Defensive end Jameson Hartke has spent hours watching Louisiana-Lafayette's game film, but he didn't have to go any farther than his own practice field to get a taste of what he will see tomorrow night.
The Ragin' Cajuns, like Ohio, rely on an option-style offense that stars a record-breaking running back and an inexperienced quarterback that can be dangerous on the ground.
Hartke sees the option almost every day in practice, as it has been a staple of coach Frank Solich's offenses since his days at Nebraska, so he knows how dangerous that type of offense can be.
The option is all about assignment. If one guy blows his assignment
that ball can be a touchdown on any given play Hartke said. Everyone has a job to do and you have to make sure that you cover every aspect of the option or it's going to be a long day for us.
In Louisiana-Lafayette's 28-14 loss to South Carolina on Saturday, the team ran the ball 47 times for 252 yards, which is almost identical to Ohio's 46 rushes for 206 yards last week against Gardner-Webb.
It's obvious we are going to have to stop the ground game
Solich said. If we let them get going at a high pace
we are going to have some problems.
Leading the way on the ground for the Cajuns will be running back Tyrell Fenroy.
Fenroy, at 5-feet-9-inches and 186 pounds, not only resembles Ohio's Kalvin McRae in build ' McRae stands at 5-feet-11-inches and 207 pounds ' but he is also busting through his school's records, much like McRae.
Fenroy is the only player in Louisiana-Lafayette's history to run for 1,000 yards in a season, and has surpassed that mark in both of his first two seasons. He is also on the verge of breaking 14-year NFL veteran Brian Mitchell's school career rushing record.
We've seen him on film and he looks like a great running back
linebacker Michael Brown said. He's not overly big
but he runs well and he runs very hard. He's not getting taken down by any arm tackles.
The Cajuns have finished in the top 15 nationally in rushing yardage in the two years that Fenroy has been the starter, but they are even more dangerous with mobile quarterback Michael Desormeaux.
Desormeaux, like Ohio quarterback Brad Bower, hasn't had many snaps from behind center in his career, but is trusted to make smart decisions and can burn defenses with his feet. This was never more evident than in last week's game against South Carolina.
While Desormeaux was just 12-of-19 for 63 yards through the air, he gave the Gamecocks' defense nightmares on the ground, running the ball 21 times for 116 yards.
He's a great runner. You always have to keep an eye on him. You always have to make sure that the option is given that someone else doesn't have the ball
because he is a gifted quarterback
Hartke said. You don't see many quarterbacks like him.
It will be the Ragin' Cajuns'
home opener tomorrow night, which is sure to bring a raucous crowd, making the task of stopping the run game even more daunting.
They sell out their crowds. They'll have a lot of people there
Hartke said. The atmosphere should be good
but we've been in these types of venues before and we love these sorts of things.
