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Football: Louisiana Faces ECU In R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 12/10/12Football: Louisiana Faces ECU In R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 12/10/12 R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl The Storyline: UL & THE NCAA STATISTICS: Ragin’ Cajuns players were ranked in the top 50 nationally eight times in the final regular season NCAA statistics. Brett Baer leads the list with three mentions, including in field goals (25th, 1.42), punting (40th, 42.0) and scoring (41st, 8.3). A complete list follows: Individual Rankings SERIES vs. EAST CAROLINA: The New Orleans Bowl matchup marks the 11th meeting between Louisiana and East Carolina with the Cajuns owning a 6-4 lead. The series began in 1977 with the Cajuns winning a defensive battle, 9-7. The most recent meeting came in 1990 when the Pirates claimed a 20-10 decision in Lafayette. Louisiana won the four meetings before that. A game-by-game look at the series follows: Date UL -ECU Winner Location RAGIN’ CAJUNS IN THE SUPERDOME: Oct. 15, 1983 Tulane L 15 -17 GOING BOWLING: After snapping a 41-year bowl-less stretch last year by earning a berth in the R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the Ragin’ Cajuns have done it again, receiving a bid to play in the 12th edition of the game on Dec. 22 in New Orleans. The accomplishment marks the fourth time in the history of the bowl that a school has gone to the bowl in back-to-back years. Previously, North Texas (2001-02-03-04) & Southern Miss twice (2004-05 & 2008-09) accomplished the feat. 18 CAJUNS TO PLAY FINAL GAME FOR UL: The R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will mark the final game in the careers of 18 Cajuns, 13 of whom are considered to be starters at their position. The seniors are: 40 Brett Baer K/P Brandon, Miss. A REPEAT PERFORMANCE: For the first time in school history, Louisiana appears in a bowl game in back-to-back seasons. Prior to appearances in the R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in 2011 and 2012, the Cajuns only previous bowl games occurred in 1944 and 1970. CAJUNS PREFER BOWLING IN LOUISIANA: Of the four bowl appearances in school history, three have come inside the state of Louisiana. The first bowl appearance in Louisiana came in 1970 when the Cajuns faced Tennessee State in the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge. Forty-one years later, Louisiana remained in the state to play in the first of two consecutive R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowls in New Orleans. . . . OR BOWLING NEARBY: Although three of Louisiana’s bowl appearances have been played within the state borders, the fourth wasn’t exactly a long way from home. The Cajuns first bowl appearance came in 1944 when Louisiana defeated Arkansas A&M (now Arkansas-Monticello) in the Oil Bowl in Houston, Texas. A BOWL STREAK: After ending a 41-year bowl game drought with the 2011 R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl appearance, the Ragin’ Cajuns have started a “bowl game streak” that’s at two years with the appearance in the 2012 R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. CAJUNS KNOW HOW TO PARTY: The 2011 R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl had a distinct “home field advantage” for Louisiana as the Ragin’ Cajuns faithful helped establish a New Orleans Bowl record crowd of 42,841. The crowd shattered the previous record of 30,228 set in the 2009 edition when Middle Tennessee faced Southern Miss. A SUN BELT WIN STREAK: Last season’s 32-30 win over San Diego State by Louisiana extended the Sun Belt Conference’s win streak in the R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl to three games (2009-11). The last non-Sun Belt school to come away victorious in the New Orleans Bowl was Southern Miss who defeated Troy 30-27 in the 2008 contest. All-time, the Sun Belt Conference sports a 6-5 mark in the New Orleans Bowl. RECORDS FELL IN 2011: The Ragin’ Cajuns left their mark in the New Orleans Bowl record book a year ago, leaving many wondering what can the encore performance do to top the first one. Brett Baer’s game-winning, 50-yard field goal as time expired tied the New Orleans Bowl record (Michael Taylor of Troy in 2010) for distance. Baer’s score also marked the first time in the game’s history that a team scored on the final play. Blaine Gautier, named MVP of the 