Georgia Bulldogs v. Louisiana-Lafayette: Five Facts about First Opponent

The Dawg’s season opener is on September 4th against Louisiana-Lafayette. If you don’t know much about them, you're not alone. Here are five facts about the first team to go between the hedges in 2010.

Cajuns vs.Canines

Cajuns vs. Canines

Who dat team? In a football-lovin' state known for its Super Bowl champs and National Champs, the University of Louisiana (UL) must feel like the red-haired stepchild's stepchild.

The school is located in Lafayette, about an hour east of the big boys in Baton Rouge and nearly two-and-a-half from the Big Easy. UL teams used to be called the Bulldogs but were renamed the Ragin’ Cajuns in 1963. Smart choice—there's room for only one Big Dawg in the Deep South. (Sorry, Mississippi State—that means you, too).

SBC vs. SEC

SBC vs. SEC

UL belongs to the Sun Belt Conference, along with Troy, Middle Tennessee, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, Florida International University, North Texas, and Western Kentucky. Their conference record in 2009 was 4-4 and they finished 6-6 overall.

There's no comparison between the Sun Belt and the SEC, the best conference in the country. SEC teams dominated the last decade, winning four consecutive National Championships (Florida, LSU, Florida, Alabama) plus LSU's victory in 2003. The Dawgs stumbled last year with a 4-4 record in the SEC and 7-5 overall, but the gauntlet of teams they faced was no cakewalk.

2009 Team Stats

2009 Team Stats 

Props to the Cajuns for some respectable stats last year. They were 13th in the NCAA for interceptions and 16th for sacks allowed. Red zone efficiency was 16th best at 89 percent. They ranked 19th in turnovers gained and 25th in net punting.

In 2009, Drew Butler gave the Dawgs a first place ranking in punting with his incredible average of 48.05 yards. Georgia was 16th in field goals off the toe of Blair Walsh and 20th in punt returns, thanks to Prince Miller, who averaged 11.89 yards.

Nose to Nose

Nose to Nose

The Cajun's lineup includes eight returning starters on defense and five returning starters on offense. Team notes indicate weaknesses at running back, where they are starting a true freshman, and the offensive line, which lost talent and lacks depth. On defense, the front seven will include three new starters.

Georgia returns 17 of 24 starters this year, including 10 on offense. Freshman quarterback Murray is a wild card, but he's got two things in his favor: 1) he's not Joe Cox and 2) he has an experienced line with five returning starters. For the defense, let's hope three's a charm. The Dawgs have three new defensive coaches, including DC Coordinator Todd Grantham, and will debut a new 3-4 defense. On the flip side, they lost some serious talent on defense so new guys in new positions will need to step up to the challenge.

Georgia on Their Minds

Georgia on Their Minds

The Cajuns have never played against a school from Georgia and Athens is a tough place to make a debut. That may be why the school returned more than 4,000 of their allotted 4,500 tickets. The Cajuns won't have much love inside Sanford Stadium but their school will make $875,000 to play there.

After the Cajuns, it’s on to the SEC showdown with Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. Bring on the birds.