Ragin’ Cajuns To Play At Arkansas State On ESPN2

Contact: Brian McCann

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Game 7:        Louisiana (4-2, 2-0) at Arkansas State (3-3, 1-0)
When: Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, 7:00 p.m. CDT
Site: Liberty Bank Stadium (ProGreen, 30,406)
TV: ESPN2 (Joe Davis & David Diaz-Infante)
Radio: Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network
(Jay Walker, Gerald Broussard & Steve Peloquin)
Participating Stations
KPEL (1420 AM, Lafayette) Flagship
KXHT (107.9 FM, Lafayette)
WGSO (990 AM, New Orleans)
KTUX (98.9 FM, Shreveport)
KLCL (1470 AM, Lake Charles)
KJEF (1290 AM, Jennings)
KRJO (1680 AM, Monroe)
Series:        Louisiana leads, 21-19-1
Last Meeting:        ASU 50, Louisiana 27 (10/23/12 at UL)
Coaches:        Louisiana

Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, '92)
Record at Louisiana: 22-10 (3rd year)
Overall Record: 88-31 (10th year)

Arkansas State
Bryan Harsin (Boise State, '00)
Record at ASU: 3-3 (1st year)
Overall Record: 3-3 (1st year)

THE STORYLINE: Sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt will be on the line when the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns travel to Jonesboro, Ark. to face defending SBC champion Arkansas State on Tuesday, Oct. 22 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Liberty Bank Stadium. . . the game will be televised live on ESPN2 with Joe Davis and David Diaz-Infante providing the commentary. . . Louisiana (4-2, 2-0) extended its current win streak to four games when the Cajuns rallied from 10 points down in the second quarter to run away with a 37-20 victory at WKU on Tuesday (Oct. 15). . . defense keyed the win as the Cajuns turned four WKU turnovers into 20 points. . . safety Al Riles returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown, the second-longest return in school history. . . linebacker Justin Anderson forced and recovered a pair of fumbles in addition to making a career-high 16 tackles. . . junior Alonzo Harris rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the win to raise his career rushing total to 2,025 yards and become the sixth Cajun to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. . . senior Darryl Surgent returned three kickoffs to break the school record with 115 career kickoff returns. . . Arkansas State (3-3, 1-0) is 3-0 at home this year and has won 14 of its last 15 home contests.

WE ARE LOUISIANA: There is confusion among the national sports organizations as how to refer to the Ragin' Cajuns. Our official name is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, but much like our opponents around the country, we simply go by Louisiana when referring to our athletic programs. It is the same situation at the Universities of Texas (at Austin), Tennessee (at Knoxville) and California (at Berkeley), but years of use and understanding by the sports media has led to each of those schools to have their athletic monikers being simplified and accepted nationally. Although we proudly refer to our University with its full title for academic purposes, we ask that you use Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns or some combination of those terms, when talking about our athletic teams.

CAJUNS EXCEL AT CAJUN FIELD: The win over Texas State on Oct. 5 improved the Cajuns to 12-1 at home in three seasons under head coach Mark Hudspeth. Included in that record were wins in Hudspeth's first eight games, the third-longest in facility history. Louisiana carries a four-game win streak into the Nov. 2 meeting with New Mexico State.

SERIES VS. ARKANSAS STATE: Tuesday's game marks the 42nd series meeting between Louisiana and Arkansas State with the Cajuns owning a 21-19-1 series lead. The series began in 1953 and the Red Wolves dominated the early years, going 11-6-1 over the first 18 meetings through 1982. After a short break, the series resumed in 1988 and the two teams have met every year since, except 2000, with UL going 15-8. Louisiana is 8-11-1 on the road in the series, including an 8-10-1 mark in games played in Jonesboro.

CAJUNS GET WIN #500: The 70-7 win over Nicholls State on Sept. 14 was the 500th in the 113-year history of the Louisiana football program. The Cajuns have gone to win three more to begin the week with a 503-523-34 record.

DOING MORE WITH MORE: After years of achieving athletic success with less resources than some of its competitors, the Cajuns will finally get the opportunity to do more with more when construction begins later this fall on the first tier of projects in the $115 million Athletic Facilities Master Plan. All 16 sports will be impacted with the addition of the Athletic Performance Center, a 71,000 square-foot facility that will more than double the current existing space for athletic training (10,000 square feet), equipment (6,000) and two complete weight rooms (12,000 & 6,800). The facility will also include a new football locker room, an auditorium capable of seating 150 people and house the football coaching staff.

