Week 5: Louisiana-Lafayette at Kansas State

This will be a battle of wills and tempos. Kansas State airs it out, while Louisiana-Lafayette does its best work on the ground. Previous performances suggest this will also be a high-scoring game. ULL put up 44 points in win over Kent State last week. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have the nation’s seventh highest scoring offense at 48 points per game.

Kansas State QB Josh Freeman showed his first glitches last week, tossing his first two interceptions of the season in a 38-29 loss to Louisville. His high-flying offense will meet a ULL defense that has allowed only 174 passing yards per outing.

ULL QB Michael Desormeaux leads the Ragin’ Cajuns’ ground attack, but he extended his role to the air last week with a career-high 253 passing yards. If Desormeaux can up put such dual-threat numbers again, ULL can hang with the Wildcats’ pace. But the slower the game’s pace, the better the Ragin’ Cajuns’ chances. Kansas State has not handled the run well. Louisville rushed for 303 yards on the Wildcats last week, and ULL could do as well or better.

Notes:

ULL had a school-record 667 yards of total offense in a win over Kent State last week.

ULL running back Tyrell Fenroy needs only 13 more yards to become the first Ragin’ Cajun with 4,000 combined rushing and receiving yards.

ULL has 15 players to catch at least one pass, the third-most in college football.

Kansas State coach Ron Prince has evened his career record at 14-14 in three seasons with the Wildcats.

Key Player (Ragin’ Cajuns) — Nate Douglas, DE

The freshman has three sacks in three games. His No. 1 priority in this game will be containing and pressuring Kansas State QB Josh Freeman.

Key Player (Wildcats) — Deon Murphy, PR/WR

The junior had an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown last week. Kansas State hopes it will spark his receiving role, where Murphy has only five catches in three games.

Kansas State by 13