Data Skrive

Star player Terrance Carter and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (8-1) face the South Alabama Jaguars (4-5) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, at Cajun Field.

You’ll want to check out ESPN+ for the upcoming matchup featuring the Ragin’ Cajuns and Jaguars.

Keep up with college football all season on FOX Sports.

Learn more about the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and the South Alabama Jaguars.

How to Watch Louisiana vs. South Alabama

• When: Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
• Location: Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana
• Live Box Score: FOX Sports

Read More About This Game

• Louisiana vs. South Alabama Predictions

Louisiana vs. South Alabama: Head to Head

• Over the past two matchups against South Alabama, Louisiana has collected one win and zero ties.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns have covered two times in those games while not outscoring the point total once.
• South Alabama has put up 10 fewer points than Louisiana in their past two games.

Louisiana’s 2024 Schedule

Louisiana 2024 Stats & Insights

• On the offensive side of the ball, Louisiana has been a top-25 unit, ranking 11th-best in the FBS by compiling 457.1 yards per game. The defense ranks 40th (335.4 yards allowed per game).
• Louisiana ranks 32nd in passing yards this year (266.8 per game), but has been shining on the other side of the ball, ranking 17th-best in the FBS with 173 passing yards allowed per game.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns own the 38th-ranked defense this season (21.8 points allowed per game), and they’ve been better offensively, ranking 24th-best with 35.2 points per game.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns rank 33rd in run offense (190.3 rushing yards per game) and 89th in run defense (162.4 rushing yards allowed per game) this season.
• Louisiana owns the eighth-best offense this season in terms of third-down efficiency (50% third-down conversion rate), but ranks 14th-worst on the defensive side of the ball (45.9% third-down percentage).
• The Ragin’ Cajuns have the 17th-best turnover margin in college football at +8, forcing 12 turnovers (69th in the FBS) while turning it over four times (second in the FBS).

Louisiana 2024 Key Players

South Alabama’s 2024 Schedule

South Alabama 2024 Stats & Insights

• South Alabama’s offense has been leading the way for the team, as it ranks 14th-best in the FBS with 455.2 total yards per contest. In terms of defense, it is ceding 394.4 total yards per game, which ranks 98th.
• South Alabama ranks 51st in passing yards per game (242.8), but it has been worse on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 12th-worst in the FBS with 264.2 passing yards allowed per contest.
• The Jaguars’ defense ranks 69th in the FBS with 24.8 points given up per game, but they’ve been lifted up by their offense, which ranks 20th-best by generating 35.6 points per game.
• The Jaguars’ rushing attack has been paving the way for the team, as they rank 17th-best in the FBS with 212.4 rushing yards per game. In terms of defense, they are ceding 130.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks 47th.
• South Alabama ranks 54th in the FBS with a 42.1% third-down conversion rate on offense, and 58th with a 37.4% third-down percentage allowed on defense.
• The Jaguars have excelled in terms of turnovers, as their turnover margin of +8 ranks 17th-best in the FBS, with 14 forced turnovers (48th in the nation) and six turnovers committed (fifth in the nation).

South Alabama 2024 Key Players

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Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

South Alabama Jaguars

College Football

After dropping their sixth game of the season against the Vanderbilt Commodores last time out, the Auburn Tigers have what should be a chance to correct course this week.

Fresh off their second bye week of the season, Auburn hosts the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. 

Here are three keys to victory for Auburn.

Run the Football

After his record-setting performance against Kentucky, Jarquez Hunter did not have as many opportunities to make an impact against Vanderbilt.

Auburn’s star running back and one of the nation’s best had 12 carries for 50 yards in Auburn’s loss to the Commodores.

If the Tigers allow Hunter to do his thing against the Warhawks on Saturday, they should have no problem keeping their bowl aspirations alive for at least one more week. Additionally, Hunter is closing in on his first 1,000-yard season at the college level and needs 87 yards to cross that threshold.

Slow Down Ahmad Hardy

As much as establishing the run game could benefit Auburn, it is equally as important for it to prevent Louisiana-Monroe from doing the same.

Hardy, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Monticello, Miss., has played a large role in the Warhawks’ offensive success in his first season at the college level. Hardy has picked up 915 yards and nine touchdowns off 164 carries.

Louisiana-Monroe has struggled to move the ball through the air, so eliminating the run game would increase Auburn’s chances of coming out on top even more.

