Why Louisiana football will – and won't – be favorites to win Sun Belt going into 2022
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LAFAYETTE – In many cases, the team that won the conference championship the year before stands a great chance of being the preseason favorite to win it again.
Louisiana won its first Sun Belt championship game in 2021, outlasting Appalachian State 24-16 in former coach Billy Napier’s final game before leaving to take over at Florida. UL went on to win its third straight bowl game, knocking off Marshall in the New Orleans Bowl.
Sun Belt Media Days kick off next Tuesday from New Orleans, and the Ragin’ Cajuns will likely be the media and coaches’ pick to repeat as league champs as they have been the most successful football program the last three seasons, going 34-5 over that stretch.
But UL also has plenty of question marks as the 2022 season draws closer.
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Let’s look at why the Cajuns will, and won’t, be favored to win the Sun Belt this season.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will be picked to win the Sun Belt because …
Louisiana has been the overall best team in the league the past two seasons. Program health, especially at the Group of Five level, really matters in the current transfer portal era of college football, and Napier left first-year UL coach Michael Desormeaux a healthy team. Programs don’t win 34 games in three years by mistake.
This year, the Cajuns will look to capitalize on their current streak and the biggest on-field reason why they’ll be expected to repeat is their defense.
Experience at all three levels will be back for the Cajuns, led by what’ll be the top defensive line in the Sun Belt featuring Andre Jones and Zi’Yon Hill-Green, who combined for 12.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 2021.
UL’s defense, which will still be at championship level, is good enough to win games when a new-look offense could struggle, and it’ll need to play that good early.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns won’t be picked to win the Sun Belt because …
How will Desormeaux fare being in charge at Louisiana? This season marks the first time he’s been a head coach at the collegiate level.
Desormeaux is taking over a healthy program, which is ideal for a first-time head coach, but with that comes lofty expectations. There’ll be some pressure for the former Cajuns player: how will he handle it as the 2022 season progresses?
UL’s offense will be a work in progress in 2022. Louisiana has to replace a multi-year starting quarterback in Levi Lewis, four of its five starting offensive linemen from last year and its top two ball-carriers from in 2021. The Cajuns still haven’t named a starting quarterback and are still evaluating who will be starting across the line. Those position battles will roll throughout fall camp.
In total, UL saw one of the highest rates of production departure in all of college football from 2021, losing 54% of production, good enough for ninth-worst in FBS.
On top of the holes the Cajuns have to fill, the Sun Belt expanded this offseason, adding James Madison, Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss. The additions overall make the Sun Belt a tougher league and will make Louisiana’s path to a second straight conference title more difficult.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Why Louisiana football will – & won't – be Sun Belt favorites in 2022
