2006 UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Dec. 2
UL Monroe 39 ... UL Lafayette 20
Helped by three interceptions, UL Monroe exploded to a 33
point first half with Calvin Dawson running for two touchdowns and
Kinsmon Lancaster connecting with Joe Merritt for a 24 yards score
and LaGregory Sapp for a 64-yard touchdown. Cole Wilson added four
field goals connecting from 41, 44, 20 and 25 yards out. UL
Lafayette stayed close early with two Tyrell Fenroy touchdown runs,
but a 23-point ULM run put it away. Player of the game ... UL Monroe QB Kinsmon Lancaster
completed 11 of 18 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns and ran
for 29 yards. Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry
Babb, 22-42, 189 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 27-118, 2 TD Receiving:
Derrick Smith, 8-98 UL Monroe - Passing: Kinsmon Lancaster, 11-18,
244 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Calvin Dawson, 24-129, 2 TD Receiving: LaGregory Sapp,
3-137, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Jerry Babb had a strange season. As
experienced as he was, he made way too many mistakes and appeared to
press a bit too much in the loss to UL Monroe, especially after the
floodgates started to open. A seven win season and a bowl bid were
there for the taking, but the defense couldn't slow down the Warhawk
balance and there were way too many mistakes on offense.
Nov. 25
UL Lafayette 28 ... Arkansas State 13
In a brilliant battle of runners with Arkansas State's Reggie
Arnold rushing for 156 yards and UL Lafayette's Tyrell Fenroy
tearing off 178, the Ragin' Cajuns broke away in the fourth quarter
on a 23-yard Jerry Babb run and Fenroy's third short score of the
game. ASU got up 10-7 in the second quarter on a 15-yard Levi
Dejohnette catch, but could only managed two Josh Arauco field goals
the rest of the way. Player of the game ... UL Lafayette RB Tyrell Fenroy ran 26
times for 178 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry
Babb, 10-18, 107 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 26-178, 3 TD Receiving:
Michael Desormeaux, 4-34 Arkansas State - Passing: Corey Leonard, 13-30,
132 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 18-156 Receiving: Levi
Dejohnette, 3-43, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
As bad as things looked a few weeks ago,
it's stunning how things can quickly change. After beating Arkansas
State with a nice mix of running from both Jerry Ball and Tyrell
Fenroy, the Ragin' Cajuns can get to seven wins by beating UL Monroe
next week and knock someone out of a bowl spot. As long as Fenroy,
who's coming on like a league MVP, runs like he has the last few
week, ULL will go somewhere for a 13th game.
Nov. 18
UL Lafayette 17 ... FIU 7
UL Lafayette got down 7-0 on a one-yard John Ellis catch, and
then scored 17 unanswered points on two Tyrell Fenroy touchdown runs
and a 47-yard Drew Edmiston field goal. FIU only managed 190 yards
and eight first downs and was outgained 270 yards to 53 on the
ground, but got a huge game from LB Keyonvis Bouie, who made 18
tackles and recovered a fumble.
Player of the game
... UL Lafayette RB Tyrell Fenroy ran 34 times for 172 yards and two
touchdown Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette- Passing: Jerry Babb,
7-16, 76 yds Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 34-172, 2 TD Receiving:
Derrick Smith, 4-50 FIU - Passing: Josh Padrick, 17-31, 137 yds, 1
TD, 1 INT Rushing: Julian Reams, 7-28 Receiving: Chandler Williams,
7-77 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
UL Lafayette got back to what it does
best: run the ball. Instead of going to a balanced attack against
FIU, the offense ran Tyrell Fenroy 34 times and it paid off
controlling the clock and taking the Golden Panther offense
completely out of the game. The defense did its best job on third
downs holding FIU to only one third down conversion in 12 chances.
Nov. 11
North Texas 16 ... UL Lafayette 7
The North Texas defense held UL Lafayette to 208 total yards
and 40 yards on the ground allowing just a two-yard Derrick Smith
touchdown catch as time ran out in the first half. The offense
started off the scoring with a four-yard Johnny Quinn catch in the
second quarter, and got a 36-yard touchdown from Casey Fitzgerald in
the third. A safety off a missed punt snap helped seal the win for
the Mean Green in the first game after the firing of head coach
Darrell Dickey was announced.
