New Orleans Bowl Bound Cajuns Close Season at South Alabama

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 12: Louisiana (8-3, 5-1) at South Alabama (5-6, 3-3)
When:        Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013, 7:00 p.m. CST
Site:        Ladd-Peebles Stadium (FieldTurf, 33,471)
TV:        Ragin' Cajuns Network (Jeff Palermo, Scott Brazda & Jessica Poumaroux)
ESPN3.com (blacked out in Lafayette)
Radio:        Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network
(Steve Peloquin, Gerald Broussard & Dan McDonald)
        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, 1-0
Series:        Louisiana 52, South Alabama 30 (11/24/12 at Louisiana)
Coaches:
Louisiana
Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, '92)
Record at Louisiana: 26-11 (3rd year)
Overall Record: 92-32 (10th year)

South Alabama
Joey Jones (Tulsa, '83)
Record at USA: 30-21 (5th year)
Overall Record: 33-28 (6th year)

THE STORYLINE: After a bittersweet weekend that included claiming a share of its first Sun Belt Conference title since 2005 and receiving their third straight R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl invite and seeing their school-record eight-game win streak snapped with a 31-28 loss to ULM, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will be back in action this week. . . the Cajuns will close the 2013 regular-season at South Alabama on Saturday, Dec. 7 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CST in Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. . . the game will be televised by the Ragin' Cajuns Network with Jeff Palermo, Scott Brazda & Jessica Poumaroux providing the commentary. . .after earning a share of the SBC title last week when Arkansas State lost at WKU, the Ragin' Cajuns (8-3, 5-1) will be after their first outright league title this week when they face the Jaguars in the only Sun Belt game left in the regular season. . . freshman Elijah McGuire registered his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season (and third against an SBC opponent), carrying 14 times for 119 yards and a touchdown. . . South Alabama has won back-to-back games to improve to 5-6 and needs a win to become the seventh bowl eligible team in the Sun Belt. . . the Cajuns claimed the only previous meeting with South Alabama, a 52-30 decision in Cajun Field at the end of last season.

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 SIXTH AMONG FBS COACHES: Third-year Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth has made his mark nationally in a short time coaching, entering the week ranked sixth among active FBS coaches with a .742 winning percentage (92-32).

CAJUNS EXCEL AT CAJUN FIELD: The Cajuns ended the 2013 home schedule with a 4-1 record at home, giving them a 14-2 record at home in the 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.

17 CAJUNS TO PLAY FINAL REGULAR SEASON GAME: The South Alabama game will mark the final regular season contest in the careers of 17 Cajuns, six of whom are considered to be starters at their position.

NEW ORLEANS BOWL TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE: With a bowl destination now determined, the athletic department will continue to sell tickets for the Dec. 21 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a Friday, Dec. 6 deadline in place for priority seating for RCAF members, season ticket holders and members of the Alumni Association. After that date, all ticket purchases will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans interested in purchasing tickets can do so by downloading the form available on the Bowl Central page on RaginCajuns.com and follow the directions on the form before returning it the Cajundome Ticket Office. More information about tickets and the New Orleans Bowl events will be posted on Bowl Central as it becomes available.

HALFWAY TO THE TITLE: The Cajuns enter the South Alabama contest with one goal in mind. . . win the game to claim the outright Sun Belt title. The Cajuns (5-1), earned a share of their first league title since 2005 on Saturday when WKU claimed a last-second win over Arkansas State, but the loss to ULM kept the outright title away from them. With Louisiana playing in the only game left in the league regular schedule, the Cajuns will need a win over South Alabama to claim the outright title or finish in a tie with Arkansas State.

SETTING A STANDARD: In addition to the first-ever, back-to-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, and the 26 victories in the first three, are the most in a two and three-year period in school history.

. . . GOING FOR ANOTHER NINE: With an 8-3 record heading into the week, the Cajuns will be trying to tie the school record for wins in a season for the third straight year when they play at South Alabama on Saturday. 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.

