GAME PREVIEW: The South Alabama Game

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns wrap up a season-opening three-game homestand on Saturday when it plays host to South Alabama at Cajun Field.

Kickoff for the game, which is presented by Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 with Joel Meyers (play-by-play) and Brian Kinchen (analyst) on the call. The game will also be carried statewide on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network with Jay Walker (play-by-play), Richie Falgout (color) and Travis Webb (sideline) providing the commentary.

Single-game and season tickets are currently on sale at the Cajundome Box Office (337-265-2357) and on-line at RaginCajuns.com.

Fans can take advantage of an "Early Bird" discount by purchasing their tickets prior to gameday. Reserved tickets purchased prior to midnight before each home game are $26 with general admission tickets $21. Tickets purchased on game day are $31 (Reserved) and $26 (General Admission).

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns athletic department and Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center are coming together for Acadiana to provide "Two-For-One" tickets to flood victims for the Ragin' Cajuns football game against South Alabama.

Tickets must be purchased in person only, while supplies last, at the Cajundome Box Office from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Fans who were affected by the flooding are asked to mention the "Our Lady of Lourdes" ticket promotion when purchasing tickets.

Individual tickets purchased before Saturday are $26 (reserved) and $21 (general admission).

Our Lady of Lourdes, a member of the Athletic Healthcare Alliance, will be giving away pom poms at all entrance gates at Cajun Field.

GAME 3
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (1-1, 0-0 SBC) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (1-1, 0-1 SBC)
Sept. 17, 2016 • 6:05 p.m. • Lafayette, La. • Cajun Field (41,426)

RADIO/TV
ESPN3 • Joel Meyers (PXP) • Brian Kinchen (Analyst)
KPEL 1420 AM • Jay Walker (PXP) • Richie Falgout (Analyst) • Travis Webb (Sideline)

THE SERIES
Series History: Series tied, 2-2
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 2-0 | In Mobile: South Alabama leads, 2-0
First Meeting: Louisiana won, 52-30; Nov. 24, 2012 at Lafayette
Last Meeting: South Alabama won, 32-25; Nov. 12, 2015 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium

THE COACHES
Louisiana
Head Coach: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992) • @ULCoachHud
Record at UL: 19-25 (sixth season), Career Record: 85-46 (13th season)

South Alabama
Head Coach: Joey Jones (Alabama, 1989)
Record at South Alabama: 43-36 (8th season), Career Record: 46-43 (9th season)

5 THINGS TO KNOW
Louisiana is in the midst of its first three-game homestand to start the season since 1988.

With his next touchdown, Elijah McGuire (264 points) will tie Alonzo Harris (270) for third-place in school history in scoring.

Anthony Jennings' two rushing TDs on Saturday were his first since competing for LSU in the 2014 Outback Bowl (vs. Iowa).

Saturday's game against South Alabama is the earliest the schools have played with the previous four meetings taking place in either November or December.

Travis Crawford has recorded back-to-back games with double-digit tackles for the first time in his career.

GAME NOTES
NOTES FROM THE McNEESE STATE GAME
• Captains were Al Riles (WR), Jalen Nixon (QB), Travis Crawford (DB) and Trey Granier (LB).
• McNeese State won the toss and elected to receive.
• Anthony Jennings' 3-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter was his first since the 2014 Outback Bowl (vs. Iowa).
• Jarvis Jeffries recovered a first-quarter fumble that resulted in a 17-yard TD pass from Anthony Jennings to Ja'Marcus Bradley for a 7-3 lead.
• Freshman Raymond Calais scored his first career TD - a 7-yard run - that gave Louisiana a 21-15 lead in the third quarter.
• The game was delayed for 42 minutes (1:25 of third quarter) due to lightning in the area.
• Kevin Dotson (RG), Trev Miller (DE), Kevon Perry (NT) and Damar'ren Mitchell (SAM) each earned their first career starts.
• Shay LaPorte (LB) and Carlos Robinson (TE) each made their first career appearances for the Ragin' Cajuns.
• Travis Crawford set a career-high in tackles (11), breaking his previous high (10) set the week before against Boise State.
• Louisiana did not commit a turnover for the second straight game, marking the first time to post two straight games with no turnovers since the end of the 2014 season (at Troy, vs. Nevada).
• The Ragin' Cajuns did not allow a touchdown pass for the first time since facing Nevada in the 2014 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
• Game MVPs were: Offense - Elijah McGuire; Defense - Travis Crawford/Trevara Miller; Special Teams - Reggie Miles.

