Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns meet the Arkansas State Red Wolves in Jonesboro on Saturday

Senior signal calling Ben Wooldrige opened the season for the Ragin’ Cajuns against Northwestern State, leading Louisiana to a 38-13 victory. That same day, Arkansas State was smashed by Oklahoma 73-0, with longtime journeyman JT Shrout behind center for the Red Wolves.

Third week of the season, Woolridge went down on the game’s fourth play against UAB, providing an opening for freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss, who led the Cajuns to a 41-21 victory. Week 2 in Jonesboro, starting quarterback Shrout found himself in an awkward moment between he and a Memphis Tiger defender, resulting in an ankle injury. Week 3 would see Jaxon Dailey start at quarterback against FCS Stony Brook, but it was freshman quarterback Jaylen Raynor who would throw the Red Wolves first touchdown pass of the season.

Week 3 proved to be the moment the Cajuns and Red Wolves flipped ahead to the future and never looked back. Chriss, a 6-2, 3-star prospect, has thrown for 1,050 yards, 5 rush TDs and ten TD passes (against 5 picks). He can run – he has 476 yards on the season. So can Raynor, a lightly recruited dual threat quarterback who has amassed 1,454 throwing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, and 3 run TDs on 275 yards rushing. Their skillsets are similar, as is their impact on their respective programs – both have led their teams to four victories in their time at QB.

The new guard clash in Jonesboro in a battle of Sun Belt original gangsters. The winner keeps pace in the anything-goes Sun Belt West.

Cajuns like to run, run, run

Statistically speaking, nobody runs the ball better in the Sun Belt that the Cajuns, ranked 11th nationally and averaging 214 yards per game. While the Sun Belt boasts a number of high-powered running backs like Marcus Carrol, Kimodi Vidal, Ismail Mahdi, and Rasheed Ali, Louisiana’s senior RB Jacob Kibodi has been a low-key dominating force on the gridiron, registering 585 yards and six touchdowns while sharing touches with Dre’lyn Washington and his fleet-footed QB, Chriss. Bad news for the Red Wolves: Kibodi is heating up. He put up 118 yards and a score in a win against South Alabama last week.

Red Wolves Beat ULM In A Promising Way

Leading 10-9 at halftime in Monroe, nothing was going particularly well against the Warhawks, especially with an interior run game that was stonewalled by ULM’s trench-men. But then the Red Wolves did something they haven’t done much in the last three seasons – take over the second half. A 19-8 fourth quarter sealed the victory, showing that these Red Wolves may have finally learned how to close out games.

After the slow start, Jaylen Raynor finished the game with 298 yards and two total touchdowns, while running back Zak Wallace put up 118 yards and a pair of scores.

Red Wolves Fans Want a Signature SBC Win for Butch Jones

In three years as head coach of Arkansas State, Butch Jones has three wins against ULM, a victory over Southern Miss, and that’s it versus Sun Belt opponents. The Red Wolves let a win against Coastal slip through their paws a couple weeks ago, and that burned. Fans would love to see a win over the Cajuns, an opponent for which the blood is bitter and spoiled.

Not only would a victory provide rival-flavored satisfaction, it would bring the Red Wolves to within one win of bowl eligibility, a milestone fans in Jonesboro haven’ seen since 2020.

What It Will Take for a Red Wolves Win

Louisiana’s 77th ranked defense surrenders 383 yards a game – and has given up 15 passing touchdowns. The Cajuns don’t feature the shutdown D for which it was once known. but sophomore linebacker Cameron Whitfield is absolutely of the Ragin’ Cajuns mold, tallying seven sacks on the season.

To win this game, the Red Wolves offensive line will need to keep Jaylen Raynor clean long enough for him to do his work with Courtney Jackson, Jeff Foreman and an emerging Corey Rucker. However, the key may be the Red Wolves run game which suddenly clicked in the second half of the Warhawks game. Coach Butch Jones likes the way Zak Wallace hit his gaps in Monroe, and though sophomore Ja’Quez Cross has cooled off a bit, he and Wallace will be essential to delivering long, sustained drives for the offense, saving critical breaths for that thin Red Wolves defense.

Final Analysis

Some of Arkansas State’s most miserable home games have been a result of hosting the Cajuns, a team that can murder you slowly with a vice-grip on possession. Like Raynor, Chriss has the ability to make plays with his legs and his arm. Also like Raynor, he’s prone to making painful freshman mistakes.

We feel good about the Red Wolves chances. The team displayed a mature grit against ULM, coming back from an early, third-quarter deficit to grind the Warhawks down with the run and with critical defensive stops. Linebackers Charles Willekes, Melique Straker and Shuan Alexander FAB 14 nominee Javante Mackey will be kept busy holding Chriss and Kibodi in check. But the trio is more than up for that.

Photo Credits: Me and A-State Creative Media