Louisiana-Lafayette seeks resurgence after 2015 'speed bump'
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - It took Louisiana-Lafayette coach Mark Hudspeth five years on the job to finally experience a losing season. Hudspeth asserts it was an aberration. The Ragin' Cajuns will have a shot to prove him right soon enough.
"I have never been 4-8 in my career as a head coach and I never plan on it again," Hudspeth said. "It is hard to get to the top and it is hard to stay at the top.
"We hit a speed bump that we didn't see coming," Hudspeth added. "We felt it was a little bit of a rebuilding year (last season), but we thought that we could overcome it and we just didn't get it done."
The beginning of the Hudspeth era in Lafayette was marked by four straight nine-victory seasons, all of which ended with victories in the New Orleans Bowl. However, the program discovered some past recruiting violations and wound up vacating 22 victories in which ineligible players participated, including bowl wins in 2011 and 2013. Operating under self-imposed recruiting and scholarship restrictions last season, the Cajuns went 4-8, failing to earn a bow bid for the first time since 2010.
But ULL's problems appeared correctable. Three of their losses came by a touchdown or less, and to some extent, they beat themselves with a minus-nine turnover differential.
This season, ULL will have a more experienced defense, top running back Elijah McGuire returning for his senior season and the opportunity to add considerable experience at quarterback thanks to Anthony Jennings' transfer from LSU.
In a preseason poll of Sun Belt Conference coaches, ULL was picked to finish fifth this season, a departure from their status as one of the preseason favorites in recent seasons.
"We are ready to work and fly under the radar and let them see what we do," senior linebacker Otha Peters said.
Some things to know about the Ragin' Cajuns in 2016:
MATURING DEFENSE: The Cajuns struggled mightily on defense a season ago, with seven different opponents scoring 30 or more points. It didn't help that ULL produced only five interceptions and six fumble recoveries all season. This year, more than half of the defense will be comprised of returning starters and the hope is to find some play-makers among the new starters coming in. "We had a lot of first-year guys playing on the field last season," Peters said. "This year ... being leaders on the field, we have a lot of high expectations."
QB QUESTIONS: Based on experience, Jennings is the likely starter. He was LSU's starter two seasons ago, completing 49 percent of his passes for 1,611 and 11 TDs against seven interceptions. He also had 292 net yards rushing in 2014. Last season, he lost the starting job to Brandin Harris and decided to transfer after graduating early. But Hudspeth is not just handing Jennings the job without competition from 6-foot-3 sophomore Jordan Davis, who saw some playing time late last season. "If the quarterback battle is close, then both quarterbacks may have a role to help our team in some way," Hudspeth said.
SEASON OPENER: ULL gets a tough test out of the game with a visit from Boise State on Sept. 3. With kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on an early September day, there's a good chance of the type of heat and humidity that would favor the Cajuns over their foes from the Northwest.
KEY GAMES: The Cajuns welcome Sun Belt favorite Appalachian State on Oct. 12, travel to Georgia on Nov. 19 and close the regular season at in-state rival Monroe on Dec. 3. Meanwhile, a trip to non-conference foe Tulane on Sept. 24 could hold recruiting implications in Louisiana.
PREDICTION: McGuire's decision to return gives the Cajuns an all-purpose play-maker with more than 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in his career. That, combined with the prospect of improved quarterback play and more experience on defense, could get ULL back above .500 this season and in contention for a fifth bowl bid in six years.
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