4thand4cast

Search the site.

Try , , or .

Powered by Pagefind

Louisiana

Ragin' Cajuns · Sun Belt

Head coach Michael Desormeaux Year 4 with Louisiana

Year-4 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.65 W vs SP+ expected · n=59

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
6.3
Expected wins
6-6
Proj record
3 to 9
Win range (90%)
#102 (80–124)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
3%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • vs Lamar
    Home · Sep 6
  • vs UAB
    Home · Sep 20
  • at Charlotte
    Away · Sep 26

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2025

55 PCI
  • Quarterback 50% (3/6 players)
  • Offensive line 63% (15/24 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 42% (15/36 players)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 68% (23/34 players)
  • Secondary 56% (15/27 players)
  • Special teams 63% (5/8 players)

PCI weights returning production by position group (QB/OL heaviest). 70%+ is healthy continuity; 45-70% is a normal rebuild; below 45% is a meaningful turnover.

If QB1 is out (D'Wayne' Winfield)

GIE projects a 5.1 rating drop and a 20.6pp shift in playoff probability if Louisiana loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=2 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 36.8% 49th — average
  • Red-zone TD rate 12.4% 28th — below avg
  • 4th-down aggression 34.5% 40th — below avg
  • Late & close 5.2 yds/play 55th — average

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Latest Stories

  • Recap

    Louisiana: 2025 Week 16 recap

    Louisiana sits at 105th overall in GIE's ratings after a 6–7 season that included a Week 14 home win over UL Monroe, 30–27. The Ragin' Cajuns have largely treaded water in the Sun Belt, neither building momentum nor collapsing entirely.…

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.