2011 New Orleans Bowl, passed for a bowl record 470 yards. As a team, the Ragin’ Cajuns generated a New Orleans Bowl record 492 yards passing. Darryl Surgent set a New Orleans Bowl record with 283 all-purpose yards, 80 more than the previous record of 203 set by Florida Atlantic’s Dilvory Edgecomb in 2007. Last but not least, Javone Lawson tied a New Orleans Bowl record with nine receptions (two on the game-winning drive). IT’S ANOTHER WINNER: The Ragin’ Cajuns 8-4 mark in 2012 signaled back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since consecutive 6-5 campaigns in 1994 and 1995. In his nine seasons as a collegiate head coach, Mark Hudspeth has produced a winning record seven times. Counting the 2012 mark at Louisiana, Hudspeth has posted six straight winning seasons as a head coach (North Alabama 2005-08/Louisiana 2011-12). SETTING A STANDARD: In addition to the first-ever back-to-back seasons appearing in a bowl game, Mark Hudspeth has guided Louisiana to its first-ever, back-to-back regular seasons of eight victories. To go a step further, his 17 victories entering the 2012 R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl is the highest combined two-year victories total in school history. CAJUNS vs. CONFERENCE USA: Louisiana is 4-21 all-time vs. Conference USA opponents, but have the upper hand recently. The Cajuns already own a win over a CUSA school this year, a dominating 41-13 win over Tulane in the Homecoming contest back on Oct. 6. Dating back to 2006, the Cajuns are 2-3 vs. Conference USA schools. The win over Tulane snapped a three-game losing streak to CUSA schools and was the first over a CUSA opponent since a 31-28 win at Houston on Oct. 7, 2006. Louisiana is 1-0 vs. CUSA opponents under Mark Hudspeth 4TH DOWN EXPLOITS: The Cajun defense leads the nation this year, successfully stopping its opponents on 10 of their 12 fourth down conversion attempts. Four of the stops have come within the 25 yard line and have figured prominently in a pair of wins. At Troy on Sept. 8, the Cajuns had stops at their 9 and 25 yard lines when the game was still close. The third stop vs. FIU when UL held on downs at their own 12 in the fourth quarter. On Oct. 16 at North Texas, the Cajun defense held on a fourth-and-goal at the 1. In the regular season finale at FAU the Cajuns held on three fourth down plays, including on each of the Owls last two possessions. The only fourth down conversions came on a 4th-and-1 at Oklahoma State and on a 4th-and-3 at ULM. Last year, Louisiana opponents were 8-for-21 (.381) on fourth down. ODOM FINALLY TAKES A BREAK: When senior Jaron Odom left the field for the final three offensive plays of the South Alabama game on Nov. 24, it marked the first time in 23 games that Odom was not on the field for an offensive play, ending a streak of 1,577 consecutive downs played. Odom led the team by playing 925 of the 936 offensive downs in 2011, including the final 854 over the last 12 games of the year. He started 2012 with a similar streak, playing the first 723 downs before watching the last three vs. South Alabama. He came back to play all 70 snaps in the regular season finale against Florida Atlantic CHASING OFFENSIVE RECORDS: The Cajuns enter the R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl within reach of several season offensive records. In 12 games, Louisiana has run 796 plays for 5,323 yards, 243 first downs and 418 points. They have already broken the record of 397 points, which was set in 2008, and need 68 yards, 61 plays and 14 first downs to break the records of 5,390 yards (2008), 856 plays (1995) and 256 first downs (1995). STARTING THE NEXT 25: Barring injury, the R�L New Orleans Bowl will mark the 26th consecutive start for offensive linemen Jaron Odom, Leonardo Bates, Andre Huval and Daniel Quave. The only member of the unit not included in the streak is Mykhael Quave, who has only started 12 straight games. IMPROVED RUNNING: One of the strengths of the Cajuns offense this year has been their improvement in the running game. Last year, Louisiana ranked seventh in the Sun Belt and 88th nationally averaging 125.2 yards per game. This year, using a running attack featuring two sophomores and two freshmen, the Cajuns are second in the Sun Belt and 39th in the nation averaging 187.3 yards per game. WINNING AWAY FROM HOME: Louisiana takes a 3-3 road record into the R�L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, needing a