Game 6 Preview: The Arkansas State Game

LAFAYETTE - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team looks to build off a win in its Sun Belt Conference opener when it travels to Jonesboro, Ark., to face Arkansas State in a 7:05 p.m. nationally-televised contest on Tuesday at Centennial Bank Stadium.

The game will be televised on ESPN2 with Mike Corey (pxp) and Rocky Boiman (color) providing the commentary. The game can also be heard statewide on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network with Jay Walker (pxp), Richie Falgout (color) and Travis Webb (sideline) on the call.

Louisiana (2-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) used a 28-point third quarter to break free from a halftime tie and claim a 49-27 victory over Texas State in front of 21,377 on Oct. 10 at Cajun Field.

The Ragin' Cajuns won their Sun Belt opener for the eighth straight season while amassing a season-high 49 points and recording 526 yards of offense.

Junior running back Elijah McGuire piled up a season-high 170 yards on a career-high 28 carries. As a team, the Cajuns rushed for 288 yards surpassing 200-plus for the third time in five outings.

Junior quarterback Jalen Nixon had a career night finishing 22-of-29 for 238 yards and four touchdowns, including three through the air.

Louisiana faces an Arkansas State team (3-3, 2-0 Sun Belt) that rallied at South Alabama last Tuesday with a 29-point fourth-quarter eruption to post a 49-31 victory. The Red Wolves erased a 31-20 deficit with 13:12 remaining in the game by scoring four TDs - including two defensive scores - in a 5:17 span.

The Red Wolves forced five turnovers and registered six sacks as the league's third-ranked defense held South Alabama to 302 yards of total offense, including 103 in the second half.

Louisiana leads the all-time series against A-State that dates back to 1953, 23-19-1. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last two meetings (both on Tuesday night), including a 55-40 shootout in last year's contest at Cajun Field.

GAME INFORMATION
October 20, 2015 • 7:06 p.m. CDT • Jonesboro, Ark. • Centennial Bank Stadium (30,406)

-/- LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS (2-3, 1-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992)
Record at Louisiana: 38-19 (5th season), Career Record: 104-40 (12th year)

-/- ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES (3-3, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Blake Anderson (Sam Houston State, '92)
Record at A-State: 10-9 (2nd season), Career Record: Same

* Rankings listed at Amway Coaches' Poll/AP Poll

Series History: Louisiana leads all-time series, 23-19-1 ... A-State leads in games played in Jonesboro, 10-9-1 ... Ragin' Cajuns have won last two meetings in series, including 23-7 victory in Jonesboro in 2013.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
ESPN2: Mike Corey, PxP • Rocky Boiman, Analyst
Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network: Jay Walker, PxP • Richie Falgout, Analyst • Travis Webb, Sideline
In Lafayette: KPEL 1420-AM (Flagship); KHXT 107.9-FM
Affiliates: KTUX 98.9-FM (Shreveport); WGSO 990-AM (New Orleans); KJEF 1290-AM (Jennings); KLCL 1470-AM (Lake Charles); KRJO 1680-AM (Monroe); KTIB 640-AM (Thibodaux)
Live Stats/Audio: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns; Facebook: RaginCajunsAthletics;
YouTube: IAm4RaginCajuns; Instagram: ULRaginCajuns

GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• Louisiana is 519-532-34 against all opponents dating back to 1901.
• Current A-State head coach Blake Anderson was offensive coordinator at UL in 2007.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 4-0 in Tuesday night games since 2013, including a 3-0 mark on the road.
• Junior Elijah McGuire is 132 yards shy of passing Michael Desormeaux (2,843 yards) for fourth-place on the school's all-time rushing list and one yard in receiving to reach the 1,000-yard mark.
• Louisiana looks to win its first two Sun Belt Conference games for the fifth straight season.

DID YOU KNEAUX?
1 - Senior Dominique Tovell has started 37 games in his career for the Ragin' Cajuns, including 31 straight.
2 - Louisiana is 12-4 overall in games in the month of October since the arrival of head coach Mark Hudspeth.
3 - Louisiana's 38 wins since 2011 is tied with BYU and Arkansas State for the eighth-best total among schools in the Group of 5.
4 - Jamal Robinson is three yards shy of passing Wayde Butler (2,076) for sixth-place on the school's all-time list in receiving yards.
5 - Louisiana is 25-7 in Sun Belt Conference games since 2011.

NEXT UP
• Louisiana returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 31, when it plays host to ULM in the 70th annual Homecoming Game at Cajun Field. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE TEXAS STATE GAME
• Captains for the game were Al Riles (WR), Kevin Fouquier (LB), Trey Granier (LB) and Nick Byrne (TE).
• Jamal Robinson's 17-yard TD reception in the second quarter was his first TD since a fourth-quarter reception against Georgia State on Oct. 4, 2014. Robinson's third-quarter TD from Jalen Nixon marked the fifth multi-TD game of his career - and first since the Georgia State game in 2014.
• Nixon set career-bests for completions (22), passing yards (238) and passing TDs (3).
• Jeryl Brazil's 100-yard kickoff return in the third quarter tied Darryl Surgent (100 yards at Kansas State, 2013) for the longest kick return in Ragin' Cajuns history.
• Jerrell Richardson made his 2015 debut and was credited with a career-high three tackles.

