Ags, Cajuns aim to enhance bowl status
New Mexico State is favored to win its fourth road game of the season
College football’s postseason remains weeks away but today’s Sun Belt Conference game in Lafayette, La., could easily be nicknamed the Spicy Cajun Bowl.
The winner of today’s battle between host UL Lafayette and visiting New Mexico State won’t be bowl eligible but will greatly improve its postseason chances. Both teams are 4-5 overall with three games remaining.
Considering that the Sun Belt has five bowl tie-ins, and that three SBC teams (Troy, Appalachian State, Georgia State) already have six wins, the list of bowl opportunities is growing slim. Arkansas State, which already defeated NMSU and UL Lafayette this season, needs just one more win to become bowl eligible.
That puts extra emphasis on today’s game, with the winner claiming an important tiebreaker edge.
“Definitely,” senior defensive back Jaden Wright said. “We have to approach this week like it’s our bowl game.”
Aggies coach Doug Martin has effectively placed an embargo on bowl discussions in recent weeks. NMSU’s longest-in-the-nation bowl drought, which stretches back to 1960, is common knowledge, but Martin finds short-term thinking to be more productive.
“The biggest thing for us is to get (win) No. 5 this week,” Martin said. “Lafayette is very talented on both sides of the ball. It’s going to take our best effort.”
Win No. 5 would be significant in itself for the Aggies, who were listed as 4½-point favorites on Friday. NMSU last won five games in a season in 2004.
Martin’s team also has a chance to earn its fourth road victory of the season today, something the program hasn’t accomplished since 1965.
“Winning any game on the road is tough,” Wright said. “Getting a fourth one would be big.”
That doesn’t mean it will come easily. The Aggies have beaten the Ragin’ Cajuns each of the past two seasons by the narrowest of margins. NMSU won a 37-34 decision in Lafayette in 2015 and eked out a 37-31 double-overtime win last season when offensive lineman Sebastian Anderson recovered a fumble by running back Larry Rose III in the end zone.
Today’s game will be the last meeting between NMSU and ULL before the Aggies leave the Sun Belt for independent status, but the programs are scheduled to meet again the next two seasons.
“We’ve had some barn-burner games against them,” Martin said. “Those type of games are good for both sides, which is why we wanted to keep playing them in the future.”
Understandably, the present takes priority with this year’s Aggies.
Today’s game figures to be relatively high-scoring as both teams have better numbers on offense than on defense. For NMSU, job one will be giving quarterback Tyler Rogers time to work against a Cajuns defensive line that is built to rush the passer.
“Their defensive front is similar to ours,” Martin said. “They have two really good edge rushers and they’re strong up the middle. They’ll give you a lot of different looks on defense, too, which makes them hard to prepare for.”
If NMSU’s offensive line can hold up, Rogers and his receivers figure to have chances against a Cajuns defense that yields 38.8 points per game.
On the other side of the ball, the Aggies’ defense could face several different looks. UL Lafayette has alternated three quarterbacks this season with three different skill sets. Freshman Levi Lewis, a run-pass option-style quarterback, is slated to start today’s game.
“Just when you think he’s going to run, he’ll throw it over your head,” Wright said. “We have to stay disciplined against him, not take the bait.”
With a win today, NMSU could be in prime position to snap its bowl drought. The Aggies’ final two games are at home against Idaho (3-6) and South Alabama (4-6).
“I actually thought we’d be in a better spot right now,” defensive back DeMarcus Owens said, “but where we’re at is great. We still have a chance to prove ourselves starting this week.”