The big 2014 UL-Lafayette football preview: Year of the Cajun, Take 2

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1. Grown-ass men

"As we looked at the Sun Belt and what we have to compete with on a year-in, year-out basis," [Dennis] Franchione said. "We looked at UL-Lafayette and said, 'OK, guys, when you go out to recruit, if they can play in that, that’s what we’re looking for.'"

When I was preparing Monday's Texas State preview, I came across this Signing Day quote from TXST head coach Franchione. To rephrase: When we go out to recruit, we want guys who look like that.

In 2011, Mark Hudspeth took over a UL-Lafayette program that had never been to a bowl game and hadn't finished better than 6-5 since 1993. Rickey Bustle had just spent nearly a decade oscillating between 6-6 and 3-9, but couldn't ever get the Ragin' Cajuns over the hump. Check out the tone of my Cajuns preview in 2011:

Hudspeth appears to be an absolutely tremendous hire for Ragin' University. He went 44-8 in his last four years at North Alabama, and he seemed to play a pretty strong role in Mississippi State's recent offensive improvement. He has extreme familiarity with the region and success in a number of different offensive roles. But here's where I ask the same question I asked of ULM: what exactly is the ceiling here even if Hudspeth -- an enthusiastic dude, for what it's worth -- is the best coach in Ragin' Cajun history? [...]

For much of Bustle's tenure, UL-L was a league-average Sun Belt team, but they slipped the last couple of seasons. The Ragin' Cajuns have the second-worst recruiting average in the country, and they only return 10 starters. [...] The winner of the quarterbacks derby should be a good one, though, and with a weapon like [Ladarius] Green and a great offensive mind like Hudspeth, one has to assume the offense will improve. But improving in this case just means recovering the team's status as an average Sun Belt team. In other words, 2011 will likely be a baby steps year for Hudspeth and UL-L.

Or improvement could mean jumping from 3-9 to 9-4, then remaining in nine-win territory for two more years.

What Hudspeth has done in Lafayette -- in making the most of what he inherited, then building the deepest, most athletic program in the Sun Belt in a short amount of time -- has been staggering. That he's still in Lafayette for a fourth season is a pleasant surprise as well.

2. An encore

It's not supposed to work this way. When a mid-major returns a star quarterback (Terrance Broadway), skill position difference-makers (Alonzo Harris, Darryl Surgent, Jamal Robinson), an experienced offensive line, and a host of defensive play-makers (tackles Justin Hamilton, linebacker Justin Anderson, etc.), it's supposed to be a one-time-only thing. You're not supposed to get a do-over if things don't quite work out as intended.

I proclaimed that 2013 would be the "Year of the Ragin' Cajun," that the Cajuns would win the conference, that they would potentially take down either Arkansas or Kansas State early in the year, and that they had a legitimate shot at an 11-1 record and a finish in the polls.

Some of those things happened, others didn't. The Cajuns played lackluster ball against UA and KSU and lost Broadway to injury late in the year. A midseason win over Arkansas State indeed gave them an eventual conference title, but without Broadway, they suffered late losses to ULM and South Alabama and needed a New Orleans Bowl victory to get back to nine wins.

This is usually where the coach gets hired away by a major-conference program, the quarterback graduates, and the defensive difference-makers leave. Instead, almost everybody is back for another go-round. Broadway is a senior, the skill position depth is even better, the line is even more experienced, and a relatively disappointing defense returns almost its entire two-deep.

UL-Lafayette is bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced this time around. And the schedule is easier.

2013 Schedule & Results

Record: 9-4 | Adj. Record: 6-7 | Final F/+ Rk: 86
Date	Opponent	Opp. F/+ Rk	Score	W-L	Adj. Score	Adj. W-L	5-gm Adj. Avg.
31-Aug	at Arkansas	87	14-34	L	19.3 - 42.7	L
7-Sep	at Kansas State	24	27-48	L	25.9 - 32.7	L
14-Sep	Nicholls State	N/A	70-7	W	44.9 - 27.3	W
21-Sep	at Akron	108	35-30	W	30.6 - 37.6	L
5-Oct	Texas State	107	48-24	W	45.0 - 20.6	W	1.0
15-Oct	at Western Kentucky	77	37-20	W	33.2 - 30.8	W	6.1
22-Oct	at Arkansas State	90	23-7	W	27.5 - 14.7	W	10.1
2-Nov	New Mexico State	122	49-35	W	35.8 - 30.6	W	7.6
7-Nov	Troy	105	41-36	W	33.4 - 25.8	W	10.5
16-Nov	at Georgia State	121	35-21	W	38.0 - 40.3	L	5.2
30-Nov	UL-Monroe	109	28-31	L	34.1 - 38.7	L	3.8
7-Dec	at South Alabama	68	8-30	L	9.1 - 23.8	L	-1.7
21-Dec	vs. Tulane	70	24-21	W	26.2 - 41.1	L	-5.7

