UL Lafayette head football coach Billy Napier said his team is excited about the challenge of playing preseason Sun Belt Conference West Division preseason favorite Arkansas State at home on Saturday.

LAFAYETTE — The bulk of the chatter surrounding the UL Lafayette football team this season has been about head coach Billy Napier’s high-octane offense, which broke or tied multiple single-game records two weeks ago in a blowout win over New Mexico State.

The Ragin’ Cajuns dropped a 27-17 matchup this past Saturday at No. 25 Appalachian State, which earned the defense some kudos, despite the loss, due to the fact that UL Lafayette held the Mountaineers to their lowest scoring output of the year.

“I’m proud of the intensity our team played with Saturday, but we didn’t do the core things well that you need to do to win the game,” Napier said.

“We didn’t rush the football effectively and we were inconsistent in stopping the run. A lot of that is due to Appalachian State. They have a really good football team.”

The Cajuns, who rushed for 344 yards vs. New Mexico State, were held to 140 last week.

“We did go in there and compete,” Napier said. “I think we have a little bit better pulse as to where we’re at as a football team, and what we need to do going forward.

“Everything is in front of us and that starts with what happens this week. Arkansas State comes here to our backyard and we’re excited about that challenge.”

The Red Wolves (4-4, 1-2 Sun Belt Conference West Division) feature the preseason conference player of the year in quarterback Justin Hansen, who was responsible for five touchdowns and 333 yards of total offense in ASU’s win over Georgia State last week.

Hansen (1,795 yards passing, 295 yards rushing, 18 total touchdowns) broke the school career passing touchdowns record last week and also was named Sun Belt co-offensive player of the week.

“Arkansas State was picked to win our division,” Napier said. “They’re coming off a really good win against Georgia State. They played really well last week and are getting their act together.

“They’ve got tons of effective players. They’re experienced and have depth. They have a veteran quarterback and an elite group of skill players. In particular, the running back and their receivers are explosive.”

The UL Lafayette/ASU winner will move into a tie with ULM atop the Sun Belt West division standings.

ASU’s leading receiver is wide receiver Kirk Merritt, a Destrehan product who began his career at Texas A&M.

The Cajuns (3-4, 1-2) will counter with a secondary that has consistently improved this season.

“We’re getting some great leadership from (defensive backs) Corey Turner and Deuce Wallace, and Jacques Boudreaux is a good leader on defense,” Napier said.

“They’ve gotten better each week. That was a solid performance we had last week. There is another higher level that we want to reach when it comes to stopping teams.”

Napier indicated that his team wants to see a big crowd at Cajun Field.

“We’re fortunate to come back here and play in front of our people, and I hope that will be a factor in the game,” he said.

“Anytime you have hope, it helps morale, and we have hope. It’s a divisional game this week that will have a lot to do with what happens on our side of the conference.”