TUESDAY NIGHT WITH THE CAJUNS: The Arkansas State game will be the 1,061st game in Ragin' Cajuns football history, but it will be just the eighth time that Louisiana has played a game on a Tuesday (and fourth in 15 games). Last year, the Cajuns played consecutive Tuesday night games at North Texas (Oct. 16) and at home against Arkansas State (Oct. 23), the first Tuesday games in 49 years. After last week's 37-20 win at WKU, Louisiana is now 3-4 when playing on Tuesday, also winning 26-0 over Louisiana Tech on Nov. 14, 1916 and defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 13-0, on Nov. 11, 1930. The first Tuesday game came on Nov. 5, 1912 when the Cajuns fell to LSU, 85-3. The most recent Tuesday contest was a 14-0 loss to Southeastern Louisiana on Sept, 10, 1963. Six of the seven games were played on the road.

STREAKING: The Ragin' Cajuns will put a couple of modest win streaks on the line at Arkansas State. Louisiana enters the game having won four straight games, the longest win streak since the Cajuns claimed six straight victories at the start of the 2011 season. UL has also won six straight Sun Belt games going back to last year, a streak that started following a 50-27 home loss to Arkansas State.

ANDERSON STARTS SENIOR CAMPAIGN OUT RIGHT: Justin Anderson has started his final season as a Ragin' Cajun out right by setting his career tackle high three times in the first six games. Anderson made 14 tackles in the opener at Arkansas (Aug. 31) and came back at Kansas State (Sept. 7) to register 15 stops at Kansas State. At WKU last week, he did that one better by recording 16 tackles (11) solo, giving him nine double-figure tackle games in his career. Anderson enters the week leading the Sun Belt and ranking eighth nationally with 67 tackles (11.2 tpg).

. . . AND ANDERSON IS WORKING ON ANOTHER 100: Linebacker Justin Anderson is quickly closing in on becoming only the second player in school history to record consecutive 100 tackle seasons. Anderson, who ranked seventh in the Sun Belt last year averaging 8.1 tackles per game (105 total), needs 33 more tackles to equal the accomplishment of linebacker Steve Spinelle, who made 131 stops in 1984 and 144 in 1985.

. . . AND ANDERSON PLAYS BIG ROLE IN WKU WIN: Justin Anderson may have turned in the game of his career at WKU, leading the defense in the 37-20 win. Besides the career high 16 tackles with two tackles for loss, Anderson twice stole the ball away from Hilltopper receiver Mitchell Henry. The first came after Henry caught a pass for a first down at the UL 20 on a fourth-and-nine play with Anderson returning the fumble 45 yards to set up an Alonzo Harris touchdown that put the Cajuns ahead, 13-10. He came back in the fourth quarter to do it again, forcing and recovering the fumble that led to a Jacob Maxwell TD that gave Louisiana a 30-13 lead.

RILES TURNS IN THE PLAY OF THE YEAR: With the Cajuns trailing WKU 10-0 and the Hilltoppers facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1 that ciykd ave put them ahead 17-0, sophomore safety Al Riles turned in the biggest play of the year to date. Riles intercepted a Brandon Doughty pass at the goal line and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to turn the Cajuns fortunes around. The interception, the first of Riles career, was the second returned for a touchdown by the Cajuns this year (Justin Anderson vs. Nicholls State).

THE TURNOVER TALE: Mark Hudspeth has preached the importance of taking care of the football since he first stepped on the Louisiana campus in 2010 and the 2013 Cajuns have definitely paid attention to his words. The Cajuns enter the week ranked fourth nationally in turnover margin, averaging 1.5 turnovers more than their opponents each game. In six games, the Louisiana defense ranks eighth in the nation with 16 takeaways (8 fumbles & 8 interceptions) and 23rd with just seven give-aways (3 fumbles & 4 interceptions).

10 CAJUNS EARN MID-SEASON ALL-SBC HONORS: Ten Louisiana players received mention this week when Phil Steele released his mid-season All-Sun Belt Conference team. The Cajuns placed five players on the first team, Jamal Robinson (WR), Andre Huval (C), Daniel Quave (RG), Mykhael Quave (LT) and Justin Anderson (LB), while Terrance Broadway (QB), Alonzo Harris (RB), Jacob Maxwell (TE), Sean Thomas (FS), Dominique Tovell (DL) earned second team mention. Louisiana and Arkansas State shared the lead with 10 players honored.

4TH DOWN EXPLOITS: Louisiana stopped WKU on all four fourth down attempts last week to move up to 11th nationally in fourth down defense this season. In six games, Cajuns opponents have converted just three of the 12 times that they have attempted to convert a fourth down play (.250). This is nothing new to Louisiana. In 2012, the Cajuns stopped their opponents on 11 of their 14 attempts to rank second behind Syracuse (2-10, .200) with a .214 defense rate.

