NORFOLK, Va. – The University of Louisiana may not be a familiar name to all Old Dominion football fans, but when the Ragin' Cajuns roll into town Saturday evening at 6 for ODU's home opener, they will bring a very rich gridiron tradition to S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Officially known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the school's football team has been to 10 bowl games since 2011 and won seven
Billy Napier had a tremendous run as Louisiana's head coach before he left for Florida in 2021. Louisiana was 11-3 (2019), 10-1 (2020) and 13-1 (2021) in his final three seasons and the Ragin' Cajuns were ranked 16th in the final 2021 Associated Press poll.
Lafayette is a blue-collar community of 242,000 located in southwestern Louisiana and the university is a revered part of the community. Founded in 1898 as Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, it has been playing football since 1901.
The school's nickname comes from the region's deep ties to its French heritage. About 10 percent of the residents in that part of Louisiana speak a Creole French at home, and many are descendants of French-speaking people driven out of Canada by the British nearly 300 years ago.
The Ragin' part of the nickname is a source of some dispute. Some say it comes from Louisiana's rabid fan base but others note the term was used to describe Marines from southern Louisiana and how hard they fought for the United States.
Louisiana elevated assistant coach Michael Desormeaux – yes, his last name is French – to the head position for its 2021 bowl game and he's a favorite son in Lafayette. A native of nearby New Iberia, Louisiana, he was a star quarterback at Louisiana.
His team was 6-7 last season after some of the team's best players transferred to Florida. Louisiana was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt West.
Louisiana a Slight Favorite at ODU
Louisiana is a 5-point favorite over ODU in what will be the first Sun Belt Conference game of the season. The other 12 teams are playing non-conference foes.
Louisiana is led by quarterback Ben Woolridge, a transfer from Fresno State who started last season until being felled by a season-ending injury. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in a 38-13 victory over Northwestern State, an FCS school.
Louisiana has great depth on offense – nine different players caught passes and six players ran the ball against Northwestern State.
Fans return to S.B. Ballard Stadium Saturday night when Monarchs host Louisiana.
"On thesecond play, they ran for a touchdown," ODU head coach Ricky Rahne said. "And on the next play, a different guy was running the ball."
Louisiana is a largely veteran team that returns six of its top seven tacklers from last season on defense. The offensive line virtually returns intact from last season and the tight ends are big and physical – Rahne said Louisiana plays with two tight ends about 50 percent of the game.
Louisiana defensive coordinator LaMar Morgan worked as a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt with Rahne for a season.
"I have a great deal of respect for him," Rahne said.
Jason Henderson: Players, and not Facilities, Win Football Games
Asked about the difference in facilities at Virginia Tech and ODU following the Monarchs' 33-17 loss Saturday night in Blacksburg, Monarch linebacker Jason Henderson responded emotionally.
"It's the men in that locker room that make you a good team," he said.
"And something I'm very proud of about this team is that we trust each other. And no matter what the situation, no matter where we are in the game, our team is always going to fight until the end.
"We're never going to quit. And we're always going to look at the right of us and left of us and know that the person is going to play until the very end, too.
"Obviously, at the end of the day, it's the men in the locker room, and not facilities, who are going to win or lose football games."
Rahne said he hadn't read Henderson's comments but had been told about what he said.
ODU opened a new locker room at the L.R. Hill Center last season.
"My reaction is that's college football these days," Rahne said. "You're going to have some disparities in facilities. And facilities are important in order to show you're committed to the players, that you give them first class things. But ultimately, those things aren't going to win games for you.
"It can help you in recruiting because it gives players a sense that the administration has our backs. That's why our new locker room is so important, and that we have such a nice stadium.
"Our players sense that the administration has their backs."
ODU and Tech Have Developed a Rivalry
It takes time for a rivalry to emerge, and when it comes to Power Five and Group of Five schools, true rivalries rarely exist.
But six years after ODU and Virginia Tech played for the first time in Blacksburg, you get the sense that what once was just another non-conference game for the Hokies is now something far more important.
You could sense it in the way fans reacted – the sellout crowd was raucous, and it wasn't all because this was the season opener. Tech fans I talked to in tailgate lots said they desperately wanted to win this game.
When the schools signed a three-game deal that eventually morphed into a 13-game series, Tech fans assumed they'd win every game. Instead, ODU stunned the 13th-ranked Hokies, 49-35, in 2018; and then upended Tech again, 20-17, in last season's opener in Norfolk.
ODU had won two out of three entering Saturday's game.
Saturday's game was physical and but neither team had a physical advantage. Had it not been for three turnovers, the Monarchs might have won. They were six points down and driving deep in Tech territory midway through the third quarter when a fumble ended the threat.
Two more drives ended in turnovers and a botched punt snap cost ODU a two-point safety.
Some media outlets – thankfully, none in Hampton Roads – seemed astounded that ODU had kept it so close. But not ODU's players, Rahne said at his weekly press conference on Monday.
"No, I don't think our players were" surprised at how competitive it was, Rahne said. "I don't want to speak for (Tech coach Brent Pry), but I don't think they were either.
"I think they were ready for a dogfight. Everyone knew on both sides of the line that it was going to be a hard fought and very physical game, which it was."
Rahne wasn't pleased with his team's execution, but given ODU's inexperience, and with so many newcomers playing together for the first time, some mistakes were to be expected.
"I don't know if it was new players or just first-game jitters, but we didn't execute very well," he said.
"I thought we played with great effort. I thought we played physical. I didn't see anybody out there scared by any stretch of the imagination. We didn't get intimidated by the environment. We just didn't execute the way I know we know how to."
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: Louisiana Brings a Rich Tradition, and a Pretty Good Football Team, to ODU Saturday Night