victory to post the first winning record on the road since a 4-2 record in 1993. Last year, UL was 4-4 on the road, including the New Orleans Bowl win. . . . AND THE RUNNING TANDEM: The two biggest members of the running attack are sophomores Alonzo Harris and Terrance Broadway. The duo each went over the 100-yard mark in the last two games they played together. Harris picked up 104 yards on 10 carries and Broadway had 145 on 14 rushes in the win over WKU on Nov. 17. Harris missed the Nov. 24 game with South Alabama but came back to carry 21 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns at Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1. At the same time, Broadway picked up 123 yards on 15 carries vs. the Owls, including a 77-yard scoring run. Harris, the 2011 Sun Belt Freshman of the year, leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with 761 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games. Broadway is ninth in the league in rushing, gaining 661 yards in 12 games. ANDERSON PASSES THE CENTURY MARK: A nine-tackle performance in the regular season finale at Florida Atlantic allowed senior Justin Anderson to surpass the 100 tackle mark for the season. Anderson, who leads the team with 101 tackles through 12 games, is the third Cajun to surpass the century mark in the last six years, joining Lance Kelley (118 in 2011) and Antwyne Zanders (103 in 2009). Anderson, who ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in tackles, started the year with just 21 tackles in his first two seasons. BLOCK THAT KICK: The Cajuns blocked three kicks in the final four games of the year. The blocks started at No. 6 Florida on Nov. 10 when Bradley Brown blocked a third quarter punt that was returned by Blake Comminie for a touchdown. Two weeks later, Jamal Robinson blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by South Alabama. The final block came at Florida Atlantic when Cordian Hagans blocked a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter. SCORING BALANCE: Although Brett Baer is closing in on the season scoring record, the rest of the offense has featured scoring balance. Terrance Broadway and Alonzo Harris share the team lead with eight touchdowns, while the duo of Harry Peoples and Effrem Reed have five touchdowns each. Ten different Cajuns have scored at least three touchdowns. The good news for Cajuns fans is that of the 10, seven will return in 2013. . . . AND TWOx100 FOR BAER: Brett Baer enters the New Orleans Bowl having matched his 2011 record for points scored by a kicker with 100 this year. The efforts share the third-highest single season point total in school history, trailing only the 114 points by Tyrell Fenroy in 2008 and Brian Mitchell in 1989. SUCCESS IN THE RED ZONE: The Cajuns offensive success in 2012 can be tied to their performance in the Red Zone as Louisiana enters the bowl game ranked third in the nation in Red Zone efficiency. The Cajuns have scored 49 times in their 52 trips to the Red Zone this year (.942), trailing only Louisville (48-50, .960) and Clemson (51-54, .944). Of their 49 scores, 40 have been touchdowns (27 rushing & 13 passing). Louisiana takes a streak of 25 straight Red Zone scores into the New Orleans Bowl. . . . REALLY?: Two of the three times that the Cajuns failed to score when they were in the Red Zone came vs. Tulane (10/6/12) when Brett Baer missed one field goal and had a second kick blocked. The third failure can hardly be called that as the Ragin’ Cajuns ended the Sept. 29 game with FIU by taking a knee twice at the FIU 9 to run out the clock. That snapped a streak of 19 consecutive successful Red Zone trips. LOUISIANA EXCELS AT CAJUN FIELD: The win over South Alabama on Nov. 24 improved the Cajuns to 5-1 at home this year and 10-1 in the two seasons under head coach Mark Hudspeth. Included in that record was an eight-game win streak that began at the start of the 2011 season and included the first three games of this season. It was the third-longest in facility history. . . . AND HELPS HUDSPETH GET A RECORD: The eight straight home wins from the start of the 2011 season through the Tulane game gave Mark Hudspeth the longest home win streak by a head coach to start a tenure at UL. It broke the old record of five straight wins posted by both Clement J. McNaspy from 1908-09 and Sam Robertson in 1980. RUN DEFENSE A KEY: One statistic that has proven important this year has been run defense. In the eight