Sun Belt · Michael Desormeaux, year 6 (31-26) · Cajun Field · 41,426 · 19,533 avg in 2026
LastW 21–14 vs UAB · Sat Sep 19 · Lunch Winfield 110 pass yds, 91 rush yds, 2 TD
Nextat Charlotte · Sat Sep 26 · 6:30 pm ET · Jerry Richardson Stadium · Louisiana by 10 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 6 | #35 | #149 | -20.5✓ | Lamar | W 38–7 128 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 13 | #35 | #31 | +30.5✓ | @USC | L 30–49 123 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 20 | #34 | #58 | -7= | UAB | W 21–14 131 | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #34 | #163 | -10 | @Charlotte | |||
| 5 | Oct 3 | #34 | #151 | Arkansas State | ||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | @Louisiana Tech | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | Troy | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Southern Miss | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | South Alabama | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 13 | @UL Monroe | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | Coastal Carolina | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 28 | @Georgia State |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20 | UAB | W 21–14 | 335 | 2 | 35:23 | +0.057 | 35.2% | 107.8% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 13 | @USC | L 30–49 | 358 | 0 | 26:46 | +0.313 | 41.5% | 157.8% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Sep 6 | Lamar | W 38–7 | 474 | 3 | 33:38 | +0.305 | 54.4% | 115.6% | Best success rate |
| Season average (3 games) | 389 | 1.7 | +0.225 | 43.7% | 127.1% | ||||
Louisiana won four straight Sun Belt titles when Billy Napier was in Lafayette — and has spent every year since trying to prove the dynasty was the program, not the man who left for Florida.
Fans point to four straight conference titles and a top-20 ranking and ask why the national conversation still files them under generic Sun Belt mid-pack — as if the best run any Sun Belt program…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 6-7 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among Sun Belt teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Mixed. 6-4 over the last 10, and won the last one.
First of all, Lane Kiffin is the Kim Kardashian of college football. Wherever she goes or he goes, there’s destruction and carnage in his place
Next Sep 26
vs Charlotte · away
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-22
the open questionwhere does it go from here?
Louisiana collapsed 52 spots in SP+ under Michael Desormeaux — a fanbase built on Billy Napier’s four straight Sun Belt titles now faces its steepest drop since that dynasty.
our readbackground
Louisiana collapsed 52 spots in SP+ — the 6-7 record and #91 talent rank reveal a stark disconnect from the Napier-era dominance that still defines the Ragin' Cajuns' identity in the Sun Belt.
our readbackground
Shelton Sampson Jr. is a legitimate money-down target -- his 3rd-down conversion rate ranks among the position's best, and his per-target value holds up in that spot too.
our readdeveloping
Shelton Sampson Jr. produces at a notably higher rate when his team is an underdog than when favored, and his per-target value rises too, not just raw catches.
our readdeveloping
Caden Jensen is used almost exclusively underneath -- a low share of his targets are downfield shots.
our readbackground
Shelton Sampson Jr. is a real deep-ball threat -- a high share of his targets come on throws past the sticks.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Louisiana · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Louisiana enters 2025 rated No. 105 in SP+ (-10.1), down 52 spots from 2024. SP+ reflects three years of tape; a drop this steep is structural, not noise. The recovery window is open but the room knows it. Preview coverage is split — believers and skeptics are reading the same data differently.
The 'the projection is underselling us' read -- fans betting the season beats the preview number.
The 'the model has seen the tape' counter -- efficiency ratings reward what a program has actually done, not hope.
This event was in 23 of 71 board posts (32%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Louisiana enters 2026 rated No. 105 in 2025 SP+ (-10.1), down 52 spots from 2024. SP+ reflects three years of tape; a drop this steep is structural, not noise. The recovery window is open but the room knows it. Preview coverage is split — believers and skeptics are reading the same data differently.
The 'the projection is underselling us' read -- fans betting the season beats the preview number.
The 'the model has seen the tape' counter -- efficiency ratings reward what a program has actually done, not hope.
This event was in 23 of 71 board posts (32%) over the last 60 days — a fanbase consumed by it. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
The boards ≠ the fanbase: a vocal, self-selected slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Louisiana is the Sun Belt program whose 2018-2021 Billy Napier 4-consecutive-Sun-Belt-championships + Cajun Field + Ragin' Cajuns identity define what Lafayette-Sun-Belt-football looks like.
SEC eligibility fight in court
A Sun Belt program fighting for SEC eligibility in court tells you everything about where Louisiana thinks it belongs — Desormeaux isn't rebuilding to stay comfortable in the Sun Belt.
LSU adds Notre Dame transfer Tuihalamaka after eligibility granted
Sun Belt teams don't typically land P4 transfer eligibility fights — Tuihalamaka arriving at Lafayette with clearance in hand says Desormeaux is patching a backfield that lost its NFL-caliber piece and ranked 91st in class depth.
Ansinneo Charles commits to Louisiana
Desormeaux's backfield had one NFL departure and real pressure to reload depth — Charles is the homegrown answer to a position room that couldn't afford a thin class at #81 nationally.
5-star OL commits to Notre Dame
The No. 2 IOL in the country picking Notre Dame over the field ripples straight into the Sun Belt — Desormeaux's center room was already thin enough that this chart was worth publishing.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
LA leads the 2026 class with 14 commits. National footprint reaching 5 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
81 signees across 8 states, 2023-2026. LA leads the pull.
That is 13.0% of every high-school FBS signee LA produced over those cycles — second only to LSU, 11 signees back. The full map →
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Louisiana player grew up 135 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Cajun Field. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 127 of 137 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence higher than any point since 2020
96th percentile among FBS programs
Converting 45% of pass disruptions into takeaways — well above the ~19% league rate.
5 interceptions of 11 disrupted passes (6 deflected, 5 intercepted), 2026 only.
Winning the penalty battle: 19 penalties committed vs. 22 drawn on opponents, a 39-yard edge.
158 penalty yards committed vs. 197 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Louisiana · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026