Category	Offense	Rk	Defense	Rk	Spec. Tms.	Rk
F/+	-1.5%	66	-9.0%	98	+0.8%	51
Points Per Game	33.8	34	26.5	63
Adj. Points Per Game	31.0	48	31.3	96

3. A false start and a flailing finish

That a 9-4 season felt disappointing is impressive in and of itself, but the start and finish to 2013 certainly left something to be desired.

Adj. Points Per Game (first 2 games): Opponent 37.7, UL-L 22.6 (minus-15.1)
Adj. Points Per Game (next 8 games): UL-L 36.1, Opponent 28.5 (plus-7.6)
Adj. Points Per Game (last 3 games): Opponent 34.5, UL-L 23.1 (minus-11.4)

Broadway suffered a broken wrist during the ULM game, and backup Brooks Haack fell victim to a South Alabama team playing dynamite ball in the season finale; Broadway was considered a longshot to play against Tulane in the bowl, but he somehow did so. He was far from great against an awesome Tulane secondary -- 12-for-19 for 143 yards, two picks, and four sacks -- but he gave the Cajuns an early jolt of life, and it ended up being just enough. They scored on two of their first three drives, then leaned on turnovers to take the 24-21 win.

Still, the sketchy early performances and the banged-up finish put a lower ceiling on 2013 than I originally anticipated.

Offense

FIVE FACTORS -- OFFENSE
	Raw Category		Rk	Opp. Adj. Category		Rk
EXPLOSIVENESS	IsoPPP	1.16	54	IsoPPP+	95.6	88
EFFICIENCY	Succ. Rt.	46.5%	27	Succ. Rt. +	102.5	49
FIELD POSITION	Def. Avg. FP	28.7	46	Def. FP+	99.4	66
FINISHING DRIVES	Pts. Per Trip in 40	4.9	12	Redzone S&P+	112.1	23
TURNOVERS	EXPECTED	20.6		ACTUAL	22	+1.4

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	57	62	50	85
RUSHING	26	65	55	55
PASSING	82	45	55	94
Standard Downs		55	54	66
Passing Downs		72	59	101

Q1 Rk	21	1st Down Rk	45
Q2 Rk	64	2nd Down Rk	74
Q3 Rk	92	3rd Down Rk	63
Q4 Rk	92

4. The big plays dissipated

Big plays were a strength for the Cajuns in 2012, and with so many pieces back it was easy to assume that would be the case again last fall.

For whatever reason, it wasn't. While Broadway's per-completion yardage remained above 14 yards, and the ground game remained efficient, the big rushing plays were harder to find. Opponents were more prepared to hem in Broadway -- after averaging 7.3 highlight yards per opportunity in 2012, he averaged only 3.7 in 2013 (Johnny Manziel saw the same thing happen at Texas A&M, which is why I assume defensive preparation was a big cause); plus, Alonzo Harris' explosiveness shrank from 6.2 highlight yards per opportunity to 3.7.

UL-Lafayette leaned on the run more in 2013, and perhaps predictability was an issue. The line was still good enough to create running lanes, but defenses swarmed a bit better. That made the emergence of freshman Elijah McGuire vital to the Cajuns' conference title hopes. In their five conference wins and the ULM loss, McGuire rushed 58 times for 547 yards (9.4 per carry) and four scores. Harris still carried a majority of the load, but McGuire was a fantastic change of pace. He played the role that Melvin Gordon played for Wisconsin in 2012 before Gordon broke out alongside James White in 2013.

I would expect the same development this year. Harris might be a little more effective with fewer carries, and McGuire will probably get a chance to be a No. 1a back of sorts. He earned it.

Quarterback

Note: players in bold below are 2014 returnees. Players in italics are questionable with injury/suspension.

