Louisiana handled South Alabama in Mobile last November. Now the Jaguars get a shot at payback in Lafayette, needing every bit of it just to salvage a rough Sun Belt West stretch.
Bush’s Picks
USAUL
USAUL
OverUnder
Best BetLouisiana
Louisiana enters with the far more settled quarterback situation and a roster that returns more of its 2025 production, while South Alabama is still sorting out its starter after a rough finish to last season. The Cajuns also beat this same South Alabama team a year ago, and nothing about the offseason suggests that gap closed. Back Louisiana here as the side built on more stable footing.
South Alabama
+Applewhite staff continuity into year 3
+Jared Hollins gained real late-season reps
−Finished 4-8 with no bowl in 2025
−Net -15 roster swing in the transfer portal
−Projected 115th nationally, 5th in Sun Belt West
Louisiana
+Winfield's best game of 2025 came vs. this foe
+Desormeaux enters year 5 with stability
+Preseason 2nd in Sun Belt West, top returning production
−Lost 68 Ventures Bowl 20-13 to Delaware
−Walker Howard's transfer-portal exit still a lingering QB story
−Winfield's sample size as full-time starter is still limited
South Alabama's quarterback room is the story to watch entering this one. Bishop Davenport stumbled down the stretch in 2025, bad enough that freshman Jared Hollins saw meaningful snaps late in the season, and that competition figures to carry into fall camp. Louisiana, meanwhile, has more clarity: Lunch Winfield took over the starting job in Week 4 last year and never gave it back, and his best performance of the season came against this exact opponent — 14-for-15 passing for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win over South Alabama.
The offseason tells two different roster stories. South Alabama is running it back with head coach Major Applewhite for a third season, but the roster took a real hit in the portal — a net loss of 15 players — leaning the program toward developing what it has rather than buying its way to relevance. Louisiana didn't touch its sideline either, with Michael Desormeaux entering year 5, and the Cajuns held onto enough pieces to rank among the Sun Belt's best in returning production. That gap in continuity is a big reason the market will likely lean Lafayette's way once lines open.
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USA South Alabama
UL Louisiana
Both programs closed 2025 short of where they wanted to be. Louisiana went 6-7 and dropped the 68 Ventures Bowl 20-13 to Delaware, a disappointing finish after a mostly solid regular season. South Alabama finished 4-8 and stayed home for the postseason entirely. The head-to-head history favors the Cajuns regardless — they've won the series comfortably over the years and took last year's meeting 31-22 in Mobile.
South Alabama Jaguars
Oct 30?vs Louisiana Tech—
Oct 20?@ Marshall—
Oct 8?@ Arkansas State—
Oct 2?vs UL Monroe—
Sep 26?@ Kentucky—
Sep 19?vs Ohio—
Sep 12?@ Tulane—
Sep 5?vs SE Louisiana—
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Oct 23?@ Southern Miss—
Oct 16?vs Troy—
Oct 9?@ Louisiana Tech—
Oct 2?vs Arkansas State—
Sep 25?@ Charlotte—
Sep 19?vs UAB—
Sep 12?@ USC—
Sep 5?vs Lamar—
Recent form.
Preseason positioning backs up the eye test here. Louisiana was tabbed 2nd in the Sun Belt West in the conference's preseason media poll, while South Alabama landed all the way down at 5th, with metrics pegging the Jaguars near the bottom of FBS in projected wins. That's a wide gap for a divisional game, and it's the kind of spot where a rebuilding roster on the road can get overwhelmed fast.
It's still July, so fall camp battles and depth-chart news will shape plenty between now and kickoff on Friday, November 6. But the foundation is set: a Louisiana team with a returning starter and a stable staff hosting a South Alabama squad still figuring out who takes the snaps.
