Here's why Michael Desormeaux wasn't happy after Louisiana football's season-opening win
There was a stretch in the second quarter Saturday where Ben Wooldridge continually had to pick himself up off the ground.
The Louisiana football senior quarterback, in his first start after a late-season ACL tear last season, was harassed, hurried and hit for large portions of his team's 38-13 season-opening win.
Despite the victory, the Demons affected Wooldridge's ability to establish any footing. They also raised concern about exactly how much an older, more experienced offensive line from a season ago has improved.
"We did not protect very well tonight which was disappointing to say the least. I think they had a good scheme up front. They ran a bunch of games and did a good job executing them," UL football coach Michael Desormeaux said. "But that doesn't matter. We knew what we're going to get. We've got to clean up that up."
At one point in the second quarter, Wooldridge, who finished 14-of-32 (43.7%) for 223 yards with three touchdowns, was hurried and hit six times in a nine-play span. One of the throws was batted down and another was deflected and intercepted, which led to Northwestern State's second field goal that cut the deficit to 21-6 with 2:17 remaining in the half.
Defenders shedding Louisiana blocks and living in Wooldridge's face for much of the night naturally led to an undervalued stat line, especially when Desormeaux knows chances were there.
"They're challenging us and we've got guys running in the secondary and we have to be able to protect to get the ball off. It's not a numbers issues, it's losing whenever we've got an opportunity to keep it protected numbers-wise," the coach said.
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"That's something I'm not very pleased with. That affects everybody. Completion percentage sucks. But when you're getting hit every time you're trying to throw the ball, you got to throw it away and all that stuff, it's hard to be efficient. We got a lot of hard work to do right there."
Only six offensive linemen rotated in while the game was close in center Landon Burton, guards A.J. Gillie, Jax Harrington and tackles Nathan Thomas and George Jackson along with backup Kaden Moreau. Once the game was in hand, James Ohonba got some snaps.
Desormeaux said he hopes Quinton Williams returns from injury and adds depth for the Cajuns' offensive line.
No change is coming up front for UL, at least not yet. But more quality depth does bring opportunity for shifting if it's needed later.
"I'm not a knee-jerk reaction guy. I don't think one day dictates who you are. I don't believe that's it," Desormeaux said. "Tonight just wasn't our best execution."
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's Michael Desormeaux wasn't happy after win
