This weekend LSU kicks off the '06 season by welcoming the neighbors to the west, the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns.
Once upon a time, two Ragin Cajuns tackled Vince Young. That was cool.
TigerDroppings.com has a table chronicling LSU's history vs ULL. Note that:
- LSU is 20-0-0, of which 16 were shutouts
- There's been one meeting since 1938 ('02)
- LSU hasn't given up a point in the last 9 meetings
- In the entire history of the series, LSU has never yielded more than 7 points
And thus we consider 10 points the "moral victory" bar for the Cajuns. But honestly, the 1930s don't mean anything anymore. With their Cajuns fresh off a 6-5 season (a feat not accomplished since the '95 season, made all the more impressive by the fact that 27 players on the team were from Katrina-hit New Orleans) and a Sun Belt co-championship after a 1-5 start, ULL fans are pumped to kick off the new season. Meanwhile, LSU fans are ticked, mostly on account of a little editorial in the Times of Acadiana entitled 5 Reasons I Hate LSU, penned by one Susan Gonzalez, faithful ULL student. The reaction got a bit out of hand by most any measure, but then common sense dictates that one can't write an editorial like that in the heart of ULL LSU country and expect NOT to field thousands of angry letters. And so it was done, and the wrath was delivered from Tiger Nation. And it was mighty. And it - Tiger Nation, that is - will be sated on Saturday night with a hopefully-for-Cajuns-fans-better-than-2002-when-they-entered-halftime-down-41-points resounding victory over the bowl-hopeful group from U-La-La.
I'll just leave you with a few things to keep an eye on in the midst of what will likely be a 40-point victory for the Tigers:
- A not particularly warm welcome for LSU-hating Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco
- Alley Broussard's knee
- The freshman running backs for the Tigers
- The advent of one Ryan Perrilloux
- Glenn Dorsey, defensive tackle extraordinaire