Player	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Comp	Att	Yards	Comp Rate	TD	INT	Sacks	Sack Rate	Yards/ Att.
Terrance Broadway	6'2, 211	Sr.	4 stars (5.8)	166	266	2419	19	12	62.4%	22	7.6%	7.9
Brooks Haack	6'1, 215	So.	3 stars (5.6)	21	35	224	1	1	60.0%	4	10.3%	4.9
Jordan Davis	6'4, 163	Fr.	2 stars (5.3)

Running Back

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Rushes	Yards	TD	Yards/ Carry	Hlt Yds/ Carry	Opp. Rate
Alonzo Harris	RB	6'1, 216	Sr.	3 stars (5.6)	199	942	14	4.7	3.7	38.2%
Terrance Broadway	QB	6'2, 211	Sr.	4 stars (5.8)	109	591	8	5.4	3.7	51.4%
Elijah McGuire	RB	5'11, 185	So.	3 stars (5.7)	103	853	8	8.3	8.6	49.5%
Torrey Pierce	RB	5'9, 170	Jr.	NR	40	188	2	4.7	2.9	42.5%
Montrel Carter	RB	5'10, 188	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	17	103	1	6.1	4.0	52.9%
Marcus Jackson	RB	5'11, 201	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	15	52	0	3.5	1.8	20.0%
Effrem Reed	RB	5'8, 193	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	11	57	0	5.2	2.3	54.5%
Brooks Haack	QB	6'1, 215	So.	3 stars (5.6)	10	32	0	3.2	1.3	30.0%
Jalen Nixon	RB	6'2, 218	So.	NR	9	34	0	3.8	1.9	44.4%
Darryl Surgent	WR				5	20	0	4.0	0.8	60.0%

5. If you've got it, flaunt it

The Cajuns were mostly balanced in 2012, running and passing around the national averages. But in 2013, they trended heavily toward the run. They rushed more than two-thirds of the time on standard downs and 40 percent of the time on passing downs. Sure, Broadway is good at finding a lane and turning a planned pass into a run. But that's only part of it.

Hudspeth and Jay Johnson realized they had a bounty at the running back position and used it. And every back who carried the ball last year -- even exciting reserves like Montrel Carter and Torrey Pierce -- is scheduled to return in the fall. For that matter, so do four starting linemen who have combined for 91 career starts. More carries for McGuire (or a return to form by Harris) could mean more team explosiveness and a top-50 run game once again.

Receiving Corps

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Targets	Catches	Yards	Catch Rate	Target Rate	%SD	Yds/ Target	NEY	Real Yds/ Target	RYPR
Jamal Robinson	WR-X	6'4, 205	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	88	54	862	61.4%	29.4%	61.7%	9.8	192	9.6	127.5
Darryl Surgent	WR-H				53	31	400	58.5%	17.7%	59.1%	7.5	6	8.2	59.2
James Butler	WR-Z	6'3, 205	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	40	26	363	65.0%	13.4%	50.0%	9.1	50	9.4	53.7
Elijah McGuire	RB	5'11, 185	So.	3 stars (5.7)	24	22	384	91.7%	8.0%	77.3%	16.0	158	15.1	56.8
Jacob Maxwell	TE				22	12	158	54.5%	7.4%	52.9%	7.2	-1	8.5	23.4
Ian Thompson	TE				18	10	66	55.6%	6.0%	80.0%	3.7	-65	3.3	9.8
Effrem Reed	RB	5'8, 193	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	14	10	100	71.4%	4.7%	33.3%	7.1	-15	9.0	14.8
Devin Figaro	WR-X				12	10	183	83.3%	4.0%	33.3%	15.3	76	14.8	27.1
Jared Johnson	WR-Z	6'5, 215	So.	2 stars (5.2)	8	6	65	75.0%	2.7%	33.3%	8.1	-2	3.4	9.6
Ricky Johnson	WR				7	5	96	71.4%	2.3%	0.0%	13.7	38	2.7	14.2
Devin Scott	WR-H	5'11, 180	So.	2 stars (5.4)	3	1	37	33.3%	1.0%	0.0%	12.3	19	16.4	5.5
Nick Byrne	TE	6'3, 221	So.	3 stars (5.5)	1	1	4	100.0%	0.3%	N/A	4.0	-6	0.0	0.6
Scott Austin	WR	6'4, 180	RSFr.	3 stars (5.5)
Darius Hoggins	WR	5'7, 165	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Dylan Bossler	WR	6'2, 185	Jr.	3 stars (5.5)
C.J. Bates	WR	6'1, 200	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Antoinne Adkins	WR	5'9, 180	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Anthony Jones	TE	6'6, 225	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)

6. New toys for Broadway

On a per-pass basis, UL-Lafayette was just fine in the passing game. Broadway averaged about 8.0 yards per pass attempt (more before his injured effort against Tulane), and the big duo of Jamal Robinson and James Butler combined to average 9.6 yards per target over about 10 targets per game. While Darryl Surgent is gone, Robinson and Butler return, and they could conceivably be one of the conference's best one-two punches.