Quarterback Notebook
• Senior transfer Anthony Jennings accounted for three of the Cajuns four touchdowns in the win against McNeese. His two rushing touchdowns are a career-best. The last time Jennings rushed for a touchdown was in the first quarter of the 2013 Outback Bowl against Iowa.
• Jennings has thrown for a touchdown in each of the two games in 2016.
• Jennings saw his first career action for the Ragin' Cajuns in the season opener against Boise State. He threw for 186 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos.
• Jennings also rushed 16 times in the contest picking up 18 yards on the ground despite losing 38 yards on five sacks.

Running Back Notebook
• Senior Elijah McGuire ranks fourth all-time on the Ragin' Cajuns career scoring list with 264 points in three seasons. He needs six points to equal former teammate Alonzo Harris for third with 270 points. Brian Mitchell ranks second all-time with 286 points, while Tyrell Fenroy holds the school record with 294 points in four seasons.
• McGuire moved into second all-time in career rushing yards with 3,370 in over three seasons. He passed up former teammate Alonzo Harris to move into third place and then eclipsed Brian Mitchell's 3,335 yards on the ground for second place. McGuire is 1,276 yards back of Tyrell Fenroy for the school record of 4,646.
• McGuire posted his 13th career 100-yard game against McNeese rushing for 139 yards on 19 carries.
• McGuire ranks eighth nationally in active career rushing yards and fifth in active career touchdowns.

Wide Receiver Notebook
• Former Ragin' Cajuns quarterback Michael Desormeaux takes over as the new wide receivers coach in 2016. Desormeaux ranks fifth all-time in career rushing yards and ninth in passing yards in school history.
• Five Cajuns receivers caught at least one pass in the win over McNeese led by freshman Ja'Marcus Bradley who had a team-best 97 yards and a touchdown on a six receptions.
• Bradley also led the Cajuns receiving corps in receptions against Boise State hauling in three grabs for 50 yards including a team-best 36-yard reception in the second quarter.
• Bradley joins Gabe Fuselier as the only freshmen to catch a touchdown pass in the Hudspeth era.
• Sophomore Keenan Barnes posted the only touchdown for the Cajuns against Boise State. He made just one catch for 27 yards in 2015 seeing action in nine games as a true freshman.

Tight End Notebook
• Both senior Nick Byrne and sophomore Matt Barnes recorded a pair of receptions against Boise State.
• Byrne has accounted for 18 of the 21 catches among returning players at the position.
• Byrne has 138 yards receiving in four seasons posting a career-best 83 yards in 2015.
• Byrne saw action in all 12 games a year ago making 11 starts.

Offensive Line Notebook
• The Ragin' Cajuns return five offensive linemen who made at least one start in 2015 with senior Eddie Gordon and junior Grant Horst making double-digit starts.
• Gordon started in all 12 games in 2015 including 11 starts at center. He appeared in six games as a reserve lineman in 2014 at both center and right guard.
• Horst started in 10 games during the season at four different positions: left tackle (5), left guard (3), center (1) and right guard (1). He appeared in six games as a freshman as a reserve offensive lineman.
• Junior D'Aquin Withrow played in nine games during the season. He started in seven straight games for the Cajuns at left tackle.
• Kevin Dotson made his first career start against McNeese at right guard.

