The Texas State Bobcats will clash with the UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns in a Sun Belt Conference battle at Cajun Field in Lafayette, LA. on Thursday night. The inner-conference match-up is slated to start on Thursday, October 12th at 7:30 p.m. EST and can also be seen on ESPN3.com network. Heading into this game, oddsmakers have the Ragin Cajuns as a -14.5 point favorite. Currently, the contest’s over/under is at 58 points.
The Texas State Bobcats are coming off a 45-27 blowout loss to Louisiana Monroe last weekend. To their dismay, Texas State conceded 20 first-quarter points on their way to the embarrassing defeat on home soil. The Bobcats are now 1-5 on the season and two losses away from missing the post-season.
On the other side, the UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns are looking for consecutive victories after defeating the Idaho Vandals 21-16 in Idaho. The Ragin Cajuns came into that match-up as a six-point dog and won outright. As a result, UL Lafayette captured their first ATS victory of the season and now sit at 2-3 overall.
In an eventless, low-scoring affair, UL Lafayette notched a 27-3 road win against the Texas State Bobcats last year. The victory made it four in a row for the Ragin Cajuns against the Bobcats. Furthermore, UL-Lafayette has been the favorite in all four games and has covered every one of them with ease.
Texas State Bobcats (1-5)
In last week’s loss, the game was over before it even got started. The Texas State Bobcats struggled on the defensive side of the ball and once again failed to score points enough to make up for it. Quarterback Damian Williams was average, converting on 13 of 24 passes for 158 yards with one score and no interceptions. On the season, the senior quarterback has not been able to generate any offense for his team. In all, he has registered 895 passing yards with four touchdowns and four picks on the season.
Quarterback Damian Williams was average, converting on 13 of 24 passes for 158 yards with one score and no interceptions. On the season, the senior quarterback has not been able to generate any offense for his team. In all, he has registered 895 passing yards with four touchdowns and four picks on the season.
On a positive note, the Bobcats were able to get their beleaguered running game going. In a team effort, Texas State rushed for 181 yards. Tailback Anthony Taylor had his best game of the season, scampering for 102 yards on 15 carries. Unfortunately, he has yet to find his way into the end zone by running the ball. Taylor also made three grabs for a team-high 52 yards. All totaled, he has racked up a team-leading 256 rushing yards on the season.
Wide receiver Elijah King may not have very good numbers but he is the best that the Bobcats have to offer. So far, King has brought in 16 balls for 265 yards and a touchdown. The play-action pass is a weapon that Texas state love to use and his 16.6 yards per catch is a testament to that.
The Bobcats’ defense had their worst performance of the year in the loss to the Warhawks last week. They allowed 589 total yards which included 433 through the air. Like their offense, their defense has also not been sharp and it is looking like an uphill battle the rest of the way. Their front seven has shown some promise, ranking 56th in the nation allowing 144 yards per game.
UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (2-3)
You can’t say it was the offense that wrapped up the road win in Idaho last week. The Ragin Cajuns played a hard-nosed defensive game that completely shut down the Vandals. Fortunately, backup quarterback Andre Nunez got the start in place of the injured Jordan Davis and played well.
Overall, he connected on 18 of 24 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown and one pick. The junior quarterback has now tallied 500 passing yards with three scores and one interception. Ragin Cajuns’ starter Jordan Davis should be ready to return from his lingering injury. However, UL Lafayette might decide to stick with the hot quarterback in this one.
Pass catcher Ja’Marcus Bradley answered the bell with his best performance of the year. The shifty wideout caught five passes for 93 yards with a trip to the promised land. The sophomore wide receiver is now third in team receiving with 214 yards. Wide receiver Keenan Barnes is the Ragin Cajuns best receiver. Although he wasn’t a factor last week, he still has a team-high 26 catches for 335 yards and a touchdown. Two other teammates have caught 40 passes for over 40 yards and two scores.
Running back Trey Ragas had another solid night toting the rock, amassing 78 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. The Freshman tailback is off to a solid start to his collegiate career, accumulating a team-leading 453 yards and five scores. The Ragin’ Cajuns offense has been balanced in 2017, with a productive running and passing game.
The UL Lafayette defense needed a confidence-building performance against the Vandals and that’s exactly what they got. The unit was outstanding in the win over Idaho, holding them to only 279 total yards which included only 149 yards via the air. Their defense has struggled to say the least. The Ragin Cajuns still rank a paultry 126th against the run and 91st against the pass.
Prediction
Odds gurus have UL Lafayette as a -14.5 favorite on the heels of their impressive win on the road last week. The Ragin Cajuns feature a solid rushing game that is averaging over 200 rushing yards per contest. Even though the Bobcats have shown some ability to stop the run, I don’t think that will be the case this week. In fact, I don’t see the Bobcats defense stopping them at all. As of now, Texas State has now allowed at least 44 points in three straight games.
I am taking UL Lafayette to cover the spread in this matchup. The Bobcats’ offense has been pathetic all season only scoring 14 or fewer points in four out of their last five games. I certainly don’t think they have figured things out enough to hold back the surging UL Lafayette offense.
The game’s total sits at 58 and that is a possibility with both of these clubs under-performing defensively in 2017. Truthfully, they both have been horrific but the Ragin Cajuns seemed to have righted the ship in the Kibbey Dome. Because of that, I’m going to suggest staying away from the total in this contest. Instead of betting on the UL Lafayette defense to have back-to-back superb defensive performances, bet on their offense to win this game by more than two touchdowns. #moneytreesgrow
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Trends
The Bobcats are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 conference games.
TheBobcats are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
The Under is 9-3 in the Bobcats last 12 games overall.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
The Over is 4-1 in the Ragin’ Cajuns last 5 games overall.