IMPROVED RUNNING: One of the strengths of the Cajuns offense in 2012 was their improvement in the running game. In 2011, Louisiana ranked seventh in the Sun Belt and 88th nationally averaging 125.2 yards per game. In 2012, using a running attack featuring two sophomores and two freshmen, the Cajuns ranked second in the Sun Belt and 34th in the nation averaging 193.5 yards per game.

. . . AND THE SOLID RUNNING HAS CONTINUED: With the majority of the rushing attack back this year, the Cajuns have taken another jump in the rushing stats. Through six games, Louisiana has gained 1,340 yards on 270 carries for a healthy 5.0 yards per carry. The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt and rank 22nd in the nation averaging 223.3 yards per game. Those numbers were expected this season as the Cajuns returned every player who gained rushing yards last year except quarterback Blaine Gautier (17 carries, 93 yards) and wide receiver Harry Peoples (14-72).

SURGENT BREAKS KICKOFF RECORD: Senior Darryl Surgent returned three kickoffs for 81 yards at Western Kentucky to break Joe Redding's school record with 115 career kickoff returns. He enters the week with 2,552 kickoff return yards, needing 91 more to break the school record. Redding, who played from 1985-88, returned 114 kicks of a school-best 2,642 yards. Earlier in the year, Surgent set a record by returning a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown at Kansas State, the longest return in school history.

BROADWAY PASSES 4,000 YARD MARK: Despite throwing for 90 yards against WKU, his lowest career total as a starter, junior Terrance Broadway surpassed the 4,000 yard mark for his Cajuns career. In 19 career games (15 starts), Broadway has completed 297 of 458 passes for 4,085 yards and 28 touchdowns to become the eighth player in school history to topple the 4,000-yard mark.

McGUIRE VIES FOR SUN BELT FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Running back Elijah McGuire is making a strong case for Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors this season. The only non-kicker freshman ranked in the top 10 in any of the major Sun Belt stat categories, McGuire enters the week ranked seventh in the conference averaging 52.5 rushing yards per game. The Houma, La. native has carried 41 times for 315 yards and a league-best 7.7 average.

. . . AND McGUIRE LIKES CAJUN FIELD: Elijah McGuire is especially comfortable playing at Cajun Field, carrying 16 times for 195 yards and four touchdowns in the two games to date. He wowed the Cajun Field crowd against Nicholls State (Sept. 14), becoming the ninth true-freshman in school history to rush for 100 yards in a game. He carried nine times for 137 yards and three touchdowns, including a scintillating 42-yard scamper on which he dragged Nicholls defensive back Treavon Evans for almost 10 yards and then had to fight off another defender to get into the endzone. McGuire came back to carry seven times for 58 yards and a touchdown against Texas State.

A TOUGH NIGHT FOR RODNEY: The celebration over the Texas State win was a bit muted on Oct. 5 with the news that sixth-year defensive back Rodney Gillis will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a severe leg injury in the first half. Gillis, who ranked second in the Sun Belt with five interceptions and second on the team with 75 tackles last year, has been a leader in the rebuilt Cajuns secondary this fall. He saw little action in the first three games but came back to start the Akron and Texas State games as the secondary began to create a new identity. In four games, Gillis has made seven tackles, adding his sixth career interception in the Sept. 21 win at Akron.

ROBINSON PASSES 1,000 YARD MARK: By making four catches for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Texas State, junior receiver Jamal Robinson became the 19th receiver in school history to catch passes for more than 1,000 yards in a career. Robinson enters the Arkansas State game with 55 career catches for 1,110 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking 17th in receiving yards and 11th in touchdowns.

. . . AND AKRON IS A CAREER PERFORMANCE: The eight catches by Jamal Robinson at Akron on Sept. 21 broke his previous career high of six grabs set vs. East Carolina in the New Orleans Bowl last year. In addition, the two touchdown grabs was the second multiple-touchdown game in his career (at ULM in 2012) and the 124 yards was his fourth career game of 100 yards or more.

. . . AND ANOTHER 100-YARD GAME: The 114 yards receiving by Jamal Robinson against Texas State marked the fifth time in his career that the junior has caught passes for more than 100 yards in a game. It is his second straight 100-yard receiving effort, grabbing eight passes for 124 yards and two scores at Akron.

BRAUCHLE SETS TWO KICKING RECORDS: Sophomore kicker Stephen Brauchle broke one school record and equaled another by going 10-for-10 in extra point kicks against Nicholls State (Sept. 14). Brauchle broke the old school record of eight extra points shared by Drew Edmiston (at North Texas, 2008) and Mike Shafer (vs. UAB, 1995) and tied Al Hatteberg's record of 10 attempts set vs. Troy in 1946.