Player of the game
... North Texas RB Deavin Cox ran 28 times for 98 yards Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette- Passing: Jerry Babb,
17-27, 168 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 15-60 Receiving: Derrick
Smith, 7-102, 1 TD North Texas - Passing: Daniel Meager, 5-9, 91
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Deavin Cox, 28-98 Receiving: Casey
Fitzgerald, 2-51, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
On a three game losing streak with the
running game continuing to struggle, ULL officially goes into the
disappointing category. Jerry Babb isn't carrying the offense like
he was expected, and Tyrell Fenroy isn't getting the same room to
move he got last year. As fired up as North Texas might have been,
there's no reason an offense this decent should only get 208 yards
and 1.2 yards per carry. The defense did a decent job, but it'll
have to carry things over the final few games until the ground game
gets back on track.
Nov. 4
Troy 42 ... UL Lafayette 28
Down 14-0 in the first half, Troy turned on the offense with
Kenny Cattouse running for touchdowns from seven and eight yards out
and Omar Haugabook running for a 15-yard score and connecting with
Gary Brooks for a 58-yard touchdown. The Ragin' Cajuns got a 15-yard
Phillip Nevels touchdown catch in the first quarter and a ten-yard
Deon Wallace scoring run in the second, but only scored once each
quarter and wasn't able to overcome the Trojans' 21-point
second quarter run. Jerry Babb ran for a score and threw two
touchdown passes for ULL. Player of the game ... Troy RB Kenny Cattouse ran 24 times
for 172 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Troy - Passing: Omar Haugabook,
12-19, 153 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Cattouse, 24-172, 2 TD Receiving:
Andrew Davis, 4-30 UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry Babb, 16-29, 230
yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 18-95 Receiving: Derrick
Smith, 4-82 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's not
like Troy's offense is Hawaii's, but ULL couldn't contain the Trojan
attack giving up too many rushing yards and not coming up with a key
defensive stop once the momentum had swung after the first quarter.
Even though Jerry Babb played far better than he did in last week's
loss to Middle Tennessee, he has to make even more plays with his
legs as well as his arm. The Sun Belt title hopes are now all but
gone after the last two weeks, but a second straight winning season
would still be impressive. Winning out over the last four games, and
all are winnable, would mean a strong 8-4 finish. That can happen if
the offense finds more pop.
Oct. 28
Middle Tennessee 35 ... UL Monroe 21
Damon Nickson picked off four passes taking on 28 yards for a
touchdown as part of six forced turnovers by the Blue Raiders. The
Ragin' Cajun defense started off the scoring with a Michael Adams
79-yard interception for a touchdown, and then the Middle Tennessee
defense started forcing mistakes giving the offense short field to
work with. Clint Marks threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Gee
and ran for a one-yard score, but MT didn't put the game away until
late on a six-yard Eugene Gross scoring run.
Player of the game ... Middle Tennessee
S Damon Nickson led the team with six tackles and became the first
player in school history to pick off four passes in the same game.
Stat Leaders: Middle Tennessee - Passing: Clint
Marks, 19-26, 244 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Eugene Gross, 23-94, 1 TD Receiving: Taron
Henry, 5-85 UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry Babb, 12-24, 182
yds, 1 TD, 4 INTs Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 16-90 Receiving: Derrick
Smith, 5-70 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Since
when was moving the ball such a problem for ULL? After struggling to
get by Florida Atlantic, Jerry Babb and company couldn't stop giving
the ball away against the hawkish Middle Tennessee defense in a
loss. Jerry Babb ahs been around for far too long to not be more of
a positive factor, but if Tyrell Fenroy isn't controlling the game
on the ground, ULL is in trouble. Sun Belt title hopes are hardly
dead, but they might be in big trouble unless there's a tough win at
Troy next week.
