BOONE, N.C. – Last year, an upset win in Louisiana gave Appalachian State a chance to win a Sun Belt Conference title nearly 1,700 miles from home.
There aren't any long-distance surprises in store for the Mountaineers (7-4, 6-1) this year. They'll face Louisiana (5-6, 4-3) at home Saturday following a week in which they've known the championship stakes that are in play.
App State, which went 7-1 in the Sun Belt last season, earned a share of the league title by winning 37-7 at New Mexico State a few hours after previously unbeaten Arkansas State lost 24-19 at Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns need a win Saturday to gain bowl eligibility and spoil the 2017 title hopes of the Mountaineers, who would tie the Troy-Arkansas State winner at 7-1 with a victory on Senior Day at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Here's a closer look at the Ragin' Cajuns:
From championship races to bowl-slotting implications, there's a lot on the line in the App State-Louisiana game.
Coached by Mark Hudspeth, the Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a 34-24 home loss to Georgia Southern. They did win Sun Belt road games against Idaho (21-16) and South Alabama (19-14) in uncharacteristically low-scoring affairs.
Louisiana averages 29.5 points and 401.2 yards per game. It gives up 37.9 points and 482.2 yards, as the Ragin' Cajuns have played in games with scores of 51-48 (win vs. Southeastern Louisiana), 66-42 (loss to Tulsa), 45-21 (loss to Texas A&M), 56-50 (two-overtime loss to ULM), 47-3 (loss to Arkansas State), 50-22 (loss to Ole Miss) and 47-34 (win vs. New Mexico State).
"We're going to have our work cut out for us defensively to slow that offense down," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "They're very aggressive on defense and are playing with a lot of seniors on that defensive front with guys that have a lot of experience and a lot of playmakers. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks and play a lot of man coverage behind it."
Offensively, two quarterbacks have been playing for Louisiana in recent weeks. True freshman Levi Lewis made his first game appearance in early November and has started three of the last four games, although he was replaced by junior Jordan Davis early in the Georgia Southern loss.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, the left-handed Lewis rushed for 129 yards in his first start. At 6-3 and 217 pounds, Davis has thrown for 219 and 225 yards in the last two games. They share a backfield with 227-pound redshirt freshman Trey Ragas, who has averaged 79.9 rushing yards per game this season.
Like ULM, Louisiana plays in a lot of high-scoring games, but App State has bounced back from a 52-45 loss in Monroe, La., to hold Georgia Southern to 191 yards and Georgia State to 292. The Mountaineers won 24-0 at Louisiana last year and 28-7 against the Ragin' Cajuns at Kidd Brewer Stadium in 2015.
"I think this year their offense is probably the best that we've seen out of a Louisiana team as far as points," Satterfield said. "They can run and throw. Hopefully our defense will continue to play well and we get our ground game going like we did the last couple weeks offensively. We're still going to have to hit some plays down the field."
