Cajuns Search For Passing Game
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
The Louisiana offense possesses sufficient speed, receivers and young quarterbacks with more than adequate arm strength.
However there’s apparently still much work to do with the Cajuns’ passing game which has produced fewer than 200 cumulative yards in the first two games.
For Louisiana head football coach Mike Desormeaux, pass completion progress will probably continue to test his level of patience as the 1-1 Cajuns approach a two-game, non-conference road stretch which starts this Saturday afternoon at Missouri.
Louisiana, with freshman redshirt Daniel Beale at quarterback, threw for 86 yards in the Cajuns’ 34-10 victory over McNeese State before 26,071 at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium Saturday night.
While Louisiana used a 17-point fourth quarter and a 315-yard ground-game to power over the Cowboys (1-1), Desormeaux admitted after the victory that there is still much work remaining to create the type of stretch-the-field passing attack he envisioned before the start of 2025.
“I think with the passing game, the precision we want is just a little off and the timing that is off. We are just going to have to keep working through that, so we can be more crisp in the throw game,” Desormeaux said following the win.
In the Cajuns’ 14-12 Aug. 30 loss to Rice, Beale was 0-6 during his late, fourth quarter relief of starter Walker Howard, who experienced an oblique injury that according to team officials, will probably erase the remainder of his season.
Howard was 10-21-1 with an interception against Rice and his longest completion covered 25 yards.
Beale was a more accurate 14-of-22 with a touchdown and no interceptions against McNeese.
Desormeaux noted that there’s much to like about Beale, who started two games last year after an injury to starter Ben Wooldridge.
“I’m very comfortable with (Beale). He has made tremendous progress from last year. He knows the offense and he’s incredibly smart out there, relaxed and just being himself. This week his opportunity showed up and he was prepared,” Desormeaux said.
When asked to self-grade his performance against McNeese, Beale contemplated the postgame question and answered that he should receive an “A.”
“I think I deserve an A. I did enough to let us win. We won,” Beale added.
Beale is attentive enough to know that when the passing game is unproductive, he has the strength of Cajuns’ running backs Bill Davis and Zylan Perry to provide the necessary yardage.
Against McNeese, Davis ran for a career-high 132 yards, while Perry gained 94 on 14 carries. Steven Blanco, a freshman from St. Martinville, obtained 69 on six carries.
“If we run the ball that much every game, I would be for it. I’ve bonded with the guys on the o-line. What I just have to do is sit back in the pocket, make the throws and let the receivers make the plays. I’m fine with giving the ball to the backs and letting those guys eat,” said Beale.
Beale said that like his coach, he feels the offense seems to be seeking the ingredients for passing game proficiency.
Desomeaux complimented Howard on the way Howard has handled a complicated career that began at LSU, moved on to Ole Miss and then back home to Lafayette for a one game introduction.
“(Howard) works his tail off and wins (the starting) job and then has a significant injury. (Howard) spent this past week with the scout team, cheering them on. Our guys have so much respect for one another. I know Daniel didn’t want it to happen this way,” Desormeaux said.
Now Beale is the Cajuns’ starter and he and Desormeaux need to design tactics that enable a passing game to emerge when the run game fails.
“We have a lot of things to clean up. We’re not close to being a championship team,” Desormeaux added.