Oct. 18
UL Lafayette 6 ... Florida Atlantic 0
UL Lafayette got a 44-yard Drew Edmiston field goal in the
second quarter and a 43-yard field goal in the third, and then hung
on as FAU's offense came up with its best drive of the night with
time running out. Michael Adams broke up a pass in the end zone with
two seasons to play to seal the win. The two teams combined for just
465 total yards of offense and six turnovers. Player of the game ... UL Lafayette DB Michael Adams
made four tackles and saved the game with his broken up pass in the
end zone. Stat Leaders: Florida Atlantic- Passing:
Rusty Smith, 10-19, 88 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Charles Pierre, 12-54 Receiving:
Jason Harmon, 3-36 UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry Babb,
11-21, 84 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 18-87 Receiving:
Louis Lee, 3-32 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Beating
Florida Atlantic wasn't the prettiest of wins by any stretch, but
ULL has won four straight going into the critical two-game stretch
against Middle Tennessee and Troy. The offense was awful with Jerry
Babb coming up with a bad performance, while Tyrell Fenroy was kept
to under 100 yards. The FAU offense was providing the opportunities
with bad play and four turnovers, but ULL wasn't able to put the
nail in the coffin. The O must get touchdowns off of turnovers to
win over the next few weeks.
Oct. 7
UL Lafayette 31 ... Houston 28
UL Lafayette got down 21-0 as Kevin Kolb threw two touchdown
passes and ran for another, and then went on a 31-7 run with Jerry
Babb running for a 14-yard score to start and throwing a four-yard
pass to Kevin Belton to finish it off. The Ragin' Cajuns dominated
the second half on offense holding on to the ball for 20:41
highlighted by an 18-play, 85-yard drive for the winning points.
Houston had one final drive, but it stalled before it could get
going. Drew Edmiston nailed field goals from 23, 37 and 51 yards out
for ULL. Player of the game ... UL Lafayette QB Jerry Babb
completed 14 of 29 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and ran 12
times for 73 yards and a score Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette - Passing:
Jerry Babb, 15-29, 146 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 24-110, 1 TD. Receiving:
Derrick Smith, 4-54 Houston - Passing: Kevin Kolb, 24-31, 367
yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jackie Battle, 7-37, 1 TD. Receiving:
Jeron Harvey, 6-118, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Talk about your confidence boosts going
into Sun Belt play, ULL couldn't be riding higher after a fantastic
comeback win over Houston. The defense didn't do too much to slow
down the Cougar passing game, but Jerry Babb and the offense were
able to keep the clock moving in the second half and control the
tempo of the game. Kevin Kolb couldn't do any damage from the bench.
It would be nice to get a more consistent passing game, but if the
ground game is running as well as it did in Houston, there won't be
any problems next week at Florida Atlantic.
Sept. 30
UL Lafayette 33 ... Eastern Michigan 14
UL Lafayette got out to a 33-0 lead with 23 first half points
as Jerry Babb and Jason Chery hooked up for two touchdowns to go
along with a Babb nine-yard scoring run. Tyrell Fenroy ran for a
three-yard score and Drew Edmiston hit field goals from 44 and 40
yards out. EMU finally got on the board in the fourth quarter on two
Andy Schmitt touchdown runs. Player of the
game ...
UL Lafayette QB Jerry Babb completed 17 of 21 passes for 202 yards
and two touchdowns
and ran ten times for 31 yards and a score Stat Leaders: Eastern Michigan- Passing: Andy
Schmitt, 23-35, 171 yds Rushing: Andy Schmitt, 15-62, 2 TD Receiving:
Eric Deslauriers, 9-100 UL Lafayette - Passing: Jerry Babb, 17-21, 202
yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 15-110, 1 TD Receiving:
Jason Cherry, 5-93, 2 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
All of a sudden, ULL showed off a
passing game with Jerry Babb coming up with a brilliant day against
Eastern Michigan. The bread-and-butter is always going to be the
ground attack, but now opponents are going to have to worry more
about Babb making short to midrange plays with his arm. While the
offense converted three of four fourth down chances, it went
0-for-11 on third downs. That can't happen again.
