College Football Predictions – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 2020 College Football Preview
August 9, 2020
2020 Recap
Record – 11-3
ATS – 9-5
The Ragin’ Cajuns set a program record for wins but couldn’t get past the JUGGERNAUT Appalachian St Mountaineers. Louisiana fell to them in the regular season and once again in the Sun Belt Championship Game. It was an 11-win season capped off by a victory over Miami Ohio in the Lending Tree Bowl (W 27-17). Not bad at all.
Head coach Billy Napier has done fine work in his first two seasons (18-10 record) but can he get them to the top of the Sun Belt mountain in 2020?
2020 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
West Division – #1
Sun Belt – #2
Louisiana Rajun’ Cajuns 2020 Outlook
OFFENSE
Louisiana had one of the most potent offenses in the country last year (#6 FBS rushing offense, #8 total offense) and averaged a whopping 38 PPG (#10 FBS). The rushing attack was a three-headed monster (Elijah Mitchell, Raymond Calais, and Trey Ragas) that combined for over 2,800 rushing yards and 33 (!) rushing TDs in 2019. The run game should be DEVASTATING once again with Mitchell (1,147) and Ragas both back for duty, and note that the offensive line is still one of the best in the Sun Belt (four returning starters). The WR unit will undergo a bit of a retooling as they lose two of their top three WRs including #1 Ja’Marcus Bradley (906, 10 TD LY). The best news regarding the outlook for the offense is the return of ultra-efficient senior QB Levi Levis who threw for over 3,000 yards LY whilst boasting a SPICY 26-4 TD to INT mark.
This is still a premier offense and one of the best in the Sun Belt.
DEFENSE
It extremely difficult to win eleven games unless the defense plays a big part in your success. Louisiana did a fine job on defense LY and finished #2 in the Sun Belt in total defense whilst allowing a mere 19.7 PPG (#1 Sun Belt, #18 FBS). They were especially stingy vs the pass (#2 Sun Belt pass efficiency D) and allowed just 11 TD passes (!) all year (10 INT). That placed them tied for 5th best in the country in that regard. The Cajuns need to move on without leading tackler LB Jacques Boudreaux but have seven returning starters and boast a lot of experience overall on the depth chart. LB Joe Dillon led the team in sacks a season ago (7.5) and LB Kris Moncrief was 2nd on the team in tackles, as well as in sacks (5.5). The secondary looks to be in good shape with the return of a pair of starting safeties and starting CB Eric Garror. ZiYon Hill is one of the best interior linemen in the Sun Belt and is a great piece to build around.
The defense will be solid unit and certainly good enough to backstop a run for the conference title. One concern is the departure of former DC Ron Roberts to Baylor.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Louisiana has a question mark at PK with the departure of Stevie Artigue who made 51 FGs over his four year career with the Cajuns. The return game was average a season ago. The good news is that their excellent punter Rhys Burns is back for duty.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The non-conference slate has a pair of tough road contests to navigate (Iowa St, UAB) and they also face ARCH-NEMESIS Appalachian St in Boone, NC. The rest of the docket is very, very manageable.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing overly-spooky is noted.
Season Win Total
Waiting for Vegas/Offshore number.
MEGALOCKS says:
Waiting for Vegas/Offshore number.
MEGAmazing Tidbit
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
These guys have a great shot at taking down the Sun Belt crown. Yes, they’ll need to get past the Mountaineers at some point, but this just might be the year they GIT ER DONE. They’re rock solid on both sides of the ball and have a rising star for a head coach. Expect another division title and a shot at glory.
#GeauxCajuns
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WEBSITE
https://ragincajuns.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://www.raginpagin.com/louisiana/forumdisplay.php?21-FOOTBALL
NEWS
http://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/sports/ul_lafayette/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/309/louisiana-ragin’-cajuns
TWITTER
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