UL

[yosef69]

I'd think UNCs line was the best we've played this year? I mean it's an ACC recruited line with 3-4-5 star players.

That's what I was thinking and we dominated them so I'm not too worried about their OL

They did put up 470 yards and 31 points so I’m not sure I’d call that dominant, but it was a solid defensive effort.

I was thinking more about sacks and strip sacks and pressures. That's all the DL in that game

[yosef69]

Has anyone watched them this year? Why are their fans so confident our DL is going to get "dominated" by their OL? Our DL has looked pretty good this year, it's the LB play that looks suspect.

Our LBs have been struggling with assignments, but most of their woes have come from the DL not getting enough push. If OLineman are getting to the second level and restricting LB movement, the LBs will look bad, but it’s the DLines fault. The front 7 is so dependent on each other for success. Roofs scheme is highly dependent on the front 3 DL and OLB getting pressure, that when we aren’t, things go downhill quickly. The DLines best performance was the Carolina game, wasn’t a coincidence that our defense looked better all around.

Does the ULL OL worry you more that UNCs?

[proasu89]

The Cajun’s offense is potent but not better than unc’s.

[Stonewall]

Carolina also has more depth at every position , although Napier’s system does as much to develop players as any I know of , he doesn’t start with anything like UNC talent.

[AppStFan1]

Carolina also has more depth at every position , although Napier’s system does as much to develop players as any I know of , he doesn’t start with anything like UNC talent.

I hope our players and coaches treat every game like it is UNC or South Carolina. ULL is a very good team and someone I know we will have to play our A+ game against. UNC did not give us near the same effort as we will get from ULL. We are their Super Bowl.

[appstatealum]

Has anyone watched them this year? Why are their fans so confident our DL is going to get "dominated" by their OL? Our DL has looked pretty good this year, it's the LB play that looks suspect.

Our LBs have been struggling with assignments, but most of their woes have come from the DL not getting enough push. If OLineman are getting to the second level and restricting LB movement, the LBs will look bad, but it’s the DLines fault. The front 7 is so dependent on each other for success. Roofs scheme is highly dependent on the front 3 DL and OLB getting pressure, that when we aren’t, things go downhill quickly. The DLines best performance was the Carolina game, wasn’t a coincidence that our defense looked better all around.

Does the ULL OL worry you more that UNCs?

The ULL OL is a little bit more mobile, but I wouldn't say I'm worried about them at the point of attack. We just need to see better push from our line and I would expect to see a more competent all around effort from our defense.

[Yosef84]

I'd think UNCs line was the best we've played this year? I mean it's an ACC recruited line with 3-4-5 star players.

I agree that UNC's line was "better" at least in terms of "talent" but this is the other side of that stars issue. You can't just add up recruiting stars to determine which guys are actually better on the field. If you could, we wouldn't be nearly as successful as we've been. UNC's OL has been one of their points where they've struggled but I think they are getting better as the season goes on and they actually played better against us then they did against SC, Miami, etc. We still made some plays! They looked pretty impressive against Clemson this past week!

If we can hold UL to 31 points, I think we win this game. It's more about style of play and how we match up than which OL is "better." It will be interesting to see Drink's offensive strategy. Last year against UL, Sat played ball control and minimized UL's time of possession. Drink was more aggressive against UNC initially but then he went ball control for the last 20 minutes and ate the clock to close the game. The interesting thing to consider is that Napier is faced with exactly the same issue. He has to consider what is his best strategy to keep App's potent offense off the field. This game could really turn into a chess match and the team that blinks will lose. Sorry for the mixed metaphor.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

This is the best team we've played to date and the best team left on the schedule until we play them again in Boone for the conference championship.

[Rick83]

I wouldn't count out Ark State for winning the West...that RS freshman QB looked pretty good in his first start at Troy. Like ZT good. Transfered from Alabama.

[appstatealum]

Watched some film on UL last night....few things stood out:

1. Their special teams are shaky, punting included. We may be able to flip the field a lot like we did against Coastal.

2. Their offensive line is steady, but isn’t getting big push. I expect them to stretch out and skew towards zone blocking and depend on Ragas to find the gaps. If our defense can stay patient, no problem.

