Game 5 Preview: vs. South Alabama

LAFAYETTE – After a pair of setbacks on the road, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Football team returns to the friendly confines of Cajun Field on Saturday when it hosts Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama in the annual Homecoming game.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pbp) and Eric Mouton (color) providing commentary.

Fans will able to listen to the game worldwide on the Varsity Network, Hot 107.9 FM and ESPN 1420 AM with Jay Walker (pbp), Gerald Broussard (color) and Cody Junot (sideline) on the call. Live statistics will be available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (2-2, 0-1 SBC) returns home for the first time in three weeks after an impressive 49-21 win over Eastern Michigan on Sept. 10. The Ragin' Cajuns will face an explosive South Alabama (3-1, 0-0 SBC) squad has wins over Nicholls, Central Michigan and Louisiana Tech with its lone blemish a 32-31 decision at UCLA on Sept. 17.

The Ragin' Cajuns have won eight of the 10 meetings in the series including the last six games. Louisiana edged South Alabama, 20-18, in last season's contest in Mobile and posted a 38-10 victory in the previous meeting at Cajun Field.

Season tickets for the 2022 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Account Manager. For more information call the Louisiana Athletics Box Office at the CAJUNDOME at (337) 265-2104.

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

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GAME 5 INFORMATION
Who: Louisiana (2-2, 0-1 SBC) vs. South Alabama (3-1, 0-0 SBC)
Where: Cajun Field (41,426); Lafayette, La.
When: Saturday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
On the Call: Dan McDonald (play-by-play), Eric Mouton (analyst)
Listen: Varsity Network, Hot 107.9 FM, ESPN 1420 AM
On the Call: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Gerald Broussard (analyst), Cody Junot (sideline)
All-Time Series: Louisiana leads, 8-2
First Meeting: W, 52-30 (11/24/12 at Lafayette)
Last Meeting: W, 20-18 (10/2/21 at Mobile)

LOUISIANA CELEBRATES HOMECOMING AGAINST SBC RIVAL JAGUARS
• Louisiana returns home after a two-game roadtrip to face SBC West Division rival South Alabama in the annual Homecoming Game at Cajun Field.
• The meeting is the 11th all-time between the schools with Louisiana holding an 8-2 lead.
• Four of the 10 meetings in the series have been decided by seven points or less, including last year's 20-18 Louisiana victory in Mobile.

A LOOK AT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
• Louisiana Football enters the 2022 season as the reigning Sun Belt Conference Champions and four-time defending champions of the Sun Belt West Division.
• The 2021 title was the program's first outright Sun Belt Conference title in program history and the team's first outright title overall in 53 years.
• For the fourth consecutive season, the Ragin' Cajuns are predicted to win the West Division after picking up a league-best 95 points and earning a league-best 12 first-place votes in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Coach Michael Desormeaux, a former UL quarterback from 2005-08, owns a 3-2 career record after replacing Billy Napier (now at Florida) and leading the Ragin' Cajuns to a 36-21 win over Marshall on Dec. 18, 2021, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
• Louisiana enters the weekend second among FBS schools with nine interceptions on the season.
• Louisiana is second among FBS schools in turnover margin (+9), fourth in turnovers forced (12) and eighth in punt returns (17.8).
• Louisiana's 33-21 setback at Rice on Sept. 17 was its first loss in 378 days.
• Louisiana's 21-17 loss at ULM last Saturday was its first in Monroe since 2004 and marked the first two-game losing streak since falling to App State (SBC Championship Game) and Tulane (Cure Bowl) in 2018.
• The loss to ULM was Louisiana's first in 17 total games to a SBC West opponent since the Divisional format was created in 2018.
• Louisiana completed a perfect regular season in Sun Belt Conference play (8-0). The Ragin' Cajuns had been perfect in league play just one time in their history prior to last season, posting a 5-0 mark in Gulf States Conference play during the 1970 season.

TEAM NOTES
• Over the last four seasons, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns have won four Sun Belt Conference West Division titles, won the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship, were the 2020 Sun Belt Co-Champions and have been victorious in three bowl games (LendingTree Bowl [2020) and SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (2021), R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl [2021]).
• Louisiana has won its last 11 games at home - matching the school-record set during the 1976-77 seasons.
• Louisiana's roster has 94 players on its roster (68.1 percent) who hail from within the Pelican State - the most of any of the five FBS programs in the state (Louisiana, LSU, Louisiana Tech, Tulane, ULM).
• Head coach Michael Desormeaux is the first Ragin' Cajuns coach to start his career 3-0 since A.L. "Red" Swanson in 1950.
• Since the Divisional format was introduced by the Sun Belt Conference in 2018, Louisiana owns a 16-1 record against SBC West Division opponents and is 26-7 overall in league competition.
• Since the divisional format was introduced in 2018, Louisiana is 13-3 in regular-season SBC games at Cajun Field.
• In 2022, Louisiana is ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense (20.5) and is fourth in pass efficiency defense (116.54).
• Louisiana's nine interceptions through the first four games is one off the total set during the 2021 season.
• Louisiana's offensive line returned a combined 23 career starts heading into the 2022 season. AJ Gillie (12), Carlos Rubio (8) and David Hudson (3) each earned starts with newcomers Jax Harrington and Nathan Thomas earning their first career starts in the season-opener against Southeastern Louisiana.
• Louisiana is 48-27-2 in all-time homecoming games.
• Louisiana has not rushed for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since the start of the 2021 season (76 yards at Texas, 90 yards vs. Nicholls).

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Players Mentioned

AJ Gillie

Jax Harrington

David Hudson

Carlos Rubio

Nathan Thomas

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