Sept. 23
UL Lafayette, 48 ... North Carolina A&T 7
UL Lafayette ran for 330 yards and jumped out to a 34-0 first
half lead and scored the first 48 points highlighted by a blocked
punt for a score and two touchdown runs from Jerry Babb. The offense
took advantage of every chance and went on several long drives
including two long scoring marches of 12 plays. Deon Wallace closed
things out for the Ragin' Cajuns with a 45-yard touchdown run. NC
A&T got its only points on a two-yard Andre Garth scoring run late
in the fourth quarter. Player of the game ... UL Lafayette RB Tyrell Fenroy
ran 14 times for 104 yards and a touchdown Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette- Passing:
Jerry Babb, 5-10, 78 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 14-104, 1 TD. Receiving:
Jason Chery, 1-53 North Carolina A&T - Passing: Wayne
Campbell, 7-14, 105 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Tony Leath, 1-13. Receiving: Curtis alls,
8-115 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Finally,
ULL didn't have to play a LSU or a Texas A&M and it showed what it
could do. North Carolina A&T had no prayer against the Ragin' Cajun
running game with Tyrell Fenroy and Jerry Babb each rolling at will.
Eastern Michigan is a step up in competition next week, but if this
team thinks its good enough to win the Sun Belt title, it needs to
win a game like that.
Sept. 9
Texas A&M 51 ... UL Lafayette 3
Texas A&M had its way with UL Lafayette allowing just 17
passing yards and getting four touchdowns from Jorvorskie Lane. On
the way to a 31-0 lead, the Aggies got scoring runs from one, two,
and five yards out from Lane to go along with a 15-yard touchdown
catch from Chad Schroeder. ULL's Michael Desormeaux broke the run
with an eight-yard score late in the first half. Ty Branyon threw a
56-yard touchdown pass to Joey Thomas and ran for a 12-yard score in
the third quarter. Player of the game ... Texas A&M RB Jorvorskie Lane ran
12 times for 52 yards and four touchdowns Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette- Passing:
Jerry Babb, 1-8, 10 yds Rushing: Michael Desormeaux, 10-53, TD. Receiving:
Erik Jones, 1-10 Texas A&M - Passing: Stephen McGee,
20-27, 200 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mike Goodson, 8-54. Receiving: Joey
Thomas, 3-84, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The Ragin'
Cajuns need to play someone their own size after being destroyed by
LSU and Texas A&M by a combined score of 96-6. The passing game is
beyond non-existent, and the running game isn't doing nearly enough
to be effective. The North Carolina A&T game should allow the
offense to finally get on track, and the date with Eastern Michigan
should be a great test to truly see how good this team is.
Sept. 2
LSU 45 ... UL Lafayette 3
LSU wasn't always perfect early, but the passing game clicked
without a problem as JaMarcus Russell threw three touchdowns passes
and Jonathan Zenon returned an interception 20 yards for a score. UL
Lafayette got a 41-yard Drew Edmiston field goal to make it 14-3 in
the second quarter, but the Tigers scored 31 unanswered points
highlighted by a 28-yard touchdown grab from Dwayne Bowe. Player of the game ... LSU QB JaMarcus Russell
completed 13 of 17 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Stat Leaders: UL Lafayette- Passing:
Jerry Babb, 7-17, 63 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Tyrell Fenroy, 12-52. Receiving:
Derrick Smith, 2-23 LSU - Passing: JaMarcus Russell, 13-17,
253 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Alley Broussard, 8-46, 1 TD Receiving:
Dwayne Bowe, 4-88, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... UL Lafayette was going to get
pummeled by LSU, everyone knew that going in. Even so, the Ragin'
Cajons should've gotten a little more out of its ground game and
should've been able to go on a few decent drives. Jerry Babb
struggled to get anything going in the passing game, but Tyrell
Fenroy had a few good runs. The run D did a good job in the first
half.
How painful must 2005 have been for the Ragin' Cajuns after the way
they played over the second half of the season?
The program hadn't come up with a winning season since 1995 and only
had never been bowling. After a rough 1-5 start with two losses
coming on last second field goals against UCF and Arkansas State,
there was a five game winning streak with three straight three point
wins thanks to freshman RB Tyrell Fenroy and an unstoppable running
game.