It appears Hudspeth thought they needed some help, however; he signed three junior college transfers, including three-star Dylan Bossier to supplement the ranks. If nothing else, this should help with 2015, when Broadway, Robinson, and Butler are all gone.

Offensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	102.4	3.2	3.61	43.9%	77.8%	16.8%	69.1	4.6%	11.7%
Rank	54	24	33	18	11	31	110	62	117

Player	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	Career Starts	Honors/Notes
Andre Huval	C				40	1st All-SBC
Daniel Quave	RG	6'3, 324	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	39	2nd All-SBC
Mykhael Quave	LT	6'5, 295	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	26
Terry Johnson	LG	6'2, 275	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	13
Octravian Anderson	RT	6'4, 277	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	13
Jarad Martin	LT	6'5, 310	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	0
Zach Tarver	LG	6'4, 267	So.	2 stars (5.2)	0
Evyn Perry	C				0
Daniel Lemelle	RG				0
Greg Siener	RT	6'4, 280	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	0
Jeremy Sparks	OL	6'5, 288	So.	3 stars (5.5)	0

Defense

FIVE FACTORS -- DEFENSE
	Raw Category		Rk	Opp. Adj. Category		Rk
EXPLOSIVENESS	IsoPPP	1.20	88	IsoPPP+	93.3	100
EFFICIENCY	Succ. Rt.	44.8%	94	Succ. Rt. +	84.9	111
FIELD POSITION	Off. Avg. FP	31.1	46	Def. FP+	97.5	88
FINISHING DRIVES	Pts. Per Trip in 40	3.8	28	Redzone S&P+	99.9	59
TURNOVERS	EXPECTED	20.2		ACTUAL	23.0	+2.8

Category	Yards/ Game Rk	S&P+ Rk	Success Rt. Rk	PPP+ Rk
OVERALL	57	113	111	104
RUSHING	48	104	107	88
PASSING	81	112	110	110
Standard Downs		115	119	102
Passing Downs		100	83	101

Q1 Rk	95	1st Down Rk	114
Q2 Rk	124	2nd Down Rk	89
Q3 Rk	77	3rd Down Rk	98
Q4 Rk	75

Defensive Line

Category	Adj. Line Yds	Std. Downs LY/carry	Pass. Downs LY/carry	Opp. Rate	Power Success Rate	Stuff Rate	Adj. Sack Rate	Std. Downs Sack Rt.	Pass. Downs Sack Rt.
Team	94	2.78	3.52	41.5%	63.0%	21.9%	72.3	4.4%	3.6%
Rank	88	41	86	88	38	28	106	66	118

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Dominique Tovell	DE	6'2, 248	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	13	52.5	7.7%	11.5	2.0	0	2	2	0
Justin Hamilton	NT	6'2, 295	Sr.	3 stars (5.5)	13	30.5	4.4%	9.0	4.0	0	0	1	0
Marquis White	NT	6'5, 315	Jr.	2 stars (5.2)	9	15.0	2.2%	4.5	2.0	0	0	0	0
Christian Ringo	DE	6'1, 288	Sr.	2 stars (5.3)	9	14.0	2.0%	2.0	1.0	0	2	0	0
Marvin Martin	NT	6'3, 286	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	7	11.5	1.7%	4.5	3.0	0	0	2	0
Chris Prater	DT	6'5, 246	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)	10	9.5	1.4%	3.5	1.5	0	0	0	0
Jake Molbert	DE	6'1, 217	Sr.	2 stars (5.3)	7	9.0	1.3%	1.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
Brandon McCray	DT				7	8.5	1.2%	1.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
Remaine Douglas	DE	6'3, 280	So.	2 stars (5.2)	5	5.5	0.8%	1.5	1.5	0	0	0	1
Blain Winston	DE	6'4, 261	So.	2 stars (5.2)
Darzil Washington	DE	6'3, 230	Jr.	2 stars (5.4)
Ken Edwards	DE	6'6, 250	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)

7. A banged-up line was a strength

As a whole, the Cajun defense was disappointing in 2013. After a decent No. 78 finish in Def. F/+ in 2012, they dropped to 98th in 2013. The pass defense was destined to struggle a bit after the loss of two good pass rushers and both starting corners, and it certainly did. But the run defense regressed, too, which was rather unexpected.