Defensive Line Notebook
• The Ragin' Cajuns made a change from a three defensive lineman scheme against Boise State to a four defensive lineman look against McNeese.
• Juniors Taboris Lee and Trev Miller both had five tackles in the win over McNeese. Miller had a career game posting 3.5 tackles-for-loss (TFL) and 3.0 sacks. Miller's three sacks gives him the team lead and equals the most sacks by any defensive lineman in all of the 2015 season.
• Sophomore Mario Osborne had a career-high four stops including 2.0 TFL against the Cowboys.

Linebacker Notebook
• Senior Otha Peters takes over as both the leader of the linebacker corps and the defense with the departure of Dominique Tovell. Peters was the third-leading tackler for the Ragin' Cajuns a year ago, recording 68 stops (41 solo) and six tackles-for-loss (TFL).
• An honorable mention All-Sun Belt selection in 2015, Peters was tabbed to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team.
• Senior Trey Granier had the second most tackles by a Cajuns player in the win over McNeese posting eight stops including a TFL and sack.
• Senior Tre'maine Lightfoot also had a good showing against the Cowboys registering seven tackles with 1.0 TFL. He had six stops including 1.5 TFL and a half sack against Boise State.
• Peters had the second most tackles against Boise State with eight stops including a team-best 2.0 TFL.

Secondary Notebook
• Junior Travis Crawford leads the Cajuns in tackles with 21 after registering a team-high for tackles in back-to-back games with a career-best 11 stops against McNeese. He had a team-best 10 tackles against Boise State in the season opener.
• Crawford played in 11 games for the Ragin' Cajuns, earning seven starts in 2015. He finished the season in fifth on the team in tackles (45) while also registering four pass breakups.
• Senior Savion Brown was tabbed to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team. He received second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2015.
• Brown posted 43 tackles, three interceptions, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery in his junior campaign.
• Brown's three interceptions ranked tied for fifth in the Sun Belt, while his six pass breakups was tied for second best on the squad a year ago.
• Brown recorded a season-high seven tackles and ran back an interception 85 yards for a pick six at South Alabama. The interception return is the fifth-longest in school history.
• Junior Tracy Walker returned to the secondary against McNeese after moving to linebacker to start the season against Boise State turning in three tackles against the Broncos.

Kicking Notebook
• Sophomore Stevie Artigue connected on his only attempt against McNeese with a 17-yard field goal. He went 1-for-2 on a pair of 44-yard field goal attempts against Boise State.
• Artigue served as the team's primary kicking specialist as a true freshman, converting 26 for 28 PAT attempts and 8 of 15 field goals.
• Artigue finished second on the team in scoring with 50 points.

Punting Notebook
• Sophomore Steven Coutts averaged just 36.5 yards on four punts against McNeese after opening the season with a 45.2-yard average on six punts against Boise State. He is coming off of a stellar freshman campaign where he averaged 42.4 yards per attempt – the third-best average among all NCAA Division I freshmen.
• Coutts pinned two of his six punts against the Broncos inside the 20 and had a game-best 54 yard punt in the first half.

Special Teams Notebook
• True freshman Raymond Calais returned kicks for the second straight contest. He posted 87 yards on four returns against the Cowboys with a season-best 37-yard return that sparked the Ragin' Cajuns offense in the second half.
• Calais returned three kicks for 75 yards in the season opener against Boise State.
• Both Elijah McGuire and Gary Haynes will spend time returning punts for the Cajuns in 2016. Haynes had two punt returns in the McNeese contest.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stevie Artigue

Keenan Barnes

Matt Barnes

Ja'Marcus Bradley

Savion Brown

Nick Byrne

Raymond Calais

Steven Coutts

Travis Crawford

Kevin Dotson

Gabe Fuselier

Eddie Gordon

Trey Granier

Gary Haynes

Grant Horst

Jarvis Jeffries

Anthony Jennings

Shay LaPorte

Taboris Lee

Tre'maine Lightfoot

Elijah McGuire

Trev Miller

Damar'ren Mitchell

Jalen Nixon

Mario Osborne

Kevon Perry

Otha Peters

Al Riles

Carlos Robinson

Dominique Tovell

Tracy Walker

D'Aquin Withrow

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