@RaginCajunsFB Hosts Arkansas State In Important Sun Belt Matchup

Louisiana And Arkansas State Face Off At Cajun Field In Big Sun Belt Western Division Game

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LOUISIANA GAME NOTES

THE MATCHUP

Louisiana Football welcomes Arkansas State in an important Sun Belt Conference west division matchup, looking to bounce back from a close and competitive game at Appalachian State.

LOUISIANA VS. ARKANSAS STATE

Louisiana and Arkansas State meet for the 47th time on Saturday, in a key Sun Belt Conference West Division matchup.
Besides ULM, Arkansas State is the most common opponent on Louisiana's 2018 schedule.
The home team has won the last four meetings between the Ragin' Cajuns and Red Wolves, with Arkansas State taking last year's meeting in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

A RAGIN' CAJUNS VICTORY WOULD

Even up Louisiana's conference record at 2-2 and push Louisiana's overall record back to .500 and give the Ragin' Cajuns three wins out of four games in the month of October.
Continue the trend of the home team winning the matchup, making it five-straight meetings where the home team took the Louisiana-Arkansas State game.

KIDD IS A FORCE

Against Appalachian State (Oct. 20) senior defensive tackle LaDarrius Kidd was a force in the middle for Louisiana's defense. Kidd finished with a career-high 10 tackles, seven solo and three assisted, to finish second on the team in tackles during Louisiana's game in Boone, North Carolina.
Kidd's 10 tackles were the first time that a Louisiana defensive linemen has recorded 10 tackles in a game since Joe Dillon posted 10 tackles against New Mexico State on Oct. 1, 2016.
During the month of October, Kidd has been key to Louisiana's front seven, posting 16 tackles over that stretch. Kidd has already surpassed his career-high 21 tackles in a season, now sitting at 24 and second on the defensive line behind only senior Garrald McDowell.

LOUISIANA CRACKS THE MOUNTANIEER ARMOR

During the first half of Louisiana's game at Appalachian State (Oct. 20), the Ragin' Cajuns held the Mountaineers to only 55 yards passing. That is the lowest total that anyone has held the Mountaineers to in the first half so far this season.
In terms of total passing yards, the Mountaineers only racked up 106 yards, which is the lowest total of yards gained by App State in the air this season, and for Louisiana it was the lowest amount of passing yards that the Cajuns have allowed so far this season.
During the fourth quarter, sophomore running back Trey Ragas crashed in for a 27-yard touchdown run, that was the first time that App State has allowed a fourth quarter score since its season opener against No. 10 Penn State on Sept. 1 in State College, Pennsylvania.

SHADES OF 2013

Late in the fourth quarter, at Appalachian State (Oct. 20), Louisiana attempted and recovered an onside kick, when Jordan Wright fell on the loose ball at 59 seconds left in the game.
It was the first time that the Cajuns have recovered an onside kick since Sept. 21, 2013 at Akron.
Louisiana had not attempted an onside kick so far this season, with the last attempt coming at Ole Miss on Nov. 11, 2017.

TIGHT ENDS SHOWING UP

Senior tight end Matt Barnes had three receptions for 24 yards while sophomore Johnny Lumpkin grabbed one catch for eight yards to push the tight end reception total to 12 on the season.
The 12 receptions for the tight ends unit surpasses the 2017 total of eight receptions that the unit put together.
Barnes leads the way with eight receptions for 74 yards and one touchdown while Lumpkin has added four receptions for 32 yards to account for the tight end production.

ALTITUDE KICKING

Appalachian State's Kidd Brewer Stadium sits at 3,280 feet above sea level and the Louisiana kicking and punting teams took full advantage of the thin air.
Senior kicker Kyle Pfau nailed a career-long 43-yard field mid-way through the second quarter.
Freshman punter Rhys Byrns punted for a career-high 291 yards, putting two punts inside the 20.

LOUISIANA KEEPS RUSHING WITH THE BEST

So far this season, Louisiana has racked up 1,766 yards on the ground averaging 232.7 rushing yards per game. That puts the Cajuns in the top-20 among the FBS, ranking Louisiana's rushing attack at 18th in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game.
During the month of October, over the previous three games, Louisiana has rushed for 811 yards which gives them the sixth-most rushing yards in the FBS over the last three games. The Cajuns are averaging 270.3 yards per game which is the 13th-best in the nation over that same three game stretch.

RAGAS CAN NOT BE STOPPED

Ragas leads the Ragin' Cajuns in rushing so far this season with 680 yards, and he is second on the team in touchdowns with five so far this season.
In the country, Ragas has had 20 rushing plays over 10-plus yards and that ranks him 19th in the country for plays over 10 yards. Ragas has also had six plays over 20-plus yards and that puts him 33rd in the country for plays over 20 yards.
Overall Ragas, who has been averaging 97.1 yards per game, ranks first in the conference in both total rushing yards and average yards per game. In the FBS, Ragas' 680 yards ranks him 22nd in the country, and his 97.1 yards per game ranks him 24th in the nation.

