App State will travel to Lafayette, Louisiana, Saturday to take on the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The Mountaineers look to get back on track after a 52-37 loss to Marshall last weekend.
Head coach Shawn Clark described many issues the Mountaineers worked on in preparation for their road trip.
“We’re addressing areas that we need to shore up in order for us to have a chance to win football games,” Clark said. “Our goal this week is to go 1-0 like always.”
The Mountaineers turned the ball over on two interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Joey Aguilar that both led to Marshall scores.
“First and foremost we gotta make sure we don’t turn the ball over on offense,” Clark said.
On the other side of the ball, Clark stressed that the defense needed to find the right positions on the field.
“We need to make sure that we fit our gaps the right way. Our defense is a challenging defense to go against but if you don’t fit your gaps the right way it’s a recipe for disaster,” Clark said.
The Mountaineers’ defense has given up on average 217.4 rushing yards per game and gave up 236 to Marshall.
Another issue that Clark emphasized was penalties. App State tallied 15 penalties for 185 yards against Marshall.
“There’s football penalties, and then there’s dumb penalties,” Clark said. “Unsportsmanlike penalties, those are unacceptable. Those have been addressed, those have been taken care of yesterday.”
The biggest challenge Louisiana poses to the Mountaineers is their offense.
“They have great players, a great quarterback, their offensive line blocks really well,” Clark said. “They have those two running backs that can really give you those three and four yards at a time and have the speed to go the distance.”
The Ragin’ Cajuns come into this matchup 4-1 and averaging 444.8 yards per game on offense.
Louisiana linebacker Cameron Whitfield tied a school record last week when he sacked the Southern Miss quarterback four times. Whitfield also racked up six additional tackles and two forced fumbles as the Ragin’ Cajuns broke a losing streak against the Golden Eagles that went back to 1993. For his performance, he was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The game will kick off at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be streamed on ESPN+.