Louisiana College vs SRSU preview

The Louisiana College Wildcats will be making their first road trip in almost a month, and it happens to be the longest trip that the Wildcats will make this year, to Alpine, TX to take on the Sul Ross State Lobos. The roughly 14 hours bus trip is nothing new to the players that made the trip in 2014 but for many of the guys that haven’t endured the long hours on the road it will be a different experience. The Lobos are coming off of a 52-36, Homecoming victory last week over Belhaven and are a much improved team from years past under head coach John Pearce, in his third season in charge of the team.

In the game against Belhaven, Lobos quarterback James Davis threw for a season best 321 yards and two touchdowns.  Davis is a true dual-threat quarterback as he is one of two quarterbacks in the ASC to rank in the top 10 in passing per game (223.0/gm) and rushing per game (70.6/gm).  With his running ability the Wildcat defense will have to maintain their rushing lanes and force Davis to throw into a secondary that has a total of 11 interceptions this season, second most in the ASC.  The Lobos rank sixth in the ASC in total offense, with a still impressive 403.6 yards per game but they rank third in rushing offense, averaging 179.0 yards per game on the ground.  Davis and running back Andre Wilson have combined for 572 of the Lobos 895 total rushing yards this year. The Wildcat rushing defense ranks seventh of eight team in the conference allowing 178.4 yards per game.

Offensively for the Wildcats, who were held to just 21 points last week against Hardin-Simmons, has the chance at a major bounce back game this week.  Although the Lobos rank second in the ASC in rushing defense (139.4/gm) meaning Aurren Cooksey is in store for another game of tough running, the passing defense of Sul Ross ranks last in the ASC allowing 322.4 yards per game.  Combine that with the LC passing attack led by Easton Melancon, who has thrown for over 350 yards in all four games he has played in this year, and receivers Shedrick Davis, who is one of just four receivers in the ASC averaging over 100 yards per game, Lamar Carroway, Farron Jones, and Lawrence Williams, each with over 250 yards on the season, and the passing game could produce some big opportunities this week for the Wildcats.

Players to Watch:
#5 Orel Ledet, Jr. (So.-DB) – Ledet has been a key component of the Wildcats defense all season.  He will be around the ball on almost every play and with the running ability of Lobos quarterback James Davis, Ledet could become a great counter to prevent Davis from escaping down the field.

#7 Easton Melancon (Sr.-QB) – Melancon has had a tremendous season thus far, throwing for over 350 yards in all four of his starts.  The last two weeks he has had trouble with his accuracy on throws but with the matchup this week against the conferences lowest rated pass defense, look for Melancon and his receivers to have a big game.

Offensive Line – The Wildcat o-line always plays an important role in every game but this week may be the most important to date.  The Lobos have a great rushing defense, second in the conference, so if the front can create space for Cooksey and Julien to run and protect Melancon in passing situations, it will be a good day for the Wildcats.

LC takes on the Sul Ross State Lobos on Saturday beginning at 2pm from Alpine, TX.  The game will live streamed on the internet thanks to the Sul Ross State Media Department, and live play-by-play can be heard locally on 104.3 FM The Bridge.  The Wildcats will return home next week for their final two home games of the season starting with Belhaven on October 22 and ending with the massive Senior Night, Homecoming, Battle for the Border Claw game on October 29 against East Texas Baptist.  Both game will kickoff at 6pm at Wildcat Field.