Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week, I look at the Cajuns 36-22 win over Georgia State.
1st Down: Calais Goes Off
Raymond Calais has been a little bit underused as a running back with the power players in Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell leading the way. The Breaux Bridge native came up huge with a 92-yard touchdown run to break up the stalemate in the first quarter. That broke a 47-year old record for the longest run in program history and he took care of business the rest of the night with 186 yards on 13 carries.
His experience as a track star paid off in a big way and was a huge reason why the Cajuns were able to come away with a huge win on Saturday
2nd Down: Byrns It Down
While much of the first quarter didn’t have a whole lot of entertainment value to it, Rhys Byrns was a definite highlight with a pair of punts that were inside of the five-yard line. Georgia State’s offense has shown a tendency to put points on the board in quick fashion and the Cajuns being able to pin them deep in their own territory was huge.
He had another punt land at Georgia State’s eight-yard line, but that really delayed the inevitable with them scoring on that drive late in the first half. He’s been a solid punter all season, but this is a definite highlight.
3rd Down: Stout on Third Down
The defensive performance from the Cajuns on Saturday was one of the better ballgames for the Cajuns, despite allowing some chunk plays throughout. One of the big reasons why the performance looked so good was because of the fact that the Panthers were held down on third down. Georgia State only converted two of their 13 attempts and when you compare that to other performances this season, it was a rousing success
4th Down: First Drive of Second Half Was Turning Point
After the first half wrapped up, it looked like the Panthers were going to play make it take it with it only being a six-point ballgame. However, the defense stepped up huge on a 4th down play with Zi’Yon Hill forcing Aaron Winchester out of bounds for a seven-yard loss.
Considering how successful the previous drive was for Georgia State on 4th down, it’s a huge step in the right direction to see this defense shut them down on a crucial play.
Extra Point: Calais Brings the Fire
.@king_calais says that Georgia State have a very basic defensive setup and they used that to their advantage in a win.
355 RUSHING YARDS. pic.twitter.com/rpT97IaUyq
— Clint Domingue (@clintdomingue) November 11, 2018
It’s not often we get a Cajuns player telling it like it is during postgame pressers, but what the former Cecilia Bulldog was interesting and may be one of the more interesting