Most of said regression against the run seemed to happen thanks to dropoff in consistency. The line still made plays, ranking 28th in Stuff Rate (negative plays in the backfield); end Dominique Tovell made 9.5 non-sack tackles for loss as as a sophomore, while tackle Justin Hamilton added five, and linebacker Trae Johnson added 5.5. But if opposing runners got out of the backfield, they tended to find some friendly running lanes.

Of course, one figures consistency will indeed be a problem when you can't keep the same guys on the field. Only two linemen and two linebackers played in all 13 games, and quite a few key contributors missed at least four to five games. Using my go-to "injuries hurt in the present tense but help in the future tense" cliché, I can say that the future tense might look pretty good here. Basically every lineman returns, as does every linebacker besides starting mike Justin Anderson. Junior college transfer Darzil Washington (a former Texas A&M signee) and three-star freshman T.J. Posey could demand some playing time as well.

Experience and athleticism won't be an issue this fall. Talent and execution? We'll see.

Linebackers

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Justin Anderson	MIKE				13	103.0	15.0%	11.0	0.5	1	3	3	2
Al Riles	SAM	5'10, 209	So.	NR	13	33.0	4.8%	3.5	0.0	1	1	1	0
Chris Hill	SAM	5'11, 188	Jr.	2 stars (5.3)	11	32.0	4.7%	3.5	2.0	0	0	0	0
Trae Johnson	WILL	6'1, 232	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	8	27.5	4.0%	5.5	0.0	0	0	0	0
Darius Barksdale	WILL	6'0, 205	Sr.	4 stars (5.9)	8	21.5	3.1%	2.5	1.0	2	2	0	0
Tyren Alexander	WILL	6'0, 202	Jr.	3 stars (5.6)	9	18.5	2.7%	5.5	1.0	0	0	0	0
Boris Anyama	SAM	6'3, 221	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	8	15.5	2.3%	3.0	0.0	0	1	0	0
Zach Bourque	LB	6'0, 180	Sr.	NR	8	8.5	1.2%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Fouquier	LB	6'4, 232	So.	2 stars (5.4)	3	5.5	0.8%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Nash	LB				3	4.5	0.7%	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
Andrew Hebert	LB				3	4.5	0.7%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Christian Sager	MIKE	6'0, 222	Sr.	NR	3	3.0	0.4%	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0
T.J. Posey	LB	6'0, 235	Fr.	3 stars (5.6)

Secondary

Name	Pos	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Rivals	GP	Tackles	% of Team	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	FF	FR
Sean Thomas	FS	5'10, 170	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	12	53.5	7.8%	0.5	0	3	3	2	0
T.J. Worthy	SS	6'2, 195	Jr.	3 stars (5.6)	13	49.5	7.2%	4	0	2	0	0	0
Trevence Patt	CB	6'0, 178	Sr.	2 stars (5.2)	13	49.0	7.1%	1.5	0	1	12	1	0
Corey Trim	CB	5'11, 180	Sr.	2 stars (5.3)	13	39.5	5.8%	2.5	0	2	3	0	0
Will Burrowes	FS				5	9.5	1.4%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Simeon Thomas	CB	6'3, 180	So.	3 stars (5.5)	3	8.0	1.2%	0	0	0	2	0	0
Rodney Gillis	S				4	6.0	0.9%	0	0	1	2	0	0
Cedrick Tillman	CB	5'9, 180	Sr.	2 stars (5.4)	7	5.0	0.7%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zachary DeGrange	SS	5'10, 186	Jr.	NR	3	3.5	0.5%	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dominick Jones	CB	5'11, 174	So.	2 stars (5.2)	4	2.5	0.4%	0	0	1	0	0	0
Jevante Watson	CB	5'10, 175	Jr.	3 stars (5.6)
Troy McCollum	DB	6'0, 170	RSFr.	3 stars (5.6)
Tracey Walker	S	6'2, 180	RSFr.	2 stars (5.4)
Malik Williams	DB	6'3, 190	Fr.	2 stars (5.4)

8. Athleticism and conservatism

The Cajuns defense was a confusing one in 2013; it almost seemed as if the players were aggressive and the tactics were conservative. The Cajuns were a mainstay in the backfield against the run but generated little to no pass rush on passing downs; in fact, their pass rush on standard downs (when you have to guard against the run) was actually better than on passing downs. But despite this bend-don't-break idea of pass rush, the Cajuns both made a lot of plays on the ball and gave up a lot of big plays in the air.

