Inside The Birdcage - Almost Bowling, Part II
The Voice of the Ragin' Cajuns digs deep into football history
Jay Walker, Special to RaginCajuns.com
After winning only nine games from 1997-2001, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Football program was entrusted to Rickey Bustle, who had been the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech. The first three years were difficult as Bustle tried to establish the program. The Cajuns went 3-8, 4-8 and 4-7 over the first three seasons.
And, midway through the 2005 season, there was nothing to indicate things were going to get better. The Cajuns lost three of their first four non-conference games and then, with quarterback Jerry Babb injured, dropped the conference opener to Florida Atlantic.
Babb was also out for the following game, a Thursday night ESPNU contest at Arkansas State. However, the Cajuns rolled up 457 yards rushing in that game, with freshman quarterback Michael Desormeaux accounting for 174 and held a 29-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.
A questionable roughing-the-passer call gave Arkansas State a touchdown and momentum as they roared back to take a 36-29 lead. The Cajuns tied it with under a minute to go, but Arkansas State benefited from a missed clipping call to kick a field goal as time expired for a 39-36 win.
The Cajuns were 1-5, 0-2 in league play. It looked like they were done.
But the following week, Desormeaux led the Cajuns on an 18-play drive and Louisiana scored with less than a minute to go as the Cajuns won 13-10.
Babb came off the bench to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a win over Troy the following week. Then came a win at North Texas and a home win over FIU. The Cajuns had evened their record at 5-5 and moved to 4-2 in conference play.
After 10 weeks, Arkansas State and ULM were also 5-5. But the Warhawks were 5-1 in league play and needed a win over the Ragin' Cajuns to win the outright conference title and clinch a berth in the New Orleans Bowl, to be played at Cajun Field because of Hurricane Katrina. Wins by the Cajuns and Arkansas State would create a three-way tie for the championship, with the Cajuns holding the three-way tiebreaker.
Or so they thought.
On the Monday before the final weekend of games, the league office issued a ruling on the three-way tie. Since ULM would be 5-6 overall and not bowl eligible, they would be eliminated from the tiebreaker. Arkansas State held the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cajuns.
Now, Louisiana needed a win AND an Arkansas State loss in order to go bowling.
Ragin' Cajuns fans were incensed over the late “clarification.” By the time the game in Monroe ended, Arkansas State had clinched the bowl berth with their win over North Texas. The Cajuns would have to be satisfied with a share of the championship. The Cajuns scored 26 points in the second quarter and raced out to a 33-14 halftime lead en route to a 54-21 pasting of the Warhawks to clinch a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.
But it was Arkansas State playing Southern Miss at Cajun Field.
