Missouri Tigers vs. Louisiana: Five things to know before MU plays Ragin’ Cajuns
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mizzou faces Louisiana for first time after win over rival Kansas last week.
- Louisiana defense limits foes to 12 points and 244.5 yards per game so far.
- Tigers prepare for redshirt freshman QB as Cajuns lean on 233-yard ground game.
Has everyone had the chance to recover from last week’s excitement?
Mizzou is coming off a win 14 years in the making, a 42-31 Border War victory against longtime rival Kansas — but it’s on to the next for Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers. And the next test comes to town from Lafayette in the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1).
The Ragin’ Cajuns, who won 10 games last season, are fresh off a 34-10 win against McNeese.
“That’s the challenge for our team, too, is to take what happened last week and move on and move forward and create a new standard of how we perform. And I would challenge the fan base to do the same thing,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “ULL is a really good football team.”
Here are five things to know before Saturday’s kickoff...
Mizzou vs. Louisiana game details
Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium, Columbia
TV: SEC Network+/ESPN+
Radio: KMBZ (980) in Kansas City, KCMQ (96.7 or 103.1) in Columbia
Betting line: Mizzou is a 27.5-point favorite (via DraftKings)
Over/under: 47.5
Five things to know before kickoff
1. Louisiana’s defense is its strength so far. Through two games, the Ragin’ Cajuns have held opponents to an average of 12 points per game — a mark that’s tied for the best in the Sun Belt. They’ve limited opponents to 244.5 yards per game, and Drinkwitz himself noted the Louisiana defense will challenge the Tigers.
“I think defensively, the strength of their team is with their defensive line,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday. “And with as much pressure as we allowed and sacks that we allowed on our quarterback, and our inability to gain short yardage in critical situations, I think it’s going to be a real challenge for our team to improve in that way.”
Mizzou allowed four sacks on quarterback Beau Pribula in last week’s win.
2. The Ragin’ Cajuns are starting a redshirt freshman at quarterback. Originally preparing for former LSU and Ole Miss QB Walker Howard, the Tigers will instead see redshirt freshman Daniel Beale. Howard is expected to miss the remainder of the season following an injury. Louisiana’s passing game ranks last in the Sun Belt with 87 yards per game between Beale and what we saw out of Howard.
3. That said, the run game drives the Louisiana offense. The Ragin’ Cajuns average 233 yards per game on the ground, third in their conference. Running back Bill Davis is a top rusher in the conference with 190 yards and two touchdowns so far, followed by Zylan Perry’s 140.
4. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ head coach is well-versed in the program. Head coach Michael Desormeaux quarterbacked Louisiana from 2004-08. He ranks top-10 in the program in passing yards, rushing yards and passing touchdowns. He returned to the coaching staff in 2016 as a running backs coach, rotating from various positions until being named head coach following the 2021 season. That’s when Billy Napier accepted the Florida job. Louisiana is 24-19 under Desormeaux, and is coming off a 10-4 season and Sun Belt West title.
5. This is the first-ever matchup between these two programs. Drinkwitz, however, has seen the Ragin’ Cajuns twice in his career, both in his lone season at App State. He coached App State to wins in both contests, including a Sun Belt championship game victory.