QUAVE SIDELINED FOR THE SEASON; CHANGES ON THE O-LINE
• The most consistent area for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team will see changes in Saturday's game against Texas State after senior left guard Mykhael Quave was lost for the season with a torn rotator cuff.
• Quave, a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and two-time Lombardi Award nominee, injured his rotator cuff early in the first quarter in Louisiana's Oct. 3 game at Louisiana Tech.
•The loss of Quave, who started all 43 games in his Ragin' Cajuns career, will see the first mid-season change within the offensive line since 2011.
• Eddie Gordon, who has started the first four games at center for the Ragin' Cajuns, will move to Quave's left guard spot with another first-year starter - Grant Horst - moving from left tackle to center. Reserve lineman D'Aquin Withrow will move into the left tackle position for Louisiana with right guard Donovan Williams and right tackle Octravian Anderson remaining at their current spots.
• Anderson, a two-year starter, has started the last 30 games for Louisiana with Williams, who moved over to right guard replacing 52-game starter Daniel Quave, starting in 17 straight games after playing every game last season at left guard.

THE BOOK OF ELI
• Junior running back Elijah McGuire entered the 2015 season as one of the most decorated players to wear a Ragin' Cajuns uniform and after two games, has continued his assault on the record book.
• In his third season in a Ragin' Cajuns uniform, McGuire has rushed for 2,623 yards, ranking fifth on the school's all-time list. McGuire became the fourth player in school history (joining Tyrell Fenroy and former quarterbacks Brian Mitchell and Michael Desormeaux) to rush for over 1,000 yard in a season when he gained 1,264 yards in 2014.
• McGuire, the 2015 Preseason Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year, was the 2013 SBC Freshman of the Year and the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.
• This season, McGuire is a candidate for the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award, the Paul Hornung Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

SETTING A STANDARD
• In addition to four consecutive seasons of appearing in a bowl game, Mark Hudspeth has helped Louisiana tie the school record for wins in a season with nine.
• Prior to consecutive 9-4 records from 2011-14, the Cajuns set the school record for wins with a 9-2 record in both 1921 and 1976.
• The 37 wins in Hudspeth's first four years are the most in in school history.

CAJUNS HAVE ENJOYED BOWLING IN PAST FOUR SEASONS
• Louisiana is one of five schools nationally to have won a bowl/postseason game in each of the past four seasons.
• The Cajuns, with four victories in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, are part of a list that includes Michigan State (Outback, Buffalo Wild Wings, Rose, Cotton), Oregon (Rose, Fiesta, Alamo, Rose), South Carolina (Capitol One, Outback, Capitol One, Independence) and Texas A&M (Meinke Car Care, Cotton, Chick-Fil-A, Music City).
• With a 16-3 win over Nevada in the 2014 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Louisiana became the first school in NCAA history to win the same bowl game four consecutive years.

NEW DEFENSIVE STAFF
• A new defensive staff, led by defensive coordinator Melvin Smith, made its debut against Kentucky on Sept. 5. Smith, who serves as defensive backs coach, spent the past two years at Auburn.
• Smith is joined by former Auburn assistants Charlie Harbison (co-defensive coordinator/outside linebackers) and Levorn Harbin (defensive line) along with former Southeastern Louisiana head coach and veteran defensive coordinator Mike Lucas (inside linebackers).
• They replace former defensive coordinator James Willis (Asst. LB coach, New Orleans Saints), Tim Rebowe (head coach, Nicholls State), Matt Wallerstedt (DC, Charlotte) and Tim Edwards (DL, Buffalo).

"NEW KICKS" IMPRESSIVE IN RAGIN' CAJUNS DEBUT
• After losing both Hunter Stover and Daniel Cadona to graduation, the Ragin' Cajuns introduced a new kicking combo of true freshmen Stevie Artigue and Steven Coutts.
• Artigue, a four-time all-district and three-time Class 5A All-State selection at nearby Lafayette High School, has converted on 11 of 12 extra point attempts for the Ragin' Cajuns while going 2-for-3 in field goals.
• Coutts, the second Australian to sign with the Ragin' Cajuns in the past three years after following in the footsteps of Cadona, is third in the Sun Belt Conference in punting with a 43.2 average.

