University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
@RaginCajunsFB Gets 2018 Season Started on Saturday
8/31/2018 7:25:00 PM | Football
Louisiana takes on Grambling to begin Billy Napier Era at 6 p.m., Saturday
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FOOTBALL IS BACK:Â Louisiana's season opener against Grambling means that football is back at Cajun Field. It is the first of six Saturday home games for Louisiana during the 2018 season and it is a chance for fans to see Coach Napier and the new-look Ragin' Cajuns for the first time this season.
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TUNE INTO ESPN3/ESPN1420: Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3, and it will be called by Dan McDonald (play-by-play) and Gerald Broussard (color). On the radio, the game will be called by Jay Walker (play-by-play) and Chris Lanaux (color) with Cody Junot on the sideline.
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FIRST GAME FOR COACH:Â Saturday's game also marks the start of Coach Napier's head coaching career. Napier, who already has 15 years of collegiate coaching experience under his belt, will take the field as the head man for the first time in his career.
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Napier is one of seven coaches across the country at the Football Bowl Subdivision level that are coaching their first games as a head coach during Week One. Napier looks to become the 12th head coach in Louisiana's 113-year history to win his first game as head coach at Louisiana, and the first to do it since Sam Robertson snagged a win against New Mexico State (14-12) on Sept. 6, 1980.
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CHECKING ANOTHER BOX:Â Louisiana has never played Grambling, who have won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference titles, and coincidentally, Grambling was the last school in the state of Louisiana that the Cajuns have not played. Once the ball kicks off on Saturday, it will mean that Louisiana will have finally played all the schools in the state of Louisiana that support a Division I football program.
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RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST THE STATE: Over the past four seasons, Louisiana is 7-4 against Division I programs from the state of Louisiana. Besides beating Sun Belt Conference foe ULM three times, the Ragin' Cajuns have knocked off Southern (45-6, Aug. 30, 2014); Northwestern State (44-14, Sept. 12, 2015); McNeese State (30-22, Sept. 10, 2016) and Southeastern Louisiana (51-48, Sept. 2, 2017) with all the non-ULM wins coming at Cajun Field.
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LOUISIANA AGAINST THE FCS:Â Grambling is a part of the Football Championship Subdivision and all-time the Cajuns are 38-19-1 against FCS teams, and the Cajuns are 10-1 against FCS schools since 2000. It is the second straight season that Louisiana will play their home opener against an FCS team and the seventh time in eight years that Cajun Field has been opened up for a new season against an FCS team.
COACH NAPIER SPEAKS: Coach Napier met with the media on Wednesday ahead of Saturday's game and touched on what the team has been doing and where the team is heading into the season opener.
General:
"I feel that this group of individuals that we have on the team, have worked hard and can accomplish something significant this year. They have given absolutely all that we can ask for from them in terms of effort and execution through training camp. As a team we have made significant progress over the last eight to nine months. The approach that we need to take over the next 48 hours is one where we raise our standards and expectations and then we have to cut it loose. It is time to put the ball down and go out and earn it and the guys are looking forward to doing that."
On the Quarterbacks:
We are going to play both guys on Saturday. Andre Nunez will be the first guy to run out there and he should play for a while. Everyone on our staff believes in both young men and Levi Lewis has earned the right to play and he has the respect of his teammates. Lewis has been an exceptional leader on our team and has worked hard for us since the spring. Both of the quarterbacks have a great working relationship, they are in the same meeting room every day and they have made each other better by competing against each other throughout the offseason. Nunez has invested as much as anyone in how he has prepared both physically and mentally. I am excited to watch him play."
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE: Both individual tickets and season tickets are available for purchase by either heading to ragincajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome, (337) 265-2357, or by visiting the office in person.
FOLLOWING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS:Â Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@RaginCajunsFB) to stay up-to-date with Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Football.
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