Fall has not quite made its way to the swamps of south Louisiana, but that has not stopped the start of the football season as over 20,000 fans poured into Cajun Field to watch the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns’ season opener against the Grambling State Tigers.
Though it would not do justice to call it a game as the Cajuns steamrolled the northern Tigers 40–10, winning the game in such convincing fashion it may even give the most cynical of fans hope for the upcoming season.
The entire game showcased what Louisiana football could be when the team is at 100% and coaching is at its best. The Cajuns excelled in every part of the game for the most part, with a few minor errors here and there.
The most impressive player of the game was senior Ben Wooldridge who was starting his first game since being injured in a game against UAB in week three of last season.
Wooldridge was named the starter the Monday before the game after battling with Chandler Fields for the starting job once again. The Cajuns were the better for it as Wooldridge’s play lit up the Grambling defense.
Wooldridge finished the game completing 25 of his 33 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns. While some of those completions and yards came off of receiver screens, most of the damage was done with the deep ball.
Wooldridge throughout the game threw a number of beautiful deep passes including a 56 yard touchdown pass to receiver Tavion Smith. Wooldridge’s other two touchdowns came from passes of 10 yards or more, and he would have had at least one more in the fourth quarter if it were not for a receiver dropping a well thrown back shoulder pass in the endzone.
Overall though the Cajuns receiving corps is as solid as usual, with sophomore Harvey Broussard leading the way, hauling in four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Other reliable receivers include junior Robert Williams who had four catches and sophomore tight end Terrance Carter.
The air attack was paired with an extremely efficient rushing offense carried out by a running back committee led by starting running back Dre’lyn Washington who ran for 25 yards and a touchdown on five carries. The other two backs were sophomore Zylan Perry who ran for 45 yards on five carries and freshman Elijah Davis who rushed for 35 yards off of 6 carries.
It was not just offense that was balling either as the Cajuns punished the Tigers as they tried their best to score, holding them scoreless till the third quarter.
The Tigers only managed a meager 241 yards of total offense and turned that little yardage into only 10 points. The Cajuns managed to even take points from the offense thanks to a pick-6 by junior linebacker Caleb Kibodi early in the second quarter.
The secondary only allowed a handful of big plays through the air, the longest being 35 yards. The rushing defense matched this by keeping the run under wraps, though a few runs slipped through for double-digit yardage, though they also recorded four TFLs.
It was a great start to the season, the kind that can easily build confidence and momentum for the team. The Cajuns are looking to build on that momentum next week as they travel to Georgia to play the Kennesaw State Owls.
The Owls were just promoted to the FBS this season and joined Conference USA, so they are relatively unproven at the moment.
The Owls are coming off a 28–16 loss to the UTSA Roadrunners where they allowed a total of 416 yards, 340 of which was through the air.
This only means good things for the Cajuns who will be able to take care of the Owls weak secondary after establishing the run against their soft defensive line.
The Cajuns winning this will be vital to maintain momentum going into an early bye before hosting in-state rivals the Tulane Green Wave who themselves just finished demolishing Southeastern Louisiana 52–0.
A win seems pretty assured as Kennesaw State is still essentially an FCS school.
The team should still be careful though, tripping up because they were thinking of their next opponent is never a good look.