3. Their QB likes to bootleg and bails out of the pocket more often than he stays. Again, our defense needs to be patient and contain. Do not overpursue, try to collapse the pocket with 3 DL and have LB run outside containment. If we can pressure him outside of the pocket when he rolls out, he tends to struggle to read the defense and we can get him to throw us a few.

4. Based on their MissSt film, it looks like they will try and load the box on Evans. I think Evans will have some success running off tackle and we may see some throws to Evans in the flat. Evans will win a lot of the 1v1 battles if we can get him in space.

5. On passing downs, they will run a lot of zone coverage, so I expect to see some more Virgil in this game to stretch the field and a lot of work for Henni/Sutton on hook routes and in the flats. Malik is likely to see a lot of slants, so Zac needs to be sharp. I didn’t see much to worry about from their DL, we just need to watch the edge blitzes from their CBs, which I expect them to disguise out of those Zone coverages.

Overall, I am a little less worried about Louisiana than I was prior to breaking down their games. They are an opportunistic bunch, but if Drink is able to get Zac comfortable early, like he did in the UNC game, I expect us to win by 2 tds at least. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t a “statement” game for us, our strengths exploiting their weaknesses nicely.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Watched some film on UL last night....few things stood out:

1. Their special teams are shaky, punting included. We may be able to flip the field a lot like we did against Coastal.

2. Their offensive line is steady, but isn’t getting big push. I expect them to stretch out and skew towards zone blocking and depend on Ragas to find the gaps. If our defense can stay patient, no problem.

3. Their QB likes to bootleg and nails out of the pocket more often than he stays. Again, our defense needs to be patient and contain. Do not overpursue, try to collapse the pocket with 3 DL and have LB run outside containment. If we can pressure him outside of the pocket when he rolls out, he tends to struggle to read the defense and we can get him to throw us a few.

4. Based on their MissSt film, it looks like they will try and load the box on Evans. I think Evans will have some success running off tackle and we may see some throws to Evans in the flat. Evans will win a lot of the 1v1 battles if we can get him in space.

5. On passing downs, they will run a lot of zone coverage, so I expect to see some more Virgil in this game to stretch the field and a lot of work for Henni/Sutton on hook routes and in the flats. Malik is likely to see a lot of slants, so Zac needs to be sharp. I didn’t see much to worry about from their DL, we just need to watch the edge blitzes from their CBs, which I expect them to disguise out of those Zone coverages.

Overall, I am a little less worried about Louisiana than I was prior to breaking down their games. They are an opportunistic bunch, but if Drink is able to get Zac comfortable early, like he did in the UNC game, I expect us to win by 2 tds at least. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t a “statement” game for us, our strengths exploiting their weaknesses nicely.

Might also be a good opportunity for Zac's option run that is so effective. He's due for another 65 yarder.

[EastHallApp]

This is the best team we've played to date and the best team left on the schedule until we play them again in Boone for the conference championship.

They're good but I think people are maybe getting a *little* carried away to suggest they're better than either Carolina. They gave a solid effort against Miss. State but they did still lose by 10, and they've beaten up on a soft schedule since then (although credit to them for doing it convincingly).

I agree with the post after this that, while I'd favor ULL over stAte, that one will be a battle as well.

[AppSt94]

Watched some film on UL last night....few things stood out:

1. Their special teams are shaky, punting included. We may be able to flip the field a lot like we did against Coastal.

2. Their offensive line is steady, but isn’t getting big push. I expect them to stretch out and skew towards zone blocking and depend on Ragas to find the gaps. If our defense can stay patient, no problem.

3. Their QB likes to bootleg and bails out of the pocket more often than he stays. Again, our defense needs to be patient and contain. Do not overpursue, try to collapse the pocket with 3 DL and have LB run outside containment. If we can pressure him outside of the pocket when he rolls out, he tends to struggle to read the defense and we can get him to throw us a few.

