UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns 2016 NCAA Football Preview
UL LAFAYETTE RAGIN CAJUNS
Sun Belt Conference
2015 Record – 4-8
ATS – 4-7-1
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
Conference #4
2015 Recap
It finally happened. We all knew that Mark Hudspeth and the Ragin’ Cajuns could not go 9-4 every year. The QB play was dismal. The defense was poor. They were -9 in turnover margin. And they finished up by losing their final four games of the season. Hudspeth still has a 40-24 record in his tenure here so we are definitely going to cut everyone some slack.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
They have to figure out the QB situation. You know the old saying, when you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have any. Well according the MEGALOCKS SUN BELT INSIDERS, it is currently a 3-man race as LSU transfer Anthony Jennings has entered the mix. We have no idea how this might turn out but trust the judgement of the coaching staff. Whatever happens, they need better QB play if they have any hope of challenging for the Sun Belt Title.
Thankfully, star RB Elijah McGuire is back for his senior season after a 1000-yard campaign in which he scored 13 TDs on the ground. McGuire also caught 33 passes for another 3 TDs out of the backfield. The WR group is a question mark as leading receiver Jamal Robinson departs.
The offensive line returns 3/5 starters and should be fine. Hudspeth’s teams have done well running the football (173, 226, 205, 193 yards per game L4Y) and they should find a way to get it done in 2016, particularly with McGuire back at RB.
DEFENSE
It will all hinge on being able to stop the run, especially playing the elite teams in the Sun Belt that can pound the running game with great success. Overall, the defense returns five starters in the front seven and will almost definitely improve over last season’s performance. The secondary looks really good. They will need to find a way to generate more sacks (only 22 last season) and create more turnovers as they were ranked dead LAST in the conference in turnovers gained (11).
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Stevie Artigue had an erratic freshman season making 8/15 FGs. The Ragin’ Cajuns are fine at punter with Steven Coutts and they had average return units in 2016. All the key components are back and should improve with experience.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 4.0
MEGALOCKS says:
The opener against Boise may not be much fun. Then again, they do get them at home. Four relatively easy games follow and then they have a bye week to get ready for a big test against Appalachian St. To be honest, when looking at their schedule from start to finish, it seems very unlikely that the Ragin’ Cajuns fail to reach bowl eligibility given the talent they have on hand.
Overall, we give the RAGIN CAJUNS a 4.0 ATS Value Rating (Below Average) this season. We have to wait and see how this quarterback situation plays out. And the run defense is a big concern especially when playing teams in your conference like Appalachian St, Georgia Southern and Arkansas St. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a 16-20-2 (44%) record ATS the past three seasons so there is a case to be made that they are flying under the radar. There are not too many people out there who have had a great time supporting ULL at the windows recently. Value ? We are going to wait and see on this team.
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