Get the Ball in the Endzone

This one might sound self-explanatory, but with the way Auburn has struggled with field goal kicking this season, it needs to be stated.

True freshman Town McGough is 5-of-12 (41.7%) on the season with a long of 32 yards. However, McGough is a perfect 27-of-27 on extra-point attempts.

Kick-off is set for 11:45 a.m. CT and SEC Network will carry the television broadcast.

A central part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to revamp the state’s tax laws is struggling to gain the votes needed to pass, and some lawmakers have said the bill that would expand the sales tax to services and labor is dead in its current form. 

House Bill 9, sponsored by Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, was sidelined for the second day in a row Thursday as he chose not to bring it up for a vote on the House floor. The measure would expand the state sales tax to apply to a list of more than 40 services, including lawn care, massage therapy and various home repair offerings. 

Similar legislation to place sales taxes on online streaming subscriptions and other digital services cleared the House on Wednesday. 

Riser, who represents a rural area of northeast Louisiana, expressed the precarious nature of the situation in an interview on the House floor as lawmakers adjourned for the day, saying there’s nothing in the bill that could be changed to gain support from one lawmaker without losing support from another. 

“It’s like a ripple in time,” Riser said.

His bill is part of a package Gov. Landry proposed offering lower personal and business income taxes in exchange for more sales taxes and fewer tax credits. Supporters of the plan maintain its measures would bring more business and jobs to the state. 

For a special session that must end by 6 p.m. Nov. 25, the current pace of legislation doesn’t bode well for the original package of bills.

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said in an interview Riser’s proposal has been a particular sticking point for lawmakers.

“The services have been very difficult throughout this whole process because if you kept everybody in, that’s one thing,” Henry said. “But once you start breaking down and picking winners and losers, it became very difficult to justify.”

Tax bills in Louisiana require a two-thirds majority in each legislative chamber to pass.

From the start, a significant number of lawmakers from each political party have expressed reluctance about taxing services and labor. Some fear its impact will land hardest on lower income residents, and others are concerned with the cost and logistical burden placed on small businesses and sole proprietors. 

Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, said Riser’s bill would leave many small business owners with no choice but to hire accountants who would likely charge a premium because demand would “go through the roof.”

“Small businesses are going to be stampeding into accountants’ offices,” Bayham said. “And, by the way, whose services does the bill exempt from taxation? The accountants’.” 

He said he hopes the governor will realize parts of his plan could end up favoring large businesses over smaller ones. 

“We cannot be corporatists,” Bayham said. “We must help our small businesses along with our big businesses. Don’t favor one over the other.”

Sen. Gerald Boudreaux of Lafayette, who chairs his chamber’s Democratic Caucus, said the sheer number of new services to be taxed would create collection enforcement issues.

“There’s just so many that have never been taxed before,” Boudreaux said. “… How are we going to regulate that, and how is it going to be done?”

New doubts began to mount Wednesday during a hearing on Riser’s bill in the House Ways & Means Committee when several insurance industry executives testified to how the proposal would force property insurance premiums to increase. 

Rodney Braxton, a lobbyist for the Insurance Council of Louisiana trade association, told lawmakers rates would undoubtedly increase if labor on home repairs is taxed. 

The bill would exempt any property services and repairs as a result of an officially declared disaster and any services considered “capital improvements” that increase the value of a property. However, insurance executives told the committee those exemptions could actually create uncertainty in the underwriting market, ultimately resulting in higher costs for policyholders. 

If enacted, Riser’s bill is estimated to generate $1.9 billion in state revenue over the next five years, according to an analysis released Thursday evening by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office. Without that potential revenue available, lawmakers would likely have to consider increasing sales taxes on other items. 

The House did manage to pass related legislation that would set the actual sales tax rate to 4.4%, allowing 0.05% of a House Bill 10, sponsored by Rep. Mark Wright, R-Covington, cleared the chamber with a 71-23 vote — just one over the two-thirds needed for tax measures. 

Wright’s bill underwent several floor amendments that tacked on tax exemptions for diapers, church books and other special interests. The legislation heads next to the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.

Henry said he would rather not adjust the flat tax bills, which set rates of 3% for personal income and 3.5% for businesses.

“There could be delaying implementation of this to see how much revenue comes in on the other bills …,” Henry said, specifically mentioning the digital services tax bill. “Maybe we don’t have to address it now. We could address it in the future.”

Any such discussions have been put on hold until lawmakers reconvene Monday.

Julie O’Donoghue contributed to this report.