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In a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns fell to the Appalachian State Mountaineers 28-7. The Cajuns were not even on a similar level to their Sun Belt counterparts in this loss.
Let's look at the good, bad, and ugly of the Cajuns getting beat in a game that dropped them to 4-7 on the year.
The Good
- Jordan Davis: With Jalen Nixon and Brooks Haack unable to take hold of the starting quarterback position this fall, redshirt freshman Jordan Davis finally got some playing time in this game. Davis was perfect passing 7-7 for 60 yards along with 23 yards and a touchdown rushing the ball. He put his name back into the running at the quarterback position for the season finale and beyond. To temper expectations, all of his work was done in a late fourth quarter drive with the Cajuns already down 28-7.
- Solid Punting: It has been an up and down season for Steven Coutts at punter, so it is only fair to give him credit for a great game. The freshman punted eight times with four landing inside the Appalachian State 20-yard line. Two other punts were downed for touchbacks and one was downed at the 24-yard line. Only one of his eight punts resulted in the Mountaineers starting a drive outside of their own 35.
The Bad
- Running Game: For a team that prides itself on being able to run the ball, the Cajuns were stuffed consistently for 42 total yards on 36 carries. Even taking out the six sacks that count against the rushing total, the Cajuns had only 83 total rushing yards on 30 carries. Elijah McGuire was held under 50 yards for the third time this season. The offensive line had backs fighting off tackle attempts almost as soon as they got the ball on several occasions.
- Stopping the Run: The Cajuns rush defense forgot to show up once again in giving up 230 yards on 46 carries. Jalin Moore and Marcus Cox combined for 182 yards and three touchdowns on the day. As a team Appalachian State rushed for 5.0 yards per carry. This has sadly been all too common for the Cajuns, a team dominating the line of scrimmage and running at will versus Louisiana.
- Penalties: Another common theme for the Cajuns has been the inability to keep from committing stupid penalties. Three 15-yard penalties, two holding calls, an offside, and a false start pretty much killed any hope of the Cajuns pulling out a win. On the positive side, at least the Cajuns get to stay in their #114 ranking in fewest penalty yards per game at 69.8 penalty yards per game. I can't get too mad at them for being who they are.
The Ugly:
- Offensive Line Play: It was as though Haack sat back waiting to be hit by the Mountaineers in getting sacked six times on the day. It was not pretty for the offensive line at any point in getting dominated in the trenches yet again. At no point in this game did the Cajuns offensive line look like they were anywhere near the level of Appalachian State.
Play of the Game:
- None: When you lose 28-7 with your third string quarterback responsible for nearly 33% of your total offense on the final drive of the game, you do not get a play of the game. It was over from the start.
Up Next:
- With their bowl fate now in hand, the Cajuns host the Troy Trojans in their season finale. A win and they can get to 5-7, a loss and they fall to 4-8 on the year.