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It’s the first Tuesday night NCAA game of the week and the first of two straight for Louisiana-Lafayette as the Ragin’ Cajuns face North Texas in Sun Belt action. ULL is a 4-point favorite on Vegassportsbetting.com.
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-1, 2-0) is a solid team, with its only loss coming at Oklahoma State. Last time out, Oct. 6, it beat Tulane 41-13. Alonzo Harris ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and Louisiana-Lafayette piled up 294 rushing yards in the win.
Terrance Broadway threw for two touchdowns and ran for one for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who won their eighth consecutive home game. Broadway had been splitting time with Blaine Gautier before Gautier suffered a broken throwing hand.
In starting the 2012 season with a 4-1 record for the second straight year, the Cajuns have had to overcome a pair of injuries on offense that would have been devastating to most other teams. Montrell Carter, who earned the starting nod at tailback for the opener against Lamar, gained 27 yards on six carries before being sidelined for the year with a torn ACL.
Blaine Gautier, the 2011 Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year by the LSWA, did not play four quarters in any of the first four games before being sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a broken left (throwing) hand suffered early in the FIU game (Sept. 29).
North Texas (2-4, 1-1) is playing its final season in the Sun Belt before moving to Conference USA. The Mean Green also last played Oct. 6, losing 44-21 at Houston.
Brandin Byrd led North Texas with 96 yards rushing, and Jeremy Brown, Antoinne Jimmerson and quarterback Derek Thompson ran for scores.
UNT was picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll of the Sun Belt. Once dominated by UNT in the early years, the Cajuns have come back to even the all-time series at eight games each by winning six of the last seven meetings, including five straight.
The North Texas game will be the 1,047th game in Ragin’ Cajuns football history, but it will be just the fifth time that UL has played a game on a Tuesday and first in 49 years.
The Cajuns are 2-2 when playing on Tuesday, winning 26-0 over Louisiana Tech on Nov. 14, 1916 and defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 13-0, on Nov. 11, 1930.
The first Tuesday game came on Nov. 5, 1912 when the Cajuns fell to LSU, 85-3. The most recent Tuesday contest was a 14-0 loss to Southeastern Louisiana on Sept, 10, 1963. All four games were played on the road.
Vegas trends: Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings. Underdog is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 meetings. Ragin’ Cajuns are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 meetings. Road team is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
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