4. Based on their MissSt film, it looks like they will try and load the box on Evans. I think Evans will have some success running off tackle and we may see some throws to Evans in the flat. Evans will win a lot of the 1v1 battles if we can get him in space.

5. On passing downs, they will run a lot of zone coverage, so I expect to see some more Virgil in this game to stretch the field and a lot of work for Henni/Sutton on hook routes and in the flats. Malik is likely to see a lot of slants, so Zac needs to be sharp. I didn’t see much to worry about from their DL, we just need to watch the edge blitzes from their CBs, which I expect them to disguise out of those Zone coverages.

Overall, I am a little less worried about Louisiana than I was prior to breaking down their games. They are an opportunistic bunch, but if Drink is able to get Zac comfortable early, like he did in the UNC game, I expect us to win by 2 tds at least. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t a “statement” game for us, our strengths exploiting their weaknesses nicely.

Agree with all of this. If they stack the box to stop Evans, Williams and Harrington, they will lose. I look for Virgil, Hennigan and Sutton to stretch the Defense and force them to cover Williams with a LB.

Their D is better than last year but it is still a work in progress. ST is where we have a decided advantage. If we can continue to start drives at mid field, we will be successful.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

[yosef69]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

I'm at work fuming haha. Why do I let these crappy writers get to me? It's like they didnt do any research at all

[MrCraig]

I'd think UNCs line was the best we've played this year? I mean it's an ACC recruited line with 3-4-5 star players.

I agree that UNC's line was "better" at least in terms of "talent" but this is the other side of that stars issue. You can't just add up recruiting stars to determine which guys are actually better on the field. If you could, we wouldn't be nearly as successful as we've been. UNC's OL has been one of their points where they've struggled but I think they are getting better as the season goes on and they actually played better against us then they did against SC, Miami, etc. We still made some plays! They looked pretty impressive against Clemson this past week!

If we can hold UL to 31 points, I think we win this game. It's more about style of play and how we match up than which OL is "better." It will be interesting to see Drink's offensive strategy. Last year against UL, Sat played ball control and minimized UL's time of possession. Drink was more aggressive against UNC initially but then he went ball control for the last 20 minutes and ate the clock to close the game. The interesting thing to consider is that Napier is faced with exactly the same issue. He has to consider what is his best strategy to keep App's potent offense off the field. This game could really turn into a chess match and the team that blinks will lose. Sorry for the mixed metaphor.

Depending on how long you blink, or how fast you play chess, this metaphor could still work. LOL

[appstatealum]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

I'm at work fuming haha. Why do I let these crappy writers get to me? It's like they didnt do any research at all

Laughable. But I am just going to count on the boys in black and gold to show that writer how out of touch he is.

[EastHallApp]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

I'm at work fuming haha. Why do I let these crappy writers get to me? It's like they didnt do any research at all

Just posted this on a separate thread someone started on this article, but I think it's clear their research consisted exclusively of looking at FPI ratings and nothing else.

[Yosef84]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

By "playoff" are these guys meaning the access bowl bid? Even if that's what they mean, a 56% chance is WAY high for any Sunbelt team. Louisiana has almost a 0% chance of getting a bid because they already have a loss. Either these guys operate in fantasy land, or they just like to make their "bold" comments to prompt clicks. I admit it....I clicked.

[Rick83]

ESPN G5 Playoff predictor

"The Ragin' Cajuns are the G5's version of Oklahoma. They boast an elite offense with a middling defense and are the best team in their mid-tier conference. Appalachian State is their Texas -- a decent challenger but not quite on the same level. Because Appalachian State is in the opposite division, a win for Louisiana next week over the Mountaineers would only boost the Ragin' Cajuns' chances of winning the conference from 42% to 48%."

By "playoff" are these guys meaning the access bowl bid? Even if that's what they mean, a 56% chance is WAY high for any Sunbelt team. Louisiana has almost a 0% chance of getting a bid because they already have a loss. Either these guys operate in fantasy land, or they just like to make their "bold" comments to prompt clicks. I admit it....I clicked.

No, the basis of the article was if the G5 had a separate playoff with 4 teams being selected by the committee just like the regular playoff.