By Eric White

As it goes in the Fun Belt, the Sun Belt Football league, after seeing the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns fight and claw themselves to the Top 25 in 2020, one has to remember that some Cajun Fans are hanging on to a victory over a hobbled Texas A&M team in 1996. As the Cajuns started the 2022 season, the expectations were probably higher than they had ever been:

• We lost our coach to Florida

• We lost players to the transfer portal

• We lost coaches who had instilled the head coach’s system and culture.

• We were picked to win the west and compete for the championship.

• We had two home games to start the season, not two road games where we drew a big paycheck.

• We had ULM in week four and South Alabama in week 5. Even with a stumble on the road at Rice, we could be 4-1.

Then the season started. Even though the Cajuns got the first two victories at home, the team looked different. Then the trip to Rice, and we stumbled. Okay, we still have ULM and South Alabama the next two weeks before we get Marshall. Two big plays and a few untimely turnovers against ULM; Uh-oh, here they come. We can still get this going and start a new run. A lead against South Alabama evaporates much like last year. Still, this time the “football gods” smile favorably on South Alabama, could it be that too many Cajuns vacation in Gulf Shores, I don’t know, but then again, it may just be football.

As most Cajun fans are thinking, some are saying:

• Did we make a mistake hiring a hometown product to head the program?

• Why are the Cajuns struggling after being the darlings of college football?

• How could this have happened?

Let’s forget the ongoing debate about attendance. The shameless and sometimes mean-spirited ridiculing of fans for living their life and watching the games on their phones while they are working. Let’s look at the fact that integral parts of the program were swiped when Napier left for Florida. This program has a statue of an equipment manager in the stadium, and we inducted another into our hall of fame this past Saturday. Blackjack and Lynn loved this University with their whole heart, not pocketbooks. While Lynn got to see it, the facility became big-time. One thing has become apparent to me since the arrival of Hudspeth after Bustle. This isn’t Blackjack’s UL.

One of the biggest frustrations will be that UL is not in the Power 5 conferences, and I may be wrong, but I will not be in my lifetime. Did I attend every game? No, did I bleed Red and White every game? In most cases, I will not be a front-runner, though. I don’t care if you wrote a huge check to RCAF if you are at the games, but griping about the coaches, administration, attendance, PA announcer, parking, or concessions, I am with you on that one. Shut up and review this season. This was a rebuilding and transition year; at best, the fans must re-evaluate expectations.

My observation of the first five games is that the ball has bounced the other guy’s way every time it could. Does the coach need to be looking at everything? Does the staff need to look at recruiting holes that weren’t apparent at the start of the season? Will I be pulling for the Cajuns against Marshall? In the words of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, Montgomery Gentry, Hell Yeah!