UL at South Alabama football: What you need to know
Tim Buckley
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT: UL (7-2, 4-1 in the Sun Belt) at South Alabama (1-8, 0-5)
WHEN: 4 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Ladd-Peebles Stadium (33,471); Mobile, Alabama
STREAMING: ESPN+
RADIO: KPEL 1420 AM with Jay Walker (play-by-play), ex-Cajun Chris Lanaux (analyst) and Cody Junot (sideline)
COACHES: Billy Napier (14-9, all at UL) vs. Steve Campbell (64-19, including 4-17 at South Alabama)
SERIES RECORD: UL leads 5-2; the Cajuns have won three in a row
LAST MEETING: UL 48, South Alabama 38 on Nov. 17, 2018
LAST OUTINGS: UL 48, Coastal Carolina 7 on Nov. 7; Texas State 30, South Alabama 28 last Saturday
More:Ragin' Cajuns have kept focus even when heavily favored
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We know that if we handle our business we’ll be exactly where we want to be.” – UL linebacker Jacques Boudreaux
BY THE NUMBERS
6.69: Yards per carry by UL, the fifth-highest average in the country
14: Different Cajuns who caught a pass in the win at Coastal Carolina
17.10: Average points per game allowed by the Cajun defense (tied for 11th-best nationally)
38.3: Points per game by UL, the 11th-best average in the nation
47: Consecutive starts by UL right guard Kevin Dotson, tied for most in the country by an offensive lineman
281.0: Rushing yards per game by UL, which ranks fifth nationally
499.2: Average yards by game by the Cajuns, the 10th-highest in the country
More:Ragin' Cajuns kicker Artigue in high gear nearing record
WHY IT MATTERS
UL can push its winning streak to four in a row with a victory.
Already bowl-eligible, the Sun Belt West Division-leading Cajuns can enhance their chance of again winning the division and playing in the SBC championship game with a win.
A UL victory also would give the Cajuns a 5-0 record in true road games, marking the first time they’ve gone undefeated since going 5-0 in 1970.
South Alabama, meanwhile, needs an upset win to snap its seven-game overall losing streak.
More:UL more focused on Sun Belt title than bowl-eligibility
NEWS & NOTES
» UL injuries: Starting OT Robert Hunt (groin), out; starting CB Michael Jacquet (undisclosed), uncertain; starting DE Chauncey Manac (undisclosed), expected to play, WR Jamal Bell (knee), expected to play
» Cajuns out for the season: reserve DL Dalvin Hutchinson (in-season knee surgery), reserve OL Logan Newell (in-season shoulder surgery), starting LG Ken Marks (in-season knee surgery), starting TE Johnny Lumpkin (shoulder surgery), starting TE Chase Rogers (broken foot bone; left team after the injury), starting C Cole Prudhomme (ACL surgery), special teams player/reserve OLB Tanner Wiggins (ACL tear)
» South Alabama’s defensive coordinator is Greg Stewart, UL’s first d-coordinator under former head coach Mark Hudspeth from 2011-12