The loss to Arkansas State turned out to be the difference between
the Sun Belt's berth in the New Orleans Bowl and an also-ran season,
and there was an inexcusable loss to Florida Atlantic that didn't
help matters. Now the team appears motivated and ready to finish
off what was started late last year.
Most of the credit has to go to head coach Rickey Bustle, who has
carved out a tremendous ground game and has drilled into his team
the importance of keeping mistakes to a minimum. ULL only committed
72 penalties, 21 fewer than its opponents, and only 12 fumbles in
531 rushing attempts with freshmen often handling the ball.
There are more than enough returning starters to hope to
be the preseason favorites for the title. Jerry Babb is back at
quarterback after missing most of last season, but if
he can't go, speedy Michael Desormeaux is more than good enough to run
things. The backfield is loaded with rushing talent, the line is big and
strong, and the defense should be better with several all-star
candidates.
However, this is a flawed team with a complete overhaul needed on the
special teams and a passing game that only threw three touchdown passes
last season. Even though the end of last season was strong, it took a
late comeback to get by MTSU and UL Monroe turned out to be the only
decent win of the six.
The talent and experience is there for this to be the Sun Belt's best
team, and now it has to show it can handle expectations. If nothing
else, the ground attack will be worth the price of admission. The goal
has to be Sun Belt title or bust since ...
The Schedule: ...
MTSU, North Texas, Arkansas State, and UL Monroe all come to Cajun
Field. The Sun Belt road games are at Florida Atlantic, Troy and
FIU; ULL has to win at least two of three. The non-conference
schedule isn't awful outside of road trips to LSU and Texas A&M. If
this is a good enough team to think about the New Orleans Bowl, it's
a good enough team to honestly dream about beating Houston at
Houston. McNeese State and Eastern Michigan have to be must-wins.
Best
Offensive Player: Senior OT Brandon Cox. Either QB Jerry Babb or
RB Tyrell Fenroy could end up being the Sun Belt Player of the Year,
but it's Cox who's the main cog who makes the offense fire. The 6-7,
330-pound senior will be in an NFL camp next year and could be the
team's most indispensable player considering all the depth in the
backfield.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior CB Michael Adams. He might only be 5-8
and 170 pounds, but he tackles like a much bigger defender and has
the speed to make up for his lack of height. He's one of the Sun
Belt's best all-around corners and should be in for a big season if
Kyle Ward and Torres Kingsby get the job done on the other side.
Key
player to a successful season: Sophomore PK Drew Edminston and/or
freshman PK Tyler Albrecht. Five Ragin' Cajun games were decided by
three points last season, and things should be just as tight in the
dead-even Sun Belt. Edminston and Albrecht are looking to replace
Sean Comiskey and could be the difference between a Sun Belt title
and a losing season.
The
season will be a success if ... UL Lafayette wins eight games and
the Sun Belt title. No one will stop a ground game that has to be
good enough to overcome the rest of the team's holes. This appears
to be a program about to come of age.
Key
game: November 25th vs. Arkansas State. There might not be a
closer contested series of games over the last ten years than the
ones played by the Indians and the Ragin' Cajuns. Since 1997, these
two have played seven times with ULL holding a 4-3 advantage with
the four wins coming by three, two, three and three. ASU's wins have
been by four, six and three. The winner of this year's showdown will
likely win the conference title.
2005
Fun Stats:
- Touchdown passes: Opponents 21 - UL Lafayette 3
- Penalties: Opponents 93 for 774 yards - UL Lafayette 72 for 623
yards
- Sacks: UL Lafayette 23 for 175 yards - Opponents 9 for 47 yards
The Last Time UL-Lafayette…
…played in a bowl game…1970 (Grantland Rice Bowl vs. Tennessee
State)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…2002 (UAB)
…was shutout…2002 (North Texas)
…scored 50 points…2005 (UL-Monroe)
…went undefeated…1943
…won a conference title…1994 (Big West)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…never
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Tyrell Fenroy)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2002 (Fred Stamps)
…had a first-round draft choice…never
