Louisiana Travels To Take On Georgia State

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 10:
Louisiana (7-2, 4-0) at Georgia State (0-9, 0-4)
When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Georgia Dome (FieldTurf, 28,155)
TV: ESPN3 (Ryan Rose & Warrick Dunn)
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: First Meeting

The Coaches:
Louisiana
Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, '92)
Record at Louisiana: 25-10 (3rd year)
Overall Record: 91-31 (10th year)

Georgia State
Trent Miles (Indiana State, '87)
Record at GSU: 0-9 (1st year)
Overall Record: 20-45 (6th year)

THE STORYLINE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns continue their quest for their second Sun Belt Conference title when they travel to Atlanta, Ga. to face league newcomer Georgia State on Saturday, Nov. 16 beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST (1:00 p.m. in Lafayette) in the Georgia Dome. . . the game will be televised on the internet by ESPN3 with Ryan Rose and Warrick Dunn providing the commentary. . . Louisiana received seven votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, good for 30th place. . . the Cajuns will put a seven-game win streak on the line this week and will attempt to win eight straight games for the first time since 1976. . . Louisiana has also won eight straight Sun Belt games going back to last season. . . with three games left in the season, the Cajuns need to either win two games or win once along with an Arkansas State defeat to clinch a share of the league title. . . Darryl Surgent returned a punt for a touchdown for the second time in his career in Louisiana's 41-36 win over Troy to earn Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this year. . . freshman Elijah McGuire rushed seven times for 82 yards and a touchdown and caught a 60-yard TD pass in the win. . . this will be the first meeting with Georgia State (0-9, 0-4), who joined the Sun Belt this year along with Texas State.

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.

HUDSPETH RANKED FIFTH AMONG FBS COACHES: Third-year Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth has made his mark nationally in a short time coaching, entering the week ranked fifth among active FBS coaches with a .746 winning percentage (91-31).

SERIES VS. GEORGIA STATE: Saturday's game will be the first gridiron meeting between Louisiana and Georgia State. The Panthers joined the Sun Belt this fall in all sports and are in the process of reclassifying to the FBS level.

THE QUEST FOR THE CROWN: With three games left in the regular season, the Cajuns are in a good position to win their second Sun Belt Conference title. With a 4-0 record, Louisiana is the only undefeated school left in the Sun Belt with second place Arkansas State (3-1) the only school left with just one loss. Louisiana can clinch the outright title with wins in each of its last three games or clinch a share of the crown with either two wins or one win and one Arkansas State loss.

CAJUNS EXCEL AT CAJUN FIELD: The win over Troy on Thursday (Nov. 7) extended its current win streak in the facility to six and improved the Cajuns to 14-1 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.

SETTING A STANDARD: In addition to the first-ever back-to-back seasons appearing in a bowl game, Mark Hudspeth has helped Louisiana to tie the school record for wins in a season with nine. Prior to the 9-4 mark in 2011, the Cajuns set the school record for wins with a 9-2 record in both 1921 and 1976. The 18 wins in Hudspeth's first two years is the most in a two-year period in school history.

. . . AND CAJUNS ARE BOWL ELIGIBLE AGAIN: With a 7-2 record heading into the week, the Cajuns are eligible to receive a bowl bid for the third straight year. The last time that Louisiana had six or more wins in three straight seasons came from 1993-95 when Nelson Stokley guided the Cajuns to three straight winning seasons, including a pair of Big West Conference titles.

STREAKING: The Ragin' Cajuns will put a couple win streaks on the line against Georgia State. Louisiana enters the game having won seven straight games, one shy6 of the school record set in 1976 when the Cajuns rattled off wins in each of the first eight games. The Ragin' Cajuns have also won eight straight Sun Belt victories going back to last year, a streak that started following a 50-27 home loss to Arkansas State.

AT HOME IN THE DOME: Saturday's game will be the first for the Cajuns in the Georgia Dome, but indoor stadiums are nothing new to Louisiana. With victories in back-to-back New Orleans Bowls, which were played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Cajuns are now 7-10 all-time while playing indoors. This will be the fourth indoor stadium that the Cajuns will play in, owning a 6-7 record in the Superdome, a 1-1 mark in the Idaho's Kibbie Dome and a 0-2 record in the Minneapolis Metrodome.

SENIORS EQUAL WIN RECORD: When the Cajuns seniors are feted before the Nov. 30 home game against ULM, they will be honored as the winningest senior class in school history. The win over Troy improved the senior class to 28-19 over their Ragin' Cajuns career, equalling the school record for wins over a four-year period. The Class of 2013 shares the distinction with the 1970 seniors, who were 28-14 over their four seasons.

HARRIS & BRAUCHLE. . . A ONE-TWO SCORING PUNCH: The Cajuns duo of Alonzo Harris and Stephen Brauchle begin the week ranked first and second in the Sun Belt this season in scoring. Harris has 12 touchdowns for 72 points to rank 41st nationally. Brauchle has nine field goals and 42 extra points to rank 72nd nationally with 66 points.