. . . AND WIN STREAK ENDS AT EIGHT: The win over Georgia State on Nov. 16 allowed the Cajuns to tie the school record for consecutive victories with eight. It is the third time that Louisiana has won eight straight games, joining the 1976 squad that won its first eight contests, and the 1916-17 teams that won the final seven games of 1916 and the first contest in 1917. The win was also the school-record ninth straight Sun Belt win for Louisiana.

SURGENT EARNS SECOND KICKOFF RECORD: Senior Darryl Surgent returned four kickoffs for 135 yards against ULM on aturday to break the Louisiana career record for kickoff return yards in a career. Surgent, who already also owns the school mark with 125 kickoff returns, has 2,683 kickoff yards in his career. Joe Redding (1985-88) previously owned both reecords with 114 returns for 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.

A BAD BREAK FOR BROADWAY: Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth announced on Sunday (Dec. 1) that quarterback Terrance Broadway suffered a broken right (throwing) arm in fourth quarter against ULM and will miss the South Alabama game this week.

CAJUNS PREPARE THE HAACK ATTACK: Redshirt freshman quarterback Brooks Haack is expected to get the start for the Cajuns at South Alabama on Saturday, marking his first career start in just his fifth game. Haack saw mop-up duty at Arkansas State (2-3, 18 yds.) and at home against both Nicholls State (2-2, 10 yds) and Texas State (2-2, 21 yds). He saw his most extensive duty against ULM on Saturday, completing 10-of-14 passed for 126 yards and a touchdown in the final 10:28 of the game. For the year, Haack has completed 16-of-21 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, owning a passing efficiency of 161.9 (Broadway leads the league with a 157.0 efficiency).

. . . THE OTHER HAACK: For his first 16 months on campus, freshman quarterback Brooks Haack has been thought of as the "other" Haack, trying to get out of the shadow of his sister, Matte, who was a standout on the Ragin' Cajuns softball team. In two years (2012-13), Matte Haack hit .330 (124-376) with 22 home runs, 85 runs scored and 114 RBIs, starting 120 of the 121 games that Louisiana played. A two-time All-Sun Belt choice at first base, she helped guide the Cajuns to a 100-21 and two NCAA Super Regional appearances.

McGUIRE NEARS 100-YARD RECORD: When freshman Elijah McGuire picked up 119 yards rushing against ULM on Saturday, it marked the fourth time that he has gone over the 100-yard mark in a game. He begins the week needing one more 100-yard effort to tie Tyrell Fenroy's school record of five 100-yard games by a true-freshman, which was set in 2005.

CAJUNS LEAD SUN BELT IN ATTENDANCE: Saturday's crowd of 25,309 allowed the Cajuns to end the year drawing 129,878 fans for the five home games, an average of 25,976 per game. The average leads the Sun Belt this year, beating out second place Arkansas State (24,913) by 1,063 fans. It is also the second-highest single season average, trailing only the 29,171 from 2011. The total attendance was the seventh-highest total in school history with five of the other six being accomplished in seasons with at least six home games.

BROADWAY PASSES 5,000 YARD MARK: A 178-yard passing night against ULM has allowed junior Terrance Broadway to become just the fifth player in school history to throw for 5,000 yards in a career. In 24 career games (20 starts), Broadway has completed 360 of 562 passes for 5,118 yards and 36 touchdowns. He ranks first in passing yards per game (213.3), fourth in touchdowns, fifth in yards, sixth in completions and eighth in attempts.

McGUIRE EQUALS RUSH-RECEIVING FETE: When Elijah McGuire rushed for 107 yards and caught passes for 125 yards at Georgia State on Nov. 16, he became one of four players in the country this year (and the first in school history) to post the unusual 100-100 game. McGuire started the game by taking a forward handoff from Terrance Broadway and out-running the defense for an 80-yard touchdown catch. He later added a 36-yard touchdown on a screen pass and a 39-yard run. McGuire joins Sun Belt rivals Antonio Andrews from WKU and Georgia State's Albert Wilson, and Boise State's Jay Ajayi as the only FBS players to accomplish the fete this year.

