Football: BUSTLE’STOP10BOTTOM10

Daily Advertiser Top 10 Memories • Building a program • December 5, 2010

UL did a number of things right under Bustle. First, he did win (just not enough according to the administration) after inheriting a bad program. He was disciplined. His players went to class, and they rarely got into trouble. And a total of 19 former Cajuns coached by Bustle were either drafted by or signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

 

Six in four

While it never translated into any bowl trips, the Cajuns did win six games in 2005, ’06, ’08 and ’09. Troy and UL are the only Sun Belt schools to win at least six games in four of the past six years. The Cajuns hadn’t won six games four times in a span of five seasons since doing so from 1986-89.

Sun Belt Conference co-champs

After starting 1-5, the Cajuns closed the 2005 season with a five-game winning streak to win a share of the Sun Belt Conference title and go 6-5. The last time they won a piece of a conference crown came when UL was the Big West co-champs with Nevada and UNLV in 1994. It happened during UL’s first winning season since 1995.

Edging out Kansas State

Tyler Albrecht made his first collegiate field goal attempt from 48 yards with 32 seconds left to lift the Cajuns to a home win over Kansas State, 17-15, on Sept. 12, 2009. It was UL’s second win over an automatic BCS conference school — and its first since beating Texas A&M in 1996. This came one year after nearly upsetting Illinois and Kansas State.

Houston, we have a problem

The Cajuns trailed by 21 points but managed to bounce back and beat Houston, 31-28, at Robertson Stadium on Oct. 7, 2006. Houston, led by current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, recovered to win the Conference USA title before losing to South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl, 44-36.

Tandem of Tyrell Fenroy and Michael Desormeaux

RB Tyrell Fenroy was the top rusher in UL and Sun Belt history, the seventh rusher in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard seasons, the 2008 SBC Player of the Year and had his jersey retired in ’08. Michael Desormeaux was the eighth QB in NCAA history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and the1’08 SBC Offensive Player of the Year.

Offensive fireworks in 2008

The Cajuns finished 7th nationally in rushing, 13th in total offense and 24th in scoring in 2008. They had 667 yards (414 rushing) vs. Kent State. UL followed with 728 yards (556 rushing) vs. ULM as Fenroy rushed for 297 yards. WR Jason Chery had 339 all-purpose yards and 5 TDs vs. North Texas. Would’ve been scary to see them healthy all year.

Southern crowd

UL set the program’s single-game home attendance record as a crowd of 41,357 watched a 42-19 win over Southern on Sept. 5, 2009. In fact, the overflow crowd was the largest for a home game in Sun Belt history. The Cajuns rallied from an early 12-7 deficit to earn the win in the first meeting between the schools.

Time for a Block Party

Bustle previously worked as Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator, so you thought he might know something about special teams. In 2003 the Cajuns became the first team in NCAA history to score a TD on a blocked field goal twice in one season. From 2002-10, UL blocked 44 kicks — a number that was good for fourth nationally during that stretch.

Overtime thriller

In what’s considered to be one of the most exciting games in school history, UL beat Middle Tennessee in a 57-51 shootout that lasted four overtimes at Floyd Stadium on Nov. 15, 2003. QB Jerry Babb threw for a career-high 435 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another score in the final game of a 4-8 season.

Bottom 10 Memories

Stuck at six

There’s no arguing that Bustle took over a bad program, and he is leaving a better one for his replacement. He turned the Cajuns into a team that could win six games and contend for a bowl berth. But for various reasons — some outside his control — he couldn’t get the program to that next step. The cupboard is not bare for the next coach.

Sun Belt record

UL went 31-33 in nine years under Bustle against Sun Belt Conference opponents. Only three times did the Cajuns finish in the top third of the league standings (2003, ’05 and ’08). They were close to breaking through but never made it happen. UL’s inconsistent play in conference action was a big role in the eventual coaching change.

Falling to McNeese State 

In the first meeting between the schools since 1986, UL lost to FCS member McNeese State, 38-17, in front of 33,828 at Cajun Field on Sept. 15, 2007. The Cajuns had five turnovers and didn’t score in the second half. This loss encapsulated UL’s 3-9 season. The Cajuns won six games again in ’08 and ’09 but never surpassed that plateau.

Losing to lowly Western Kentucky

Second-year FBS school Western Kentucky rolled past UL, 54-21, in front of a homecoming crowd at Cajun Field on Oct. 23, 2010. The Cajuns lost to a Hilltopper team that had dropped 26 straight games. It could have been worse, but UL scored a touchdown with 1:45 left to avoid the biggest homecoming loss in school history.

Injuries, arrests and rules violation

Injuries hit the Cajuns hard at times under Bustle. There were some arrests, including four players last spring for alleged cultivation of marijuana though three were later cleared. UL also lost five hours of practice time per week for one semester after the NCAA ruled in 2007 that the football team had impermissible summer workouts.

Second-half struggles

Under Bustle, the Cajuns went a combined 22-32 in the second half over nine years. Only twice did they win more than half of their final six games, going 4-2 down the stretch in 2003 and

5-1 to conclude the 2005 season. UL also had its issues after halftime. This season the Cajuns were 1-7 when trailing at the half.

Defensive issues

The Cajuns won six games in 2008 and ’09 before stumbling to

3-9 this season, and defensive inconsistency was a

big part of their struggles. From 2008-10, UL was 2-18 when allowing at least 31 points. This past season they gave up at least

35 points six times, including 54 to Oklahoma State and WKU and 55 to Georgia.

Three up, three down

In 2005, ’06 and ’08, the Cajuns had some special moments but missed bowl games after three-game losing streaks each year. They lost to Central Florida, Florida Atlantic and Arkansas in a row in ’05. They fell to MTSU, Troy and North Texas in back-to-back-to-back games in ’06. In ’08 they got beat by UTEP, FAU and Troy down the stretch.

Ain’t no sunshine vs. Florida

UL started 4-2 in 2009 with its only losses at LSU and Nebraska but then lost a blowout on homecoming to FAU and fell to a one-win Florida International squad in overtime on the road. (FAU and FIU finished a combined 8-16.) The Cajuns split their final four games to finish 6-6 and got passed over for a bowl game again.

Close but not close enough

The Cajuns were 2-2 this season going into a nationally televised home game on ESPN2 against No. 22 Oklahoma State on Oct. 8. They led at halftime, 21-17, but eventually lost, 54-28. Two weeks later they led Troy, 21-17, in the fourth quarter but fell, 31-24. Those could have been huge wins. Instead they were bitter losses during a subpar year.