I’ll admit it. The thought of LSU’s Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada becoming the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Head Coach intrigued me. Purely for selfish reasons. It would be great talk show fodder for at least a year and probably beyond. However, take a closer look and Matt Canada’s offense didn’t really flourish until the final game of the regular season against Texas A & M.
We can compare LSU’s last two seasons. 2016 (without Canada) vs 2017 (with Canada)
| RUSH | PASS | TOTAL | |
| 2016 | 2796 (29) | 2281 (106) | 423.1 (59) |
| 2017 | 2529 (33) | 2416 (87) | 412.1 (53) |
Nothing too earth shattering there. While their offense ranked higher in 2017, they actually gained few yards per game. Canada likes throwing it deep, but he does not run a spread offense. The gimmicks and shifting may work a bit, but even with a much better quarterback (albeit slightly limited), the Tigers offense lacked consistency throughout the season.
Not sure why the Ragin’ Cajuns would sign up for that.