SENIORS BREAK WIN RECORD: The win over Georgia State on Nov. 16 gave the current class of Ragin' Cajuns the distinction of being the winningest class in school history. The seniors carry a 29-20 record into this week's game, one win more than the 28-14 record posted by the Class of 1970. After a 3-9 season in 2010, this group of seniors have come back to record back-to-back 9-4 seasons in 2011 and 2012 and are 8-3 so far in 2013.

BROADWAY REACHS 5,000-1,000 MILESTONE: A 178-yard passing effort against ULM on Saturday allowed junior quarterback Terrance Broadway to become the third quarterback in school history to throw for 5,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career. Broadway has completed 360-of-562 passes for 5,118 yards and 36 touchdowns while also rushing 236 times for 1,190 yards and 17 scores. Broadway joins Brian Mitchell (5,447 yards passing, 3,335 rushing from 1986-89) and Jerry Babb (6,241 pass, 1,489 rush from 2003-06). Broadway is one of five Cajuns quarterbacks all-time to rush for 1,000 yards and he became the fifth to throw for 5,000 yards as well.

TOVELL TAKES OVER: Sophomore Dominique Tovell is quietly putting together a solid season for the Cajuns and should be in the running for All-Sun Belt recognition when the team is announced in two weeks. He ranks second on the team with 59 tackles (37 solo), including five or more tackles in seven of the last eight games. He leads the team and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 12 tackles for loss totalling -40 yards and is second with a pair of quarterback sacks.

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 13 touchdowns this year and he has 31 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 73.2 rushing yards per game. The Houma, La. native has carried 89 times for 805 yards, a league-best 9.0 average and seven touchdowns while catching 13 passes for 249 yards and three scores. 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. He has posted back-to-back 100-yard game at Georgia State (11-107) and ULM (15-119), his third and fourth 100-yatd games of the year. In Sun Belt games, McGuire has rushed 58 times for 567 yards and a 9.4 average, ranking second averaging 91.2 yards per game.

. . . AND McGUIRE MAINTAINS 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 60 times for 585 yards (9.75 avg.). McGuire has carried 89 times for 805 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 LOVES CAJUN FIELD: Elijah McGuire is especially comfortable playing at Cajun Field, carrying 44 times for 468 yards, a 10.6 average and seven touchdowns in the five 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. He closed the home schedule against ULM, picking up 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

McGUIRE & THE BIG PLAY: Freshman Elijah McGuire scored touchdowns on catches of 36 and 80 yards at Georgia State while adding a 39-yard carry, giving him 15 plays of 20 yards or more this season. He has 10 runs of 20+ yards, including touchdowns of 51, 42 and 38 yards and five 20+ yard receptions, including touchdown grabs of 36, 60 and 80 yards. He has touched the ball on offense 102 times this year, accumulating 1,084 yards and a 10.6 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 seven more to begin the week with a 507-524-34 record.

CAJUN FIELD SCORING RECORD FALLS: Despite a home season-low 28 points against ULM on Saturday, the Cajuns broke the Cajun Field record for points scored at home in a single season with 236. The Cajuns scored 40 or more points in each of the first four home games, including a stadium record 70 points in the home-opening win over Nicholls State. The 229 points breaks the old mark of the 216 that were scored in five games in 1995. This 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. The home average of 47.2 points a game breaks the previous stadium record of 43.2 set in 1995.

BRAUCHLE NEARS EXTRA POINT RECORDS: Sophomore Stephen Brauchle has had an impact on the record books in his first season with the Cajuns. He enters the South Alabama game three extra points made and four attempts away from breaking Brett Baer's school records of 53 extra points made and 56 attempted, which was set last year. These would not be Brauchle's first record. In his Louisiana home debut on Sept. 14, he set a school record with 10 extra points made and tied the mark with 10 extra points attempted.

NEXT UP: The Ragin' Cajuns will have two weeks to prepare for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 21 beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

New Orleans Bowl Bound Cajuns Close Season at South Alabama

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