Louisiana wins, Ragin’ Cajuns opponents have rushed 247 times for 749 yards with only two teams gaining more than 100 yards. The opposite is true in the four UL losses as opponents have gained 978 yards rushing on 195 carries. The Cajuns opened the year by giving up a season-low 38 yards on 37 carries against Lamar and then limited Troy to 60 yards on 27 attempts. In a mid-season homestand, UL kept FIU to just 55 yards in 34 attempts and Tulane to 53 yards on 22 carries. BROADWAY HITS: Sophomore Terrance Broadway started the 2012 season in September as the quarterback-in-waiting, playing as a reserve until senior Blaine Gautier graduated. Gautier set most of the school single season passing records in 2011, including throwing for 2,958 yards and 23 touchdowns. A mild injury to Gautier thrust Broadway into the lineup earlier than expected when Gautier broke his throwing hand against FIU on Sept. 29, Broadway took over the starter and has not looked back. The Broadway highlights for the year include: HUVAL NAMED TO ACADEMIC-ALL DISTRICT SQUAD: Center Andre Huval, who owns a 3.52 cumulative grade point average majoring in business accounting, was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District team, which is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. A 6-1, 305-pound junior from Scott, La., Huval has taken over a leadership role on a veteran offensive line, playing all but nine snaps this season. Earlier this fall, he was named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Award, which goes to the nation’s top center. GAUTIER STANDS OUT IN RETURN: After missing six straight games with a broken left (throwing) hand, senior Blaine Gautier returned to action playing against both South Alabama and Florida Atlantic. Taking over early in the fourth quarter vs. South Alabama, Gautier threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Maxwell on his first play under center and later led UL on a 46-yard drive for the final score of the game. Gautier was the starter for the Cajuns in the first four games before being injured early in the Florida International game. As a junior in 2011, Gautier took over the starting assignment early in the year, going on to set UL season records for yards passing (2,958), passing touchdowns (23), completion percentage (.628), passing efficiency (153.6), total offense (3,444) and touchdowns responsible for (26). THE PEOPLES CHOICE: With 1,000-yard receiver Javone Lawson on the sideline late in the season, senior receiver Harry Peoples stepped up his performance. He recorded five or more catches in a game seven times this year, all coming in the last seven contests. Since coming back from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the Arkansas State game, Peoples has made 35 catches for 459 yards and two touchdowns. Included in those totals were 10 catches for 73 yards at Florida, a career-high 13 receptions for 144 yards against WKU and five catches for a season-high 166 yards vs. South Alabama. He now has four career games of 10 or more catches. With 61 catches for 774 yards, Peoples ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in receptions and yardage. . . . AND PEOPLES REACHES RECEIVING MILESTONES: The 10 receptions against Florida on Nov. 10 allowed Harry Peoples to become the 11th receiver in UL history to reach 100 receptions in a career. Peoples enters the bowl game ranked eighth in UL history with 119 catches for 1,471 yards and six touchdowns in his career. With 61 catches this year, Peoples ranks sixth on the single season list. . . . AND PEOPLES KEYS WIN OVER WKU: Harry Peoples caught four passes for 49 yards on the game-winning drive against WKU, finishing the night with a career-high 13 catches for 144 yards. He came one reception short of the school record of 14 set by Nick Dugas at Arkansas State on Oct. 13, 2001, while the 144 yards marked the third time in his career that he caught passes for more than 100 yards in a game. His previous career high was a 12-catch game vs. Florida Atlantic last season. PROTECTING THE QUARTERBACK: Through 12 games, the Cajuns offensive line ranks 15th nationally, allowing only 12 quarterback sacks this year. Louisiana gave up just one sack in the first four games. When Terrance Broadway took over at quarterback, the line had to adjust and gave up eight sacks over a three-game period. The adjustments have been made however as the Cajuns gave up just one sack at Florida, a