'Saturday night in the Swamp': UL football hosts App State in Week 7

Riding the momentum from conquering its Southern Miss curse, Louisiana football returns to Cajun Country for its second Sun Belt Conference game.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (4-1) handled the Golden Eagles 23-13, breaking an 11-plus-year losing streak to their longtime conference rival. Now their sights are set on Appalachian State for their Week 7 matchup.

“Saturday night in the swamp, that’s kind of what it’s all about,” UL football head coach Michael Desormeaux said. “So it's going to be a really good football game, and we're going to have to play really well to win because they're a deep, talented team. They're in a similar situation they were last year, they were 3-4 and they went on, they played for the conference championship so they’ve been here before.”

On Saturday, the Mountaineers (2-3) went back and forth with Marshall but didn’t have enough to contain the Thundering Herd on homecoming, losing 57-37. While they look to snag their first SBC win at Cajun Field, the Cajuns are looking to start a winning streak in conference play.

Louisiana football offense is rolling

With a game of conference play under their belt, the Cajuns feel secure in their offense and their fifth-year quarterback Ben Wooldridge. Calm, cool and collected could be the slinger's new nickname as he handles whatever pressure defenses are throwing at him. He has thrown for 1,214 yards and 10 touchdowns so far this season and has only thrown two picks.

While Wooldridge has ignited a fiery pass game, Desormeaux is looking for more from his running back room. So far the Cajuns have been solid on the ground, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards as a team after five games. Redshirt junior running back Dre’lyn Washington led them against Southern Miss rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown.

“Our offense every day, when we start game plan, every week it starts with what are the best things we can do to run the football and then everything else goes from there,” Desormeaux said. “Even though we're throwing it more this year than we have in the past, that's still where it starts. So for us, we’ve got a find a way to run the football against them.”

Washington, redshirt sophomore Zylan Perry and redshirt freshman Bill Davis will look to establish the run against the Mountaineers who have allowed opponents over 1,000 yards rushing so far this season.

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Containing the run

App State’s two wins this season had one thing in common: the offensive leadership of senior quarterback Joey Aguilar.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound California native led the Mountaineers past East Tennessee State in Week 1, throwing for 326 yards with two touchdowns and adding two rushing touchdowns. In their win over East Carolina in Week 3, Aguilar threw for 424 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for nearly 30 yards.

In the loss to Marshall, Aguliar ended the game throwing for two touchdowns and leading the Mountaineers in rushing yards (55).

His ability to make things happen on the ground as well as in the air makes him a huge threat to UL’s defense, which has struggled to contain the run in the past. Against Southern Miss, the Cajuns' defense had finally arrived.

“I think the biggest thing coming out of that game is it was good for us to win a game that way, where our defense had to play really well,” Desormeuax said. “The thing I’m most excited about is getting those guys back on track. I think we have a chance to have a really good defense, I really do.”

The Cajuns limited the Golden Eagles to 37 yards rushing, the lowest amount this season. Not only did they limit the run game but they caused havoc in the pocket. Junior linebacker Cameron Whitfield led the charge recording a career-high four sacks and six tackles.

UL’s Nigerian Nightmare linebacker K.C. Ossai matched his six tackles and still leads the defense with 35 total tackles this season. The Cajuns' promising outing against Southern Miss comes at a great time as they will need to contain Aguilar and other offensive weapons.

“This quarterback is really talented and he’s an athlete, too,” Desormeaux said. “He can really run. He's a physical runner and he looks like a big kid, and he makes them go. The guy can make all the throws too so that’s always scary. These challenges are gonna be real.”

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: 'Saturday night in the Swamp': UL football hosts App State in Week 7