GAME 6 PREVIEW: Appalachian State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team will return to action after an 11-day layoff when it plays host to Sun Belt Conference rival Appalachian State in a nationally-televised contest on Wednesday at Cajun Field.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN2. The game is also available statewide on the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network.

The game is designated a "White Out" and is Youth Football Night where all football teams (for kids in 8th grade and below) are admitted free by wearing their official team jersey (all teams must enter together). At halftime, Grammy Award winner Wayne Toups will perform with the Pride of Acadiana Marching Band.

Louisiana (2-3, 1-1 SBC) returns to action after dropping a 37-31 double overtime decision at New Mexico State on Oct. 1.

Elijah McGuire, who is second in school history in rushing (3,702), all-purpose yards (5,183) and scoring (288), enters the game against Appalachian State (1-3, 0-1 SBC) needing 49 yards to pass Tyrell Fenroy in all-purpose yards and a touchdown in scoring.

GAME 6
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2-3, 1-1 SBC) at Appalachian State Mountaineers (3-2, 1-0 SBC)
Oct. 12, 2016 • 7:05 p.m. CT • Lafayette, La. • Cajun Field (41,426)

RADIO/TV
ESPN2 • Chris Cotter (PXP) • Rocky Boiman (Analyst) • Quint Kessenich (Sideline)
KPEL 1420 AM • Jay Walker (PXP) • Richie Falgout (Analyst) • Travis Webb (Sideline)

THE SERIES
Series History: Appalachian State leads, 2-0
In Lafayette: App State leads, 1-0 | In Boone: App State leads, 1-0 |
First Meeting: Nov. 22, 2014 at Lafayette • Appalachian State, 35-16
Last Meeting: Nov. 28, 2015 at Boone, N.C. • Appalachian State, 28-7

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992) • @ULCoachHud
Record at UL: 20-27* (sixth season), Career Record: 86-48* (13th season)

APPALACHIAN STATE
Head Coach: Scott Satterfield (Appalachian State, 1996)
Record at App State: 25-17 (4th season), Career Record: Same

5 THINGS TO KNOW
Elijah McGuire enters tonight's game needing 49 all-purpose yards to pass Tyrell Fenroy (5,231) as the Ragin' Cajuns all-time leader.
Tonight's game pits the No. 3 (Marcus Cox) and No. 4 (Elijah McGuire) active FBS players in all-purpose yards.
Louisiana's contest at New Mexico State marked the first time in school history the Ragin' Cajuns played back-to-back overtime games.
Louisiana's 16 sacks on defense through five games in 2016 is six off the total (22) set during the entire 2015 campaign.
Kicker Stevie Artigue (10 field goals) has surpassed his total set as a freshman (8) in 2015.

GAME NOTES
THE SERIES
• Tonight's contest is the third meeting between Louisiana and Appalachian State with the Mountaineers holding a 2-0 lead.
• The teams first met in Lafayette during the 2014 season with Appalachian State handing the Ragin' Cajuns their only loss (35-16) in the final nine games of the season.
• Appalachian State claimed the first-ever meeting between the schools in Boone with a 28-7 win on Nov. 28, 2015.

THE LAST MEETING - Appalachian State 27, Louisiana 7 (Nov. 28, 2015 • Boone, N.C.)
• Marcus Cox rushed for 78 yards on 22 carries and scored on a pair of first half touchdowns as Appalachian State used a strong defensive effort to defeat the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns 28-7 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
• Taylor Lamb completed 14-of-21 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown as Appalachian State (9-2, 6-1 Sun Belt) gained 402 yards of total offense while holding Louisiana (4-7, 3-4 Sun Belt) to a season-low 246, including a season-low 42 on the ground.
• After being forced to punt on eight of its first nine drives, Louisiana scored on its final drive – and avoided the shuout – when redshirt freshman Jordan Davis engineered a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Davis, who completed all seven of his passes for 60 yards, capped the scoring drive when he took a quarterback draw and raced 20 yards for his first career touchdown.
• Jalin Moore, who gained a game-high 104 yards on the ground, gave the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead in the third quarter when his 54-yard touchdown run capped off a four-play, 68-yard drive.
• Brooks Haack finished 13-for-22 passing for 128 yards while Jamal Robinson caught a game-high seven passes for 66 yards. Elijah McGuire led Louisiana ground attack with 43 yards rushing on 16 carries. Lee (9 tackles) and Dominique Tovell (8 tackles, 1 TFL) led the Ragin' Cajuns defensive effort.

