The Owls will play their first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) game at Fifth Third Stadium on Saturday against the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns.
Louisiana led off their season with a blowout 40-10 win against Grambling State They totaled almost 500 yards of offense and went 7-for-11 on third down in the win.
The Ragin Cajuns are coming off their sixth straight bowl game appearance and have returned much of their veteran roster this season. At quarterback, they are led by seventh-year senior Ben Wooldridge who went 25-of-33 and threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener.
Owls coach Brian Bohannon said the experience and talent of Louisiana will be another test.
“This is another veteran football team we’re playing,” he said. “They got most of their offensive line back, and most of the offense is seniors. Lots of upperclassmen on defense too and it’s another bowl team and just a really good football team. They’ve won a bunch of conference titles, been ranked, and they’re a great opponent that we’re going to have to be ready for.”
The Owls started their FBS journey 0-1 after a competitive defeat against UTSA at the Alamo Dome. Davis Bryson made the start at quarterback, going 14-for-28 and throwing for 202 yards and a touchdown.
“I thought he played hard in a tough environment,” Bohannon said. “There was times we couldn’t hear in there and he kept his composure and kept us in the game. Definitely a lot to like from him on Saturday, and he’ll keep getting better going into this week and beyond”
Owls kicker Austin Welch was a standout performer during the game as well going 3-of-3 on field goal attempts with a long of 48 yards. Bohannon said he was impressed with the special teams performance.
“Having the confidence to go out there and make all our field goals is huge,” he said. “And, beyond that, in the punt game being able to flip the field was also a huge thing so we did a lot well and we have to continue to do things at that level on special teams.”
On the defensive side, it was a bit of a struggle as Roadrunners quarterback Owen McCown went 28-for-38 with 340 yards and 4 total touchdowns. Louisiana won’t be an easier assignment for the defense Last season, they averaged almost 400 yards of offense per game, and put up 480 in their week one win.
Bohannon said the defense will have to be better to stop an elite Ragin Cajun offense.
“Yeah, I mean they’re good,” he said. “You saw week one they spread the ball around really well and their veteran offensive line is great as well. At the end of the day we have to do our job and be tough. We can’t hand them anything and we got to force turnovers as well which we struggled to do last week. Hopefully we can create some momentum changes as well but the big thing is just go do our job, play hard, and be tough on that side of the ball.”
Bohannon said he needs Fifth Third Stadium to be loud on Saturday.
“I hope it’s as loud as the Alamo Dome was this past week,” he said. “We need that type of atmosphere playing at home because that’ll help us create an advantage that we need to have. So I hope it’s loud and as hard to manage out there for Louisiana on Saturday as it was for us this past week.”
The game is at 7 p.m. on Saturday and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