team that ranks in the top five nationally in defense this season. Against Sun Belt sack leader WKU (Nov. 17), which had made 31 sacks in their first 10 games, the Cajuns held the Hilltoppers without a sack. That is considerable improvement over the 2011 numbers when the Cajuns allowed 25 sacks totalling 169 yards lost in 13 games. BAER NAMED TO MID-SEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS: With the Cajun offense working to find itself early in the season, senior Brett Baer stepped up to make 13 of his 16 field goal attempts in the first six games to earn a spot on several mid-season All-America teams. Baer was named a first team selection by ESPN.com, a second team choice by SI.com and a third team honoree by Phil Steele. Baer was the only Sun Belt athlete on any of the mid-season teams. . . . BUT BAER WAS A FORGOTTEN MAN DOWN THE STRETCH: When the offense started clicking mid-season, the field goal opportunities for Baer dried up. Over the final six games, Louisiana scored 29 touchdowns with Baer attempting (and making) just four field goals. MR. ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD: With Javone Lawson sidelined midway through the season, Jamal Robinson moved into a featured role and excelled. The sophomore caught eight passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns in the games against Arkansas State (10/26) and ULM (11/3) and then came back vs. WKU (11/17) to make three grabs for 27 yards, including a five-yard touchdown catch that pulled the Cajuns to within three points late in the game. For the year, Robinson has made 20 catches for 514 yards and three touchdowns, owning an impressive 25.7 yards per catch. He set career highs with five catches and 106 yards receiving against Arkansas State on Oct. 23 and came back to make three grabs for 153 yards and touchdowns of 52 and 81 yards at ULM. . . . AND ROBINSON GETS A BLOCK: Jamal Robinson turned in the special teams play of the day against South Alabama on Dec. 1, blocking a 42-yard field goal attempt late in the first quarter that would have tied the game at 10-10. It was the first blocked field goal by a Cajun since Le’Marcus Gibson blocked one against North Texas on Oct. 15, 2011. BAER DOMINATES AS A PUNTER: One thing lost in the kicking exploits of Brett Baer has been his improvement as a punter. Baer, who was sixth in the SBC by averaging 40.3 yards on 79 punts in 2011, ranks 40th nationally (and first in the SBC) with a 42.0 average this year. . . . AND JUST TWO TOUCHBACKS: As a junior, Brett Baer punted 79 times with 27 kicks downed inside the 20. Even more impressive was that Baer had just five touchbacks. He has been even better in 2012, punting 54 times with 22 downed inside the 20 and two touchbacks. In the fourth quarter at UNT on Oct. 16, he had kicks of 38 yards downed inside the 2 and 58 yards downed inside the 1 on successive drives. STANDING PATT: Given the opportunity to make his first career start in the win at ULM on Nov. 3, Trevence Patt made the most of it. The sophomore defensive back, who entered the game having made nine career tackles, boosted that total significantly by making five tackles, the second-highest total by a Cajun in the game. He remained in the lineup and made four straight starts, closing the regular season with 22 tackles this year. BAER KICKS WAY TO UL RECORD BOOKS: Senior kicker Brett Baer is enjoying an outstanding senior season, connecting on 17 of his 20 field goal attempts and 49-of-51 extra points this year. Baer. . . THE BAER FOOT: Just when senior kicker Brett Baer thought he had attempted enough kicks to qualify for the NCAA record for career field goal accuracy, a re-check of the record books shows that the NCAA has adjusted the minimum number of kicks required, leaving Baer eight attempts short of the record. The old record of .878 (43-49) by Florida’s Bobby Raymond (1983-84) under a 45-attempt minimum has been replaced with a 55-attempt record of .895 by Nebraska’s Alex Henery (2007-10), who was 68-of-76 in his career. Baer is currently just short of the record at .894 (42-47). Baer made all seven attempts in 2010 and was 18-for-20 last year to lead the country in field goal percentage (.900). He is 17-for-20 this year. . . . IT WAS JUST TWO BAD GAMES FOR BAER: Brett Baer has only missed five of his 47 career field goal attempts with four of the misses coming in two games. As a junior in 2011, he was wide left on two kicks just 75 seconds