22 CAJUNS MAKE DEBUT VS. BOISE STATE
• In the Ragin' Cajuns 2016 debut against Boise State on Sept. 3, 22 players made their debut in the vermilion and white.
• Making their debuts in the 2016 opener were: WR Ja'Marcus Bradley; LG Robert Hunt; QB Anthony Jennings; FS Denarius Howard; DB Damer'ren Mitchell; DB Levarious Varnado; DB Blair Brooks; LB Alonzo Brown; LS Sterling Miller; LB Joe Dillon; WR Michael Jacquet; RB Raymond Calais; FS Artez Williams; RB Jordan Wright; LB Terik Miller; DE Jarvis Jeffries; DE Trevara Miller; OL Raynard Ford, OL Kevin Dotson, DE Kevon Perry; DT David Lemoto, DT Tra'Vontae Booker.
• Eight players earned their first career start for the Ragin' Cajuns against Boise State: WR Ja'Marcus Bradley; LG Robert Hunt; WR Keenan Barnes; QB Anthony Jennings; DE Mario Osborne; WLB Trey Granier; FS Denarius Howard; CB Simeon Thomas.

YOUTH MOVEMENT FOR THE CAJUNS
• A total of 28 new players have made at least one appearance for the Ragin' Cajuns during the 2016 season.
• Along with the 22 players (see above) who made their debut against Boise State, six players have seen action during Louisiana's past four games:

• LB Shay LaPorte and TE Carlos Robinson vs. McNeese State
• LB Tanner Holmes and LB Jacques Boudreaux vs. South Alabama
• OL Craig Smith vs. Tulane
• QB Dion Ray vs. New Mexico State

NOTES FROM THE NEW MEXICO STATE GAME
• Captains were Nick Byrne (TE), Darius Hoggins (RB), Troy McCollum (DB), Tracy Walker (DB).
• Louisiana won the coin toss (now 2-3 on season) and deferred to second half.
• Darius Hoggins' 81 yards on the ground marked a career-high (previous mark was 58 yards vs. Northwestern State, 9/12/2015).
• Al Riles' 110 yards receiving marked his second 100-yard performance in the past three games (139 vs. South Alabama).
• Jordan Wright's 7-yard TD run in the third quarter was the first of his career.
• Tackles by Tre'maine Lightfoot (18), Otha Peters (17) and Joe Dillon (10) marked career-highs for all three.
• Redshirt freshman Dion Ray (one of 28 players) made his first career appearance, rushing for 1 yard out of the "Wildcat" formation.
• LB Trey Granier and DB Simeon Thomas each recorded their first career interceptions for the Ragin' Cajuns.
• Jared Johnson's successful 2-point conversion in the third quarter marked the first points scored by the junior since catching a pair of TD passes at New Mexico State in 2014.
• Steven Coutts' 48.3 average on seven punts marked a season high. The sophomore boomed a career-high tying 64-yard punt in the third quarter and had four punts land inside the NM State 20-yard line.
• DE Trevara Miller earned his first career start.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Stevie Artigue

Keenan Barnes

Tra'Vontae Booker

Jacques Boudreaux

Ja'Marcus Bradley

Blair Brooks

Alonzo Brown

Nick Byrne

Raymond Calais

Steven Coutts

Jordan Davis

Joe Dillon

Kevin Dotson

Raynard Ford

Trey Granier

Brooks Haack

Darius Hoggins

Tanner Holmes

Denarius Howard

Robert Hunt

Michael Jacquet III

Jarvis Jeffries

Anthony Jennings

Jared Johnson

Shay LaPorte

David Lemoto

Tre'maine Lightfoot

Troy McCollum

Elijah McGuire

Sterling Miller

Terik Miller

Mario Osborne

Kevon Perry

Otha Peters

Dion Ray

Al Riles

Carlos Robinson

Jamal Robinson

Craig Smith

Simeon Thomas

Dominique Tovell

Levarious Varnado

Tracy Walker

Artez Williams

Jordan Wright

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