Welcome everyone to the second Ragin Cajuns preview where we take a look ahead to who the Ragin Cajuns will face this coming Saturday! This week, we take a look at the McNeese State Cowboys.
Last Week: The Ragin Cajuns season opened up with a crushing loss to Boise State 45-10 which led to co-defensive coordinator Melvin Smith to be fired on Sunday afternoon. McNeese State took care of business on Saturday night with a decisive victory over Tarleton State by the score of 33-3.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams faced off was back in 2007 at Cajun Field with the Cowboys winning in convincing fashion by the score of 38-17. McNeese State also leads the overall series 20-15-2.
What to Watch For:
New Defensive Sheriff in Town: As mentioned previously, the Cajuns cut ties with Melvin Smith and replaced him with linebacker coach Mike Lucas. I think the move away from Melvin Smith should have been done before the end of last season, but perhaps Hud wanted to give him one more chance with the new zone look before breaking out the axe. But with the new DC, those Cowboys will be working overtime to figure out what kind of defense they will see. The smart move would be that you’d see the zone defense because you’re not going to throw the Cajuns a whole new defensive scheme the week before a game against an in-state rival, it just wouldn’t be a smart thing to do at all. Could the Cajuns defense handle the change? Perhaps since some of the past schemes that Lucas used during his time at Northwestern State such as the 4-2-5 which saw some success for part of the 2014 season. Either way, this should keep McNeese State as well as the Cajuns on their toes.
Another Balanced Squad Offensively: The Cajuns will have to take on an offense that lit up the field last Saturday against Tarleton State. Former Arkansas State QB James Tabary went off with an impressive 254 yards and two TDs. But it was on the ground where the Cowboys really showed their potential with a combined 210 yards and two scores and also had six players that ended up with positive net yardage. McNeese State may be an FCS team, but they have the ability to be a team that can give the Cajuns some headaches.
Golden Tackle: The Cowboys have a monster that even head coach Mark Hudspeth mentioned as probably the best defensive lineman they will play. That honor goes to Isaiah Golden, a 6’2” 325 pound junior that transferred to Texas A&M after the 2014 season. Golden ended 2015 as part of the 2015 All-Southland Conference 1st Team and is being looked at as a preseason All-American. His first game this year didn’t see a whole lot in terms of numbers, but if the offensive line for the Cajuns is as bad as it was last week, it could be another long day for Anthony Jennings.
The Cajuns Will Win If:
The Cajuns need to fix their issues with the offensive line and their chances of winning go up significantly. Last week, Anthony Jennings was under pressure for most of the game and the run game was virtually nonexistent. Not even Eli McGuire could get past 50 net yards. If that doesn’t change, the Cajuns could be starting 0-2 in 2016.
McNeese State Will Win If:
If the Cowboys from Lake Charles can come in here and do what they did last week offensively, the Cajuns defense might not be able to catch up. They allowed over 400 yards through the air last week and if the secondary gets burnt like they did, expect a long game for the defense.
-Clint Domingue