HARRIS HAS A RECORD DAY: When Alonzo Harris broke free for a 30-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds left against New Mexico State on Nov. 2, it allowed the junior to equal the school record with five rushing touchdowns in the game. Brian Mitchell originally set the record vs. Lamar in 1989. Harris leads the Sun Belt with 12 touchdowns this year and he has 30 rushing touchdowns in his career. He ranks fifth on the single season rushing touchdowns list and third for his career.

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 five in any of the major Sun Belt stat categories, McGuire enters the week ranked fourth in the conference averaging 64.3 rushing yards per game. The Houma, La. native has carried 64 times for 579 yards, a league-best 9.0 average and six touchdowns. He gained a career-high 137 yards with three touchdowns against Nicholls State and added 110 yards, including a career-long 70 yard rush, on 10 carries at Arkansas State. In Sun Belt games, McGuire has rushed 33 times for 321 yards, a 9.7 average and 80.3 yards per game.

. . . AND McGUIRE RAISES HIS AVERAGE: The statistic that stands out the most about Elijah McGuire's season is that the freshman is averaging 9.0 yards per carry, the second-highest average in the country this year. McGuire trails only Auburn's Corey Grant, who has carried 50 times for 504 yards (10.08 avg.). McGuire has carried 64 times for 579 yards this year and his average is ahead of the current school record of 7.7 yards per carry, which was set by F.G. Mixon in 1951. The modern school record is 7.2 yards per carry set by Michael Desormeaux (144-1,035-7.2) in 2008.

McGUIRE EXCELS AT CAJUN FIELD: Elijah McGuire is especially comfortable playing at Cajun Field, carrying 29 times for 349 yards, a 12.0 average and six touchdowns in the four 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, six times for 72 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown, against New Mexico State and seven times for 82 yards and a 38-yard TD vs. Troy.

McGUIRE AND THE BIG PLAY: Freshman Elijah McGuire scored touchdowns on a 38-yard run and a 60-yard reception against Troy, giving him 10 plays of 20 yards or more this season. He has eight runs of 20+ yards, including touchdowns of 51, 42 and 38 yards and three 20+ yard receptions, including a 60-yard touchdown grab. He has touched the ball on offense 69 times this year, accumulating 694 yards and a 10.1 average.

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 six more to begin the week with a 506-523-34 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 coaching staff.

. . . AND A MEMORABLE GROUND-BREAKING: Fans attending the game against Troy on Nov. 7 were surprised at the start of the halftime ceremonies by a ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium end zone project that will add approximately 6,000 seats to the south end zone of Cajun Field. With the help of a back hoe, University President Dr. Joseph Savoie, Director of Athletics Scott Farmer and RCAF Chair John Bordelon turned some soil and tossed it into the back hoe to symoblize the start of the project. Actual construction will begin shortly after the final game of the year on Nov. 30 with work being completed in time for the 2014 home opener against Southern on Aug. 30. As for the Athletic Performance Center, construction should begin in early 2014 with completion of the project by football signing day in Feb., 2015.

CAJUNS MOVE UP TO 18th IN RUSHING: With the majority of the rushing attack back this year, the Cajuns have taken another jump in the rushing stats. Through nine games, Louisiana has gained 2,007 yards on 404 carries for a healthy 5.0 yards per carry. The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt and rank 18th in the nation averaging 223.0 yards per game. (and 231.0 in four Sun Belt games) 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) from a team that ranked second in the Sun Belt and 34th in the nation averaging 193.5 yards per game.

CAJUN FIELD SCORING RECORD IN JEOPARDY: Having scored 40 points or more in all four home games this season, the Cajuns are within eight points of breaking the school and Cajun Field record for points scored at home in a single season. In four home games, Louisiana has scored 208 points, eight shy of the record 216 points that were scored in five games in 1995. The 208 points is only the third time that the Cajuns have scored over 200 points at home in a single season, the third coming in 1923 when Louisiana tallied 206 points in five games. Averaging 52.0 points a game at home this year, the Cajuns are well ahead of the record average of 43.2 set in 1995.

. . . SINGLE & MULTIPLE GAME RECORDS FALL AS WELL: The 70-point explosion against Nicholls State on Sept. 14 shattered the previous Cajun Field record of 56 points set by the Cajuns in a 56-21 win over UAB on Sept. 9, 1995. When you add a 52-point effort in the 2012 home finale against South Alabama, the third-highest single game scoring total in Cajun Field, and the 122 points in consecutive home games easily sets the stadium record. Add in the 48 points vs. Texas State and the 170 points is the three-game record and the 49 points vs. New Mexico State would make the four-game record 171 points.

. . . AND LOOKING AT THE GAMES INDIVIDUALLY: Louisiana has played 230 games in Cajun Field since it opened in 1971 with the four games played to date in 2013 each ranking among the top 23 point totals in stadium history. The 70 points vs. Nicholls State is the current stadium record with the 49-point effort vs. New Mexico State ranking third, the 48 points against Texas State ranked seventh and the 41 points against Troy being tied for 23rd.

NEXT UP: The Ragin' Cajuns will take their final break of the 2013 season, taking Nov. 23 off before closing out the home schedule against ULM on Saturday, Nov. 30 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Cajun Field. The game, which will be Senior Night, will be televised by the Sun Belt Network throughout Louisiana as the Sun Belt Game of the Week.

Louisiana Travels To Take On Georgia State

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