University of Houston Athletics
Football Ready to Tackle Louisiana-Lafayette
9/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2002
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team concluded its preparations for this weekend's matchup against Interstate 10 rival Louisiana-Lafayette with a solid workout Thursday at the UH practice fields.
The Cougars (1-1) return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday as they play host to Louisiana-Lafayette (0-2) at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. In their last meeting, UH shutout the Cajuns 45-0 on Sept. 18, 1999, in Houston and held UL Lafayette to a paltry 42 rushing yards on 44 carries.
After falling to Conference USA rival Tulane last weekend to open their league schedule, the Cougars returned to the practice fields this week with a renewed effort and focus. Third-year head coach Dana Dimel said his team had rebounded nicely from last week's disappointment and was eager to return to the game field.
"I feel very comfortable about what we accomplished (this week)," Dimel said, following Thursday's workout. "We understand that this football team is going to have to fight and battle for everything that we get. That's the message right now."
UH spent about two hours Thursday in shorts and shoulder pads on finalizing the offensive and defensive game plans against the Cajuns and polishing special teams work.
For the Cougars to be successful this weekend, the team must eliminate turnovers after giving the ball away seven times in last week's loss to the Green Wave. As a result, protecting the football was a key issue during this week's practice sessions.
"Fundamentally, we're doing everything the right way it needs to be done," Dimel said. "We just have to stay really focused on protecting the football in all cases that we have an opportunity to."
Senior running back Joffrey Reynolds will be looking for his third straight 100-yard rushing game to open the season. The Tyler, Texas, native opened the 2002 season with 155 yards against crosstown rival Rice and followed that with a 143-yard effort against Tulane last weekend.
This season, Reynolds tops the Cougars with 298 yards on 57 carries and has added three receptions out of the backfield.
Saturday's meeting with the Cajuns will be the return of a series, which began in 1946, as Louisiana-Lafayette (then known as Southwest Louisiana Institute) was UH's first-ever opponent. After dropping the first two games against Louisiana-Lafayette, the Cougars have won four straight versus the Cajuns.