. . . AND COMES SHORT OF A THIRD: When Stephen Brauchle hit the right upright on his second PAT attempt of the game at WKU, it snapped his string of 27 consecutive extra points made. It was the fourth-longest successful single season streak in school history, trailing the record 35 straight by Drew Edmiston in 2008, the 30 straight by Tyler Albrecht in 2009 and 27 by Mike Lemoine in 1989. Two interesting notes. Edmiston ended his career by making his last 35 and Albrecht replace him, making his first 30 the next year before missing two straight in his final game of the year. Brett Baer, who holds the Louisiana records for PATs made (121) and attempted (129), owned streaks of 22, 23, 23, 23, and 24. The school record for consecutive extra points made over multiple seasons is 55 by Lemoine from 1988-90.

BROADWAY TO ROBINSON: The duo of Terrance Broadway and Jamal Robinson have hooked up for six touchdown passes this season and are quickly becoming one of the top quarterback-receiver combinations in school history. With three additional touchdowns last year, the duo have combined on nine touchdown passes during their careers, the fifth-highest total in school history. The current list is:

20 Jake Delhomme-Donald Richard (1994-96)
15 Jake Delhomme-Brandon Stokley (1995-96)
12 Roy Henry-David Oliver (1975-76)
10 Blaine Gautier-Ladarius Green (2010-11)
9 Terrance Broadway-Jamal Robinson (2012-SA)

THE LINE THAT PLAYS TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER: Although the offensive line features two new starters in 2013, Terrance Broadway should feel comfortable under center this year as the three returning starters each started all 13 games last year and played in better than 95% of the offensive snaps. Center Andre Huval and right guard Daniel Quave enter the week with 32-game starting streaks while left tackle Mykhael Quave has started 19 straight, including every game at left guard in 2012 before moving to tackle last spring. Junior Terry Johnson (LG) and sophomore Octravian Anderson (RT) made their first careers starts at Arkansas. This is just the third starting combination since Mark Hudspeth took over three years ago as the same five starters were used in all 13 games in each of his first two seasons and for the first six this year.

SIMEON THOMAS MAKES CAJUNS DEBUT: Louisiana freshman cornerback Simeon Thomas made his Cajuns debut against Texas State on Oct. 5, entering the game in the fourth quarter and making a pair of tackles. He came back to see reserve action against WKU. Thomas became eligible for the first time two days before the Akron game as the NCAA clarified his eligibility. The NCAA granted him a waiver on Sept. 19 but he did not see any action against the Zips. Thomas is considered by the coaches to be one of the top defenders among the freshman class this year.

BROADWAY SETS 300-YARD PASSING MARK: With back-to-back passing efforts of 305 yards at Akron (Sept. 21) and 335 vs. Texas State (Oct. 5), Terrance Broadway broke the school record with his fifth and sixth career 300-yard passing games. The efforts, the 31st and 32nd 300-yard games in school history, allowed the Baton Rouge native to break the mark of five 300-yard gamesheld by both Jake Delhomme (1993-96) and Blaine Gautier (2009-12). Broadway is just the 11th Cajuns player to throw for 300 yards in a game.

COMEBACKS COMPLETE FOR CARTER & SAVOIE: The Nicholls State game on Sept. 14 featured performances by Cajuns sophomores Montrel Carter and Adam Savoie, both of whom missed the 2012 season because of injury. Carter was the most visible of the two, starting at running back in the 2012 opener vs. Lamar and rushing six times for 27 yards before suffering a torn ACL. Against Nicholls State, he gained 64 yards on eight carries, including a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Savoie, the son of University president Dr. Joseph Savoie, redshirted in 2011 as a wide receiver and then suffered a shoulder injury during spring practice that kept him out of the entire 2012 season. On Saturday, Savoie played for the first time since the injury, catching a five-yard pass from D'Shaie Landor early in the fourth quarter.

RUSHING TO TOUCHDOWNS: The 456 yards rushing by the Cajuns against Nicholls State on Sept. 14 was the third-highest single game total in school history. It trailed the record 556 yards at ULM in 2008 and the 513 yards against Tulane in 1986. Prior to 1986, the highest single game rushing total by the Cajuns was 350 yards against Donae in 1970. The 10 touchdowns in the game broke the modern school record of eight vs. UAB (1995) and tied the all games record of 10 vs. Troy in 1946.

