that was because of one of the linemen missed the game due to a funeral, it could be concerning if the Cajuns want to roll with Nunez in the long term.
If you have him under pressure for much of the game, that will undoubtedly affect how this offense works. It’ll be interesting what kind of pressure Nunez will be under.
Louisiana Will Win If:
The Cajuns can get back to .500 if the defense can continue doing what they did last week. Obviously allowing only 16 points usually leads to a win, but against a Texas State team that is looking for their first win in conference play since 2015 you need to have an extremely convincing win and the defense will be a crucial part of the game.
Texas State Will Win If:
The Bobcats can capture an elusive win if the Bobcats can shut down the run game. They currently rank towards the top of the rankings in rush defense and one of the better running backs in Elijah Mitchell will be out due to a foot injury. Without Mitchell, that could hurt the run game even with a solid stable of backs in the depth chart.
-Clint Domingue