Louisiana
Louisiana is 6-3 and No. 88 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 4.9 points below an average FBS team. Last game: won 28-26 vs South Alabama in Week 10.
Week 11: at UL Monroe, Thursday, Nov 12: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Louisiana is No. 88
- Louisiana's rating is −4.9: the machine's estimate that Louisiana is 4.9 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 88 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −8.3, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 3.4.
- The biggest weekly moves: +3.0 after Week 7 (W 33-6 vs Troy) and +2.2 after Week 4 (W 34-7 at Charlotte).
- Its record is 6-3. The 3 losses were to No. 19 USC, No. 80 Louisiana Tech, No. 122 Southern Miss, by 8.0 points on average. The 6 wins came by 16.2 points on average; the best was over No. 107 South Alabama. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 99 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 87 Rutgers (−4.6); just below is No. 89 Toledo (−5.1).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Michael Desormeaux is in his 6th season at Louisiana (since 2021). This season: 6-3. At Louisiana overall: 35-28, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 147-221 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1694 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 7-7 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.7No. 56 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 11.1%No. 54 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 6.0%No. 83 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 382-1826 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.8No. 43 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 15.7%No. 39 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 15.2%No. 33 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 29.9No. 57 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.90No. 67 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 43.6%No. 38 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 79.3%No. 4 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 12No. 80 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 21.8No. 44 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.29No. 46 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.2No. 23 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.2No. 81 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 4.2%No. 109 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 16No. 15 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 38.3%No. 67 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- D'Wayne' Winfield140-210, 1604 yds, 7 TD, 6 INT
- Daniel Beale7-10, 90 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- D'Wayne' Winfield128 carries, 561 yds, 10 TD
- JJ Garner61 carries, 440 yds, 6 TD
- Steven Blanco80 carries, 298 yds, 4 TD
Receiving
- Kedarius Wade16 catches, 300 yds, 2 TD
- Trenton Chaney19 catches, 263 yds, 1 TD
- Caden Jensen15 catches, 210 yds, 0 TD
Tackles
- Jake St. Andre68
- Brent Gordon Jr.48
- Maurion Eleam47
Sacks
- Ashley Williams2
- Jake St. Andre2
- Lester Jones2
Interceptions
- Brent Gordon Jr.2
- Avery Demery1
- Collin Jacob1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- D'Wayne' WinfieldMost passes in the last game9 games210 attempts95%
- Daniel Beale3 games10 attempts5%
Carrying
- Steven Blanco9 games80 carries33%
- JJ Garner9 games61 carries25%
- Anthony Reagan Jr.9 games59 carries24%
- Darrell Smith4 games30 carries12%
Catching
- Trenton Chaney7 games19 catches13%
- Russell Babineaux7 games17 catches12%
- Kedarius Wade8 games16 catches11%
- Brock Chappell7 games15 catches10%
Tackling
- Jake St. Andre9 games68 tackles12%
- Brent Gordon Jr.9 games48 tackles8%
- Maurion Eleam9 games47 tackles8%
- Micah Johnson8 games47 tackles8%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 38–7 vs Lamar. Lamar is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 2 L 30–49 at USC. The run defense gave ground: USC got 5.3 yards a carry, 1.6 over what it usually gains.
- Week 3 W 21–14 vs UAB. The run defense was the strength: UAB got 2.4 yards a carry, 1.2 under what it usually gains.
- Week 4 W 34–7 at Charlotte. The pass defense was the strength: Charlotte got 3.6 yards an attempt, 3.5 under what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 5 W 23–20 vs Arkansas State. The pass defense was the strength: Arkansas State got 6.6 yards an attempt, 1.8 under what it usually gains.
- Week 6 L 31–32 at Louisiana Tech. The passing game was the strength: 10.0 yards an attempt, 3.1 more than Louisiana Tech usually allows.
- Week 7 W 33–6 vs Troy. The passing game struggled: 4.7 yards an attempt, 2.4 less than Troy usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 8 L 31–35 at Southern Miss. The run defense gave ground: Southern Miss got 6.7 yards a carry, 2.9 over what it usually gains. The machine had Louisiana by 8.0 (69%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 10 W 28–26 vs South Alabama. The run game was the strength: 7.1 yards a carry, 1.8 more than South Alabama usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.