HARRIS PASSES 2,000 YARD MARK: A season-high 115-yard rushing effort at WKU, his seventh career 100-yard game, has allowed Alonzo Harris to become the sixth player in school history to rush for more the 2,000 yards in a career. Harris, who ranks second in the Sun Belt in rushing this season (74.0 ypg), enters the week ranked fourth in school history in rushing touchdowns (23) and eighth in attempts (410). His 67.5 yards rushing per game is third best, trailing only Tyrell Fenroy (101.0 from 2005-08) and Brian Mitchell (77.6 from 1986-89). Harris gained 700 yards as a freshman in 2011 and totalled 881 yards last season.

. . . AND THAT WAS SOME RUN FOR HARRIS: Alonzo Harris entered the Nicholls State game ranked 11th in school history with 1,711 yards rushing. On the third play of the game, he took a handoff from Terrance Broadway at his own 35 and by the time he got to the end zone, Harris had moved all the way up to eighth on the rushing chart. He passed Marcus Prier (1,714 yards from 1993-95), Thomas Jackson (1,738, 1983-85) and Jim Barton (1,771, 1967-69) on the run.

CAJUN FIELD SCORING RECORD FALLS: The 70-point explosion against Nicholls State on Sept. 14 shattered the Cajun Field record of 56 points set by the Cajuns in a 56-21 win over UAB on Sept. 9, 1995.

. . . AND SO DOES THE CONSECUTIVE HOME GAME MARK: When you add the 70 points scored against Nicholls State to the 52 points put on the scoreboard in the 2012 home finale vs. South Alabama, the Cajuns broke the Cajun Field record for consecutive home games with 122. The previous best came in 1995 when Louisiana scored 99 points in back-to-back games against UAB (56) and New Mexico State (43). The 122 points fell just shy of the program record of 128 set when the Cajuns shutout Lake Charles (75-0) in the 1943 season finale and came back to knock off LaGarde GH (53-0) to open the 1944 season.

. . . AND HOW ABOUT THE LAST THREE: The Cajuns are averaging 56.7 points a game (170 total) over its last three games at Cajun Field, scoring 52 last year vs. South Alabama, 70 against Nicholls State on Sept. 14 and 48 vs. Texas State on Oct. 5.

. . . AND MORE SCORING: The 10 touchdowns against Nicholls State tied the school record, originally set against Troy in 1946. The 70 points was the most by Louisiana since a 75-0 win over Lake Charles AAF on Nov. 3, 1943 and the 63-point margin of victory was the highest since topping Troy, 64-0 on Nov. 8, 1946.

A COMEBACK FOR STOVER: A feel-good moment of 2012 was the return of kickoff specialist Hunter Stover, who has taken over the kickoff chores. Stover kicked off 47 times in the first eight games for the Cajuns in 2011 before suffering a torn ACL in his right knee at WKU. The injury was nothing new to Stover. In high school, he tore the ACL in his left knee and a post-surgery infection required a second ACL replacement. The surgeries worked as Stover kicked off 40 times in 2012, recording a 62.7 average with 13 touchbacks. In the six games this year, Stover has kicked off 41 times for a 59.3 average with 12 touchbacks.

. . . AND STOVER DOESN'T JUST KICK: Hunter Stover's ability as a linebacker is the reason he was brought to Louisiana, but three ACL surgeries later, his days as a linebacker are over and he is limited to just kicking. Consequently, he has taken advantage of his only opportunities to hit an opponent by ranking second on the team in 2012 with eight special teams tackles. Through six games, Stover leads the team with five special teams tackles this year.

IT'S ANOTHER WINNER: The 9-4 mark in 2012 signaled back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since going 6-5 in 1988 and 7-4 in 1989, part of four consecutive winning seasons by Louisiana under Nelson Stokley. In his first nine seasons as a collegiate head coach, Mark Hudspeth has produced a winning record eight straight years.

THOMAS EXCELS IN FIRST STARTS: Junior Sean Thomas, who practiced for most of the preseason at cornerback, was a last-minute switch to safety at Arkansas and has started all but one game. He took advantage of his first start by making a career-high 13 tackles against the Razorbacks, three times more than his previous best of four tackles against FIU last year (9/29/12). He added nine tackles against both Kansas State (Sept. 7) and WKU (Oct. 15). He begins the week ranked second on the team with 34 tackles this year.

NEXT UP: Louisiana returns home for just the third time during the 2013 season, hosting New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 2 beginning at 4:00 p.m. CDT. The game, which will be televised on Cox 4 by the Ragin' Cajun Network and nationally on ESPN3, will serve as the 68th annual Homecoming game.

Ragin’ Cajuns To Play At Arkansas State On ESPN2

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