Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Offense Will Need To Improve Against Old Dominion

There was a lot to like about the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 38-13 win over the Northwestern State Demons last Saturday.

1. The defense allowed 187 yards
2. QB Ben Wooldridge accounted for 4 TDs
3. They rushed for 206 yards.

That’s all pretty impressive.  Dig a little deeper and there were some issues, although not defensively.  

The Demons first six points came on field goals after Cajuns turnovers.  The defense had allowed a grand total of 47 yards in the first 28 minutes of the 2nd Half before a 47-yard TD pass on the Demons final offensive play of the game. 

Against Old Dominion, the Ragin’ Cajuns will get lineman Mason Narcisse back, returning to the team following the passing of his father.  So, will the Cajuns defense even be better against the Monarchs?

Offensively is where the Cajuns can improve.  Take away Dre’lyn Washington’s 62-yard TD run and Wooldridge’s 24-yard touchdown run, Louisiana’s average run goes from 6.1 to 3.75, dropping more than 2 yards per carry.

Wooldridge, coming off knee surgery, did throw 3 TD passes and ran for another, but was just 14-32 on the night.  The Cajuns as a team were 5-15 on third down.  Those numbers are going to have to improve moving forward.

As far as Old Dominion goes, it’s been a minute since they tasted victory, 47 weeks to be exact.  The Monarchs haven’t won since beating Coastal Carolina 49-21 last October 15.  And with Wake Forest coming to Norfolk next week, Old Dominion could be looking at a 9-game losing streak if they don’t take down the Cajuns.

The Monarchs did bring in new offensive Kevin Decker and his high-powered offense from Fordham (1st in yards, 2nd in points in FCS last season).  And the Rams backup QB Grant Wilson, who won the Monarchs job in camp.

ODU did stay close with Virginia Tech last weekend, down just 23-17 midway through the 3rd Quarter, but a couple of Monarch turnovers prevented any chance of an upset.

Still, Old Dominion held the Hokies to just 109 yards rushing, which the Cajuns will have to do better than. Offensively, ODU only had 94 yards passing, but 201 on the ground.  Appears the Old Dominion running game against the Cajuns DL could be THE big factor in deciding this game.

Louisiana is 6.5 point favorites on the road in Norfolk, and I’m a big believer in any road win in college is a good win.  But if the Cajuns want to have the kind of season THEY expect to have, you can’t lose to a team on a 7-game losing streak.

Wooldridge connects with Tight End Heath Johnson more efficiently than last week with just 3 catches on 11 targets against Northwestern State.  And Zylan Perry will probably start at running back with Washington banged up a bit.

With the return of Narcisse, look for the Cajuns DL to get consistent pressure on Wilson.  They will have to contain him because he is athletic enough to take off.  He rushed for 81 yards against the Hokies.

I’ll take the Cajuns 28-17 as Louisiana improves to 2-0.