The anticipation of last night’s grand opening of the new Our Lady of Lourdes stadium was palpable.

You could feel the energy in the air.  Fans entered the stadium (quickly and easily, by the way) and immediately took note of the new amenities.  The number of people taking pictures of everything from the suites to the concessions stands and the smiles from ear-to-ear proved that Lafayette was ready for a good time.

Unfortunately, the Ragin’ Cajuns quickly threw cold water on that energy.

The Louisiana offense, expected to be an upgraded unit, crumbled quicker than the old Cajun Field press box.  The defense, while much improved in the second half, looked completely lost early against the option offense that Rice brought to the Swamp.  

And then came the injury.

Late in the fourth quarter and down by only two points, Louisiana looked to march down the field to give placekicker Tony Sterner, who already nailed kicks of 47 and 51 yards, a chance to seal the victory.  QB Walker Howard threw the best pass of the night from his own 5-yard line for a gain of 25 yards, electrifying the stadium.

Shortly after the completion, Howard went down to the ground in pain.  It’s a nightmare scenario that Louisiana has inexplicably experienced over the last few seasons.  And it happened yet again in the first game of 2025.

The pressure was on backup Daniel Beale to help manage the comeback from that point forward.  But four straight incomplete passes on their final possession sealed the defeat of the Cajuns.

Dropped passes, miscommunication, overthrown balls, missed defensive assignments, poor tackles and the inability to stop the run doomed Louisiana in what was supposed to be a night of celebration.  Instead, it turned into an evening of disappointment, frustration and self-reflection.

Can the Cajuns turn it around?  Of course.  It’s only game one, and there is plenty of football ahead of us.  But it will take a vastly improved gameplan and execution for the snowball to not turn into an avalanche.

FCS foe McNeese State, much like Rice, has a new coach and revamped team that is visiting Cajun Field next week.  Head Coach Matt Viator knows the Cajuns better than most as he was an assistant on staff for the last four seasons.  And after their 54-9 beatdown of Louisiana Christian last night, the Cowboys are certainly smelling blood in the water.

Losing last night was inexcusable and embarrassing.  Losing to the Cowboys would be a catastrophe of epic proportions.

Louisiana will need to quickly figure things out to avoid that scenario.