MR. ROBINSON IS BACK IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD
• After being limited to four games last season due to knee and foot injuries, senior Jamal Robinson has made a successful return to the lineup, catching 16 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
• Against Texas State on Oct. 10, Robinson recorded his first touchdown in over a year when he grabbed a 17-yard pass from Jalen Nixon in the final minute of the first half. The duo hooked up again in the third period with a go-ahead 31-yard TD strike, marking the fifth multi-TD game of Robinson's career.
• His 58-yard reception against Northwestern State was the third-longest of his career, following grabs of 86 yards (vs. Lamar) and 81 (at ULM) in 2012.
• The 2014 Biletnikoff Watch List candidate caught 15 passes with four touchdowns in four games last season before being sidelined for the remainder of the season with a foot injury at Texas State.
• The 2015 Preseason Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference candidate ranks ninth in school history with 118 receptions and is seventh overall in receiving yards (2,074). With three yards receiving, Robinson would pass Wayde Butler (2,076 yards from 1989-92) for sixth-place on the school's all-time list and is 34 yards shy of surpassing Javone Lawson (2,107, 2009-12) for fifth.

NEW FACILITIES FOR RAGIN' CAJUNS FOOTBALL
• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team officially moved into its new 100,000-square foot Student-Athlete Performance Center on September 13-14. The new building, which is part of the University's $115 million Athletics Facilities Master Plan that was unveiled in March of 2013, will house new offices and locker rooms for the Ragin' Cajuns football team, as well as a state-of-the-art Athletic Training Room, new weight room, new equipment room and 150-seat auditorium that will benefit all Ragin' Cajuns student-athletes.
• Ground was broken on the project in August of 2014 and is part of Tier 1 projects that included the expansion of Cajun Field. Upgrades at Cajun Field, which were completed prior to the 2014 season included the addition of seats in the South End Zone, raising capacity to 41,426, plus a new concession stands and restrooms in the South End Zone facility.
• Also included in Tier 1 were upgrades to the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility, that includes new locker rooms and coaches' offices for both the soccer and track and field programs, a new pressbox, restrooms, a concession stand and retail area.

NEW VOICES IN THE BOOTH
• New voices in the booth and on the sideline are just some of the changes fans will notice when they tune in to radio broadcasts of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns this fall, announced by rights-holder Townsquare Media of Lafayette.
• Former Ragin' Cajuns wide receiver Richie Falgout will join play by play voice Jay Walker (in his 24th year on the network) in the broadcast booth as color analyst, while KATC-TV sports anchor Travis Webb will serve as the radio network's sideline reporter.
• Steve Peloquin and Gerald Broussard will continue to be part of the broadcasts as they will serve as co-hosts of the two hour pre-game show, one hour of which will be broadcast on the eight-station Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network.
• Falgout, who was a wide receiver for the Cajuns from 2007-2010, begins his first year as part of the network broadcast team. Webb is in his eighth year at the local ABC affiliate. He also hosts the "Ragin' Cajuns All-Access" television show during the athletic year on KATC's CW affiliate Wednesday's at 9 p.m.

RAGIN' CAJUNS REPEAT AS SUN BELT ACADEMIC CHAMPS
• The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team earned the best cumulative grade point average among Sun Belt Conference schools for the second consecutive year as the league announced its Team GPA Awards for the 2014-15 academic year.
• Louisiana posted a 2.81 team GPA during the 2014-15 academic year to lead all football schools competing in the Sun Belt.
• During the Fall 2014 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns recorded their highest GPA in team history (2.923) and posted its sixth consecutive semester of 2.6 or higher. Fifty-two percent of the student-athletes on the roster earned a 3.0 GPA or higher during the fall with six players earning a 4.0, and 11 receiving their degree during Fall Commencement ceremonies.

SUN BELT RECEIVES FIFTH POSSIBLE BOWL DESTINATION
• The Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission announced the creation of the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. The bowl game will debut on Dec. 29, 2015 and will match two teams from the Mountain West Conference, Conference USA and the Sun Belt Conference. The game will be played at the University of Arizona's Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
• The NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl is the first-ever bowl game to have a digitally-focused broadcast strategy to be orchestrated by primary digital media partner Campus Insiders. Details and technology partnerships along with the television broadcast partner will be announced at a later date.
• The Sun Belt Conference has grown from having just one primary bowl game from 2001 through 2010 to now having four primary postseason bowl game tie-ins. The Cure Bowl, which will debut in 2015, the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the GoDaddy Bowl and the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl are the Sun Belt's primary bowl tie-ins. In addition the Sun Belt Conference is also part of a coalition that will send teams to the Miami Beach Bowl and the Bahamas Bowl on a rotating basis.

Game 6 Preview: The Arkansas State Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Octravian Anderson

Stevie Artigue

Jeryl Brazil

Nick Byrne

Daniel Cadona

Steven Coutts

Kevin Fouquier

Eddie Gordon

Trey Granier

Grant Horst

Elijah McGuire

Jalen Nixon

Daniel Quave

Mykhael Quave

Jerrell Richardson

Al Riles

Jamal Robinson

Hunter Stover

Dominique Tovell

Donovan Williams

D'Aquin Withrow

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