apart against Florida Atlantic, missing from 48 yards with 12:30 left in the third quarter and from 25 yards at the 11:15 mark. In the Tulane game on Oct. 6, he was wide right on a 41-yard attempt with 1:52 left in the first quarter and had a 27-yard attempt blocked with 9:08 left in the game. . . . AND THE BAER TRUTH: BAER CONTINUES MOVING UP THE CHARTS: A five-point effort against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1 has allowed Brett Baer to continue his climb up the various Louisiana season and career kicking lists. For the season, Baer ranks second in extra points made (49) and attempted (51), third in points (100) and field goals (17) and fourth in field goal attempts (20). For his career, he is first in both extra points made (117) and attempted (124), third in scoring (243) and field goals made (42) and fourth in attempts (47). HARRIS NEARS 1,500 YARD MARK: A 127-yard rushing effort at Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1 has moved sophomore running back Alonzo Harris within 29 yards of reaching the 1,500 yard mark for his career. In 22 career games, Harris has carried 312 times for 1,471 yards and 16 touchdowns with five 100-yard rushing games. Harris gained 700 yards as a freshman in 2011 and has totalled 761 yards this season. A preseason All-Sun Belt choice this year, he ranks fourth in the league in rushing (76.1 ypg). REED THIS: With Alonzo Harris out of the lineup against South Alabama on Nov. 24, Effrem Reed stepped in and turned in another strong game. He rushed 17 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns against South Alabama, scoring on runs of 19 and one yards. It was his fourth game of 50 yards or more rushing this season and first multiple touchdown game. For the year, Reed has carried 84 times for 411 yards and five touchdowns. . . . AND HOORAY FOR TORREY: Freshman Torrey Pierce has definitely caught the attention of the coaching staff. He carried five times for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns against WKU on Nov. 17, that performance coming on the heels of a 13 carry, 72 yards effort in the win at ULM on Nov. 3. At the start of the season, Pierce found himself fourth on the depth chart at running back. He was buried behind a slew of talented runners, each of whom was a freshman or a sophomore. Waiting patiently for his opportunity, Pierce didn’t play in either of the first two games and then got five rushes in lopsided games against Oklahoma State (5 carries, 12 yards), FIU (5-28) and Tulane (5-29). For the year, Pierce has carried 47 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns. A COMEBACK FOR STOVER: Another feel-good moment this season has been the return of sophomore kickoff specialist Hunter Stover, who has taken over the kickoff chores. Stover kicked off 47 times in the first eight games for the Cajuns last year before suffering a torn ACL in his right knee at Western Kentucky. The injury was nothing new to Stover. In high school, he tore the ACL in his left knee and a post-surgery infection required a second ACL replacement. The surgeries must have worked as Stover kicked off 32 times this year, recording 11 touchbacks and a 63.0 average. Last year, he averaged 60.3 yards with only one touchback. . . . AND STOVER DOESN’T JUST KICK: Hunter Stover’s ability as a linebacker is the reason he was brought to Louisiana, but three ACL surgeries later, his days as a linebacker are over and he is limited to just kicking. Consequently, he has taken advantage of his only opportunities to hit an opponent by ranking second on the team with six special teams tackles. BROWN BREAKS IN: Junior receiver Bradley Brown saw the most significant action of his UL career against North Texas on Oct. 16, making six catches for 40 yards to raise his season totals to nine catches for 111 yards. Brown, a transfer from Northwestern State, saw minimal action in the first three games before making two catches for 68 yards against FIU and one grab for three yards vs. Tulane. In two seasons at NSU, Brown made 75 catches for 810 yards and four touchdowns, twice earning honorable mention all-league honors. . . . AND BLOCKS A PUNT: Bradley Brown turned in perhaps the biggest play against Florida, blocking a third quarter punt that Blake Comminie returned 22 yards for the score that put Louisiana ahead, 17-13. COACHING CONTINUITY: Louisiana was one of only 16 FBS schools to return the head coach and all nine assistant