TEAMS WITH DUO 100-YARD RUSHERS IN AT LEAST TWO GAMES

Louisiana

Calais: 108 yards/5 attempts/1 TD; Ragas: 103 yards/15 attempts/1 TD (vs. CCU on Sept. 22)
Mitchell: 191 yards/20 attempts/3 TDs; Ragas: 100 yards/21 attempts/1 TD (at TXST on Oct. 6)

Troy

Jabir Daughtry-Frye: 140 yards/5 attempts/1 TD; BJ Smith: 103 yards/10 attempts/2 TDs (vs. CCU [9/22])
BJ Smith: 140 yards/17 attempts/2 TDs; Kaleb Barker: 111 yards/5 attempts (vs. GSU [10/4])

Mississippi State

Kylin Hill: 211 yards/17 attempts/2 TDs; Nick Fitzgerald: 159 yards/19 attempts (at KSU [9/8])
Nick Fitzgerald: 107 yards/15 attempts/4 TDs; Aeris Williams: 101 yards/11 attempts/1 TD (vs. LA [9/15])
Nick Fitzgerald: 195 yards/28 attempts/2 TDs; Kylin Hill: 126 yards/23 attempts (vs. #8 AU [10/6])

Oregon

Tony Brooks-James: 107 yards/21 attempts/2 TDs; CJ Verdell: 106 yards/11 attempts/1 TD (vs. PSU [9/8])
Travis Dye: 115 yards/20 attempts/1 TD; CJ Verdell: 106 yards/9 attempts (at Cal [9/29])

Maryland

Ty Johnson: 124 yards/12 attempts/1 TD; Tayon Fleet-Davis: 102 yards/15 attempts/2 TDs (vs. PSU [9/8])
Ty Johnson: 123 yards/11 attempts/1 TD; Anthony McFarland: 112 yards/6 attempts/2 TDs (vs. MINN [9/22])

Kentucky

Benny Snell Jr.: 125 yards/20 attempts/2 TDs; A.J. Rose 104 yards/8 attempts/2 TDs (vs. CMU on Sept. 1)
Benny Snell Jr.: 175 yards/27 attempts; Terry Wilson 105 yards/10 attempts/1 TD (at UF on Sept. 8)

Boston College

AJ Dillon: 161 yards/28 attempts/2 TDs; Ben Glines: 120 yards/23 attempts/1 TD (vs. TEM on Sept. 29)
David Bailey: 112 yards/28 attempts/1 TD; Ben Glines: 107 yards/17 attempts/1 TD (vs. LOU on Oct. 13)

UConn

Kevin Mensah: 144 yards/25 attempts/2 TDs; David Pindell: 137 yards/26 attempts/2 TDs (vs. URI on Sept. 15)
David Pindell: 197 yards/28 attempts/2 TDs; Kevin Mensah: 120 yards/19 attempts/2 TDs (vs. USF on Oct. 20)

Arizona

J.J. Taylor: 284 yards/27 attempts/2 TDs; Gary Brightwell: 113 yards/13 attempts/1 TD (at OSU on Sept. 22)
J.J. Taylor: 154 yards/19 attempts/1 TD; Gary Brightwell: 121 yards/15 attempts (at UCLA on Oct. 20)

300/100/100

During the game against New Mexico State, senior quarterback Andre Nunez's 315 yards passing, Mitchell's 107 yards rushing and senior Earnest Patterson's 114 yards receiving, gave Louisiana a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game for the eighth time in school history and first time since last season.

LOUISIANA'S RECEIVERS ARE BUSY

So far this season, Louisiana's wide receivers have been heavily involved with Louisiana's passing offense, with Louisiana's wide outs catching 63 percent of all passes thrown and completed this season (75-of-120).
Senior Rhyeem Malone leads the unit in receptions with 27 and he is followed up by junior Ja'Marcus Bradley's 18 receptions and senior Keenan Barnes has caught 12. Junior Jarrod Jackson has snagged nine passes and senior Earnest Patterson has added eight receptions. Sophomore Jamal Bell has caught five so far while freshman Calif Gossett has hauled in three. Sophomore Jalen Williams has added one reception to bring the receiver unit's total receptions to 75.

A BIRD CALLS NUMBER 300

Jay Walker, who many know as the voice of the Ragin' Cajuns, who is in his 27th season calling Louisiana football games, called career game number 300 when the Ragin' Cajuns beat New Mexico State, 66-38, on Oct. 13.

FBS FIRST YEAR HEAD COACHES OVERALL

Name	Team	Record	Conference	Previous Week	Upcoming
Josh Heupel	UCF	7-0	American Athletic	W, 37-10 (at East Carolina)	Bye Week
Herm Edwards	Arizona State	3-4	PAC-12	L, 13-20 (vs. Stanford)	Oct. 27 at USC
Billy Napier	Louisiana	3-4	Sun Belt	L, 17-27 (at Appalachian State)	Oct. 27 vs. Arkansas State
Jeremy Pruitt	Tennessee	3-4	SEC	L, 21-58 (vs. (1) Alabama)	Oct. 27 at South Carolina
Jonathan Smith	Oregon State	1-6	PAC-12	L, 7-49 (vs. California)	Oct. 27 at Colorado
Sean Lewis	Kent State	1-7	MAC	L, 23-24 (OT) (vs. Akron)	Oct. 30 at Bowling Green
Mike Bloomgren	Rice	1-7	C-USA	L, 17-36 (at Florida International)	Oct. 27 at North Texas

- #GEAUXCAJUNS -

@RaginCajunsFB Hosts Arkansas State In Important Sun Belt Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Keenan Barnes

Matt Barnes

Jamal Bell

Ja'Marcus Bradley

Rhys Byrns

Joe Dillon

Calif Gossett

Jarrod Jackson

LaDarrius Kidd

Johnny Lumpkin

Garrald McDowell

Andre Nunez

Earnest Patterson

Kyle Pfau

Trey Ragas

Jalen Williams

Jordan Wright

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

@RaginCajunsFB Hosts Arkansas State In Important Sun Belt Matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Keenan Barnes

Matt Barnes

Jamal Bell

Ja'Marcus Bradley

Rhys Byrns

Joe Dillon

Calif Gossett

Jarrod Jackson

LaDarrius Kidd

Johnny Lumpkin

Garrald McDowell

Andre Nunez

Earnest Patterson

Kyle Pfau

Trey Ragas

Jalen Williams

Jordan Wright

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