Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
The Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns 2009 campaign started off with a bang, beating Kansas State in week 2 for their first win over a BCS opponent since 1996. But the momentum fizzled down the stretch, and despite finishing 6-6, Louisiana was not selected for postseason play.
Ryan Masson, the starting quarterback, returns with seven offensive teammates and six others on the defensive side. The coaching staff is stable and the Sun Belt always offers room for a good team to emerge, but the nonconference schedule is going to make life difficult for the Cajuns again.
Schedule
9/4/2010 at Georgia
9/11/2010 Arkansas State
9/25/2010 Middle Tennessee State
10/2/2010 at North Texas
10/8/2010 Oklahoma State
10/16/2010 at Troy
10/23/2010 Western Kentucky
10/30/2010 at Ohio
11/6/2010 at Ole Miss
11/13/2010 at Florida Atlantic
11/20/2010 Florida International
11/27/2010 at ULM
Three BCS schools and a MAC division champ is not an ideal out of conference schedule for a Sun Belt team looking to gain some momentum (yes, they’re set a long time ago, but still- ouch). No sooner do they get back from Athens then they have two vital Sun Belt games with Arkansas State & Middle Tennessee coming to Lafayette. And much like 2009, the season could ride on a season finale with rival ULM.
Coaching
Rickey Bustle starts into his 9th season as head coach at Louisiana. He’s on a two year run of 6-6 seasons, which is better than it may sound given the schedules his team always gets. His seat may be a little warm after a long time in the job without big results, but he’s not in the most precarious spot either.
Rankings
The Sun Belt media have Louisiana 3rd in their poll, while the coaches have them 4th.
Outlook
It’s always difficult to get a read on the Sun Belt in the preseason because every year someone surges and someone else collapses. That being said, I think the Rajin’ Cajuns are one of the better teams in the league, and could win anywhere from five to seven league games. And since I’m skeptical of their chances to crack their out of conference schedule, five to seven wins is about right for the year.
Louisiana Connections
Rajin Pagin – independent message board
Lafayette Advertiser – Local coverage of the Rajin’ Cajuns.