coaches from the previous season, according to research by Coachingsearch.com. To take things even further, the Cajuns also brought back the four graduate and administrative assistants on the coaching staff and all three weight room staff members. The other 15 schools with their entire coaching staff back were BYU, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Louisiana Tech, Miami (FL), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Oregon, San Diego State, Texas, Virginia and Virginia Tech. BUT THE COACHING STAFF CAN CHANGE: The Cajuns have shown the willingness to make defensive changes if they will lead to a win. In the Nov. 3 game at ULM, the Cajuns took a linebacker and lineman out of the lineup in favor of a six-man or “dime” secondary. The following week at No. 6 Florida, Louisiana switched to a four-man front to take advantage of the depth on the line. Although UL lost at Florida, the switch stuck for the remainder of the season as the Cajuns won their final three games. THE LINE THAT PLAYS TOGETHER: Terrance Broadway should feel comfortable under center this year as four of the five starters on the offensive line return, each of whom played in almost 95-percent of the snaps last year. The quartet of seniors Leonardo Bates (LT) and Jaron Odom (RT), junior Andre Huval (C) and sophomore Daniel Quave (RG). The foursome combine to have made 116 career starts, including all the last 25 games together. Odom and Huval each played 925 of the 936 offensive snaps last year with Quave (890) and Bates (887) being not far behind. The fifth starter on the unit this year is Mykhael Quave, the younger brother of Daniel. . . .AND THE LINE FEATURES SIZE: The offensive line not only features experience, but size as well. The five starters average 6-4, 308 pounds, giving UL one of the biggest offensive lines in the SBC. The left side of the line features tackle Leonardo Bates (6-5, 296) and Mykhael Quave (6-5, 300) with Andre Huval (6-1, 290) at center. The right side of the line starts tackle Jaron Odom (6-6, 330) and guard Daniel Quave (6-3, 324). . . .AND THE LINE FEATURES SIZE: The offensive line not only features experience, but size as well. The five starters average 6-4, 308 pounds, giving UL one of the biggest offensive lines in the SBC. The left side of the line features tackle Leonardo Bates (6-5, 296) and Mykhael Quave (6-5, 300) with Andre Huval (6-1, 290) at center. The right side of the line starts tackle Jaron Odom (6-6, 330) and guard Daniel Quave (6-3, 324). THE MEN IN BLACK: The Ragin’ Cajuns surprised their fans for the Nov. 17 game against Western Kentucky, wearing all black uniforms along with a re-designed black helmet. Since the game was promoted as a Black Out with fans in attendance wearing black, the Cajuns debuted the black helmet that featured a fleur de lis in place of the stacked Ragin’ Cajuns logo during warmups, but the squad was wearing their red uniforms tops with black pants. When the warmups were over and the team returned to the locker room, each player was greeted with a black uniform in their locker. The uniform featured a large fleur de lis on the front with a small uniform number on the left shoulder. In place of the names on the back were one of four French words. . . fierté (which means pride), croire (believe), unité (unity) and combattre (fight). REMEMBERING MICKEY: The UL football team was honored to include on their helmets in 2012 a decal in memory of 21-year old UL student Mickey Shunick, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle and later murdered in the early morning hours on May 19. The football staff worked with the Shunick family to come up with the design of the decal. It features a drawing of a woman riding a bicycle with her hands in the air with the name Mickey underneath, a design that has become popular among the friends and family of Shunick. “We’re just honored to do this for Mickey and her family,” head coach Mark Hudspeth said. “Obviously, what we do on the field doesn’t even come close to the kind of courage and fight that she showed. We just want to remember one of our own in a way that would make her proud.” TOUT QUE’ CHOSE (A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING): NEXT UP: With the 2012 season complete, the Ragin’ Cajuns will have nine months to get ready for the 2013 campaign, which opens at Arkansas on Saturday, Aug. 31. Brian McCann
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