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Cajuns singing Vols' praises

Louisiana-Lafayette coach Rickey Bustle scored as many touchdowns directing a team at Neyland Stadium as he did as a player - one.

Bustle caught a touchdown pass for Clemson playing against the Vols in 1974.

Saturday, tailback Tyrell Fenroy had the only score for Bustle's team as UT rolled to a 59-7 homecoming victory over the Ragin' Cajuns at Neyland Stadium.

Bustle said he'll watch the tape and correct mistakes from the game. As for his TD with the Clemson Tigers, that one is in the memory banks.

"I remember it,'' Bustle said. "It was 29-28 (A UT win) and then there were 12 men on the field on a two-point play for them. Condredge (Holloway) told me before the game (Saturday) there was.''

Bustle probably felt like the Vols' offense had 12 men on the field throughout Saturday's game as UT piled up 466 yards.

"Defensively, we couldn't get any stops,'' Bustle said. "Tennessee is a heckuva football team. They have great speed and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. We couldn't get off some of the blocks.''

ULL defensive line coach Shawn Quinn, a graduate assistant with the Vols from 1999-2001 after coaching under George Quarles at Maryville High School from 1996-98, said he's used to leaving Neyland Stadium on the other side of the score.

"It was fun to be back in town, but obviously, I'm disappointed with the game,'' said Quinn, who's in his sixth year with the Ragin' Cajuns. "I think up front (offensively) and at running back, UT is better than they were last year. They were much better than South Carolina at those spots; much more physical.''

Quinn said Vols' quarterback Erik Ainge makes UT hard to stop.

"We tried to do a lot of different things to keep them off balance,'' Quinn said. "But he (Ainge) did a great job of checking off.''

ULL lost to South Carolina 28-14 in its season opener Sept. 1.

Trailing UT 17-0 just before the half, the Ragin' Cajuns had a chance to keep things close.

But a Michael Desormeaux screen pass bounded off a receiver's hands, and Vols' defensive end Antonio Reynolds plucked it out of the air and returned the interception 70 yards for a TD.

"We had a chance right there,'' Bustle said. "That was a big play.''

Desormeaux drew a bead on Reynolds, but the Vols' defensive end put a stop-and-go move on him along the sideline en route to the end zone.

"I was trying to take him out; they'd been doing that to me the whole game, so I was trying to get one back,'' the 200-pound Desormeaux said jokingly. "That (move) is just a testament to the athletes they have on that team. To have a defensive end that can do that is pretty impressive.''

Desormeaux said the Vols changed how they played the Ragin' Cajuns option in the second half.

"Early on, they truly were trying to play the read (pitch), but in the second half they just sat and were making us give,'' Desormeaux. "Tennessee moved as well as anyone we played. To defend that (the option), you have to see it often, and they don't see it in the SEC.

"They don't defend it the same way a lot of teams in our conference do.''

ULL finished with 234 yards rushing after having 252 yards rushing against South Carolina.

Fenroy, a 190-pound tailback, said the Vols' defense impressed him more than the Gamecocks.

"Tennessee has a faster defense than South Carolina,'' Fenroy said. "and they are a little bigger.''

Stat Fact: When Fenroy opened the second half with a 25-yard run for ULL the Ragin' Cajuns had 197 yards on 38 plays while UT had 193 yards on 38 plays to that point.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

       6 Comments

Posted by qball77 on November 3, 2007 at 10:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Good game. You could play it down and say that it is only Louisiana-Lafayette. But we did exactly what we are supposed to do against a lower-caliber football program on homecoming: Give them a huge beatdown....first time we've dominated in a game that we SHOULD dominate in a while.

I am as encouraged by this performance as I was after the Georgia one. I hope we can carry that over and play with intensity during the remaining three games. We cannot let up one inch! Go vols!

Posted by DCVolFan on November 3, 2007 at 10:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They buy these games years in advance, nimrod. At least we haven't played a I-AA team.

Posted by RocketVol on November 3, 2007 at 11:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have to agree with Gatornation on his point. However, the company is awfully hypocritical in his choice of warm ups this season with W-KY and Troy. For heavens sake, when will you losers play a real team to start the season - at least UT has cajones you loser. It impresses me that Tennessee football attracts so many leaches from other schools.

Posted by Oenoboy on November 3, 2007 at 11:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Right gatorbation. Your team plays two teams out of that conference this year and Western Kentucky. Have fun having your asses handed to you by Spurrier next week. He's going to have a chip on his shoulder after the last two weeks.

Posted by kdawg001 on November 4, 2007 at 12:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

STILL GIVING WAY TOO MANY RUSHING YARDS. JUST SAW MCFADDEN RUN FOR OVER 300 ON SC AND FELIX JONES HAD WAY OVER 100 TOO. SCARY FOR OUR D

Posted by andy112382 on November 4, 2007 at 1:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

kdawg001, granted I would have loved to hold them to little to no rushing yards, they are the 8th best rushing offense in the nation and we held them right at their average, so they didn't do anything more than what they typically do. The passing teams scare me more, like Kentucky, and at least we will have Bolden back in there (I hope!) should be an interesting one next week!

And gatornation, not like florida ever plays crappy teams, huh? We played Cal to open the season.....who.....who was it florida opened with again??? Yea, thought so....

GO VOLS!!!

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