LAFAYETTE – Michael Desormeaux expected his first game as Ragin’ Cajuns football coach to feature a little bit of everything.
Playing with multiple quarterbacks, UL got some big special teams plays, a stingy defensive effort that forced turnovers but still saw some mistakes on offense and defense. It was all there for the Ragin’ Cajuns in a 24-7 win over southeastern Louisiana at Cajun Field on Saturday to open the 2022 season.
It was a true welcome home for Desormeaux as the coach of his alma mater after serving on Bill Napier’s coaching staff for the past six seasons. Desormeaux, who played quarterback and H-back for UL in 2005-08, earned a promotion when Napier took the Florida job in the offseason.
Here’s what we learned from the Ragin’ Cajuns’ season-opening victory:
MICHAEL DESORMEAUX, LOCAL HEROWhy those who know Michael Desormeaux believe he will succeed at UL
BOLD PREDICTIONSFour bold predictions for Louisiana entering the 2022 season
QB1 DECISIONHow Chandler Fields Earned the Cajuns’ Starting Quarterback Job
Chandler Fields debut
How the offense would operate with Chandler Fields leading the unit has been a key question since he earned the starting job in the final weeks of training camp.
Desormeaux and offensive coordinator Tim Leger came out shooting and Fields provided the spark. The sophomore was 4-of-4 for 65 yards and capped his first drive as a starter with a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Johnny Lumpkin. On two drives in the first half, Leger was 7-of-10 for 90 yards.
Fields was efficient and rarely put the ball in trouble. He missed running back Jacob Kibodi on the ground, an error that resulted in the offense settling for a 26-yard field goal. Other than that, Louisiana didn’t ask too much of Fields and executed the game plan.
He was 13-of-20 for 174 yards and two touchdowns for Lumpkin.
Ben Wooldridge also has his time
Backup quarterback Ben Wooldridge, as Desormeaux said, entered the game on the third series. The junior came in and led the offense down the field, but stalled inside the 10-yard line when Chris Smith was rammed on a fourth-and-1 run attempt.
Wooldridge had a couple of highlights: a check on Smith that went 17 yards on third down. He finished the game 7 of 11 for 68 yards.
He will continue to get snaps next week against East Michigan, but watch how his role changes in the coming weeks.
Ragin’ Cajuns keep going
UL’s storied run under Napier was built on a competent running game. Desormeaux and other trainers have mentioned that the identity of what made UL successful was not going to be abandoned.
UL ran the ball more than expected, but that could be attributed to the coaching staff wanting a broader look at the depth behind Smith as a running back. And also how the offensive line has come together.
Terrence Williams finished leading the pack with 61 rushing yards and Smith had 12 carries for 44 yards. Kibodi was the first to spell Smith and his larger back seemed more than capable too, running with a low center of gravity and falling forward as he went down.
Kibodi and Williams look ready to help Smith carry the load.
Defense leaves a lot to be desired
In his first game as defensive coordinator, LaMar Morgan was more than content going back and covering than applying pressure against Lions quarterback Cephus Johnson.
It took a little over a quarter, but Johnson caught on to UL’s strategy and began splitting the secondary in the second half to get some attention.
There was little, if any, imagination in Louisiana’s defensive blitz packages, as the back-end disguises and execution faded as the game progressed. The Lions finished with 260 total yards.
Next
Louisiana hosts eastern Michigan (1-0) next Saturday at Cajun Field. EMU defeated Eastern Kentucky, 42-34.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his coverage of the Tigers and Cajuns on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Have questions about LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].