An improved pass rush would help the Cajuns' secondary immensely, but as with the rest of the defense, experience will be a strength. After some turnover last year, there is almost none in 2014 -- the top five corners return (including Trevence Patt, with his 13 passes defensed), as do both starting safeties. Tory McCollum, one of the stars of the 2013 recruiting class, could work his way into the rotation, but regardless, this unit should make some plays. We'll just see how many it allows.

Special Teams

Punter	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Punts	Avg	TB	FC	I20	FC/I20 Ratio
Daniel Cadona	6'4, 218	Sr.	53	41.7	6	17	17	64.2%

Kicker	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Kickoffs	Avg	TB	OOB	TB%
Hunter Stover	6'1, 208	Sr.	77	60.8	26	2	33.8%

Place-Kicker	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	PAT	FG (0-39)	Pct	FG (40+)	Pct
Stephen Brauchle	6'1, 211	Jr.	52-54	8-11	72.7%	0-2	0.0%
Hunter Stover	6'1, 208	Sr.	2-2	1-1	100.0%	0-0	N/A

Returner	Pos.	Ht, Wt	2014 Year	Returns	Avg.	TD
Darryl Surgent	KR			21	27.6	1
Montrel Carter	KR	5'10, 188	Jr.	6	13.0	0
Darryl Surgent	PR			15	10.5	1

Category	Rk
Special Teams F/+	51
Field Goal Efficiency	109
Punt Return Efficiency	60
Kick Return Efficiency	9
Punt Efficiency	78
Kickoff Efficiency	26
Opponents' Field Goal Efficiency	82

9. Daryl Surgent was awesome

UL-Lafayette was a field goal kicker short of a truly strong special teams unit last year, but while experience should help in that regard, the Cajuns have to replace one of the nation's best return men in Daryl Surgent. A quality offense and a defense with some play-makers up front should mean that the Cajuns are pretty good in the field position battle, but weaknesses in the return game could limit that a lot.

2014 Schedule & Projection Factors

2014 Schedule
Date	Opponent	Proj. Rk
30-Aug	Southern	NR
6-Sep	Louisiana Tech	98
13-Sep	at Ole Miss	26
20-Sep	at Boise State	18
TBD	Appalachian State	NR
TBD	Arkansas State	84
TBD	Georgia State	125
TBD	South Alabama	92
TBD	at New Mexico State	124
TBD	at Texas State	114
TBD	at Troy	111
TBD	at UL-Monroe	112

Five-Year F/+ Rk	-11.1% (89)
Two-Year Recruiting Rk	90
TO Margin/Adj. TO Margin*	1 / -0.4
TO Luck/Game	+0.5
Approx. Ret. Starters (Off. / Def.)	18 (8, 10)

10. The schedule is manageable

Hudspeth's Cajuns once again face a pair of daunting non-conference road games. Ole Miss should be better than either Arkansas or Kansas State were last year, and while Boise State could be beatable, that's still a tough trip and a tough turf. But even if they go 2-2 in non-conference play again, the conference schedule sets up perfectly for another SBC title run.

Both Arkansas State and South Alabama come to Lafayette, and the Cajuns don't play a single conference road game against a team projected better than 111th. (I do expect ULM to be better than 112th, but the Cajuns should still be the better team.) An 8-0 run is at least conceivable, as is the possibility that the Cajuns could break through the nine-win ceiling.

Things start over after this year. Broadway and a lot of play-makers are seniors, and this might be the year that a major-conference team finally comes calling for Hudspeth (if he's interested). Another 8-4 regular season would feel disappointing. But while last year gives me slight pause, I will go ahead and say that this team should be the class of the conference, an easy favorite with a good schedule and the athleticism for which other conference mates yearn. Maybe we'll see the Year of the Ragin' Cajun after all.