There's just no underselling how significant Saturday's 4 p.m. showdown against Troy at Our Lady of Lourdes Field is for the UL Ragin' Cajuns.

First of all, there's the Sun Belt standings.

The Cajuns are now 4-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. A second Sun Belt loss and UL's chances of playing in the league's championship game enter longshot territory.

Secondly, there's just that really bad taste in the mouths of every UL coach and player after last week's 32-31 road loss to Louisiana Tech.

"We've got to prepare like our backs are against the wall, because they are," UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. "There's no more room for error. Our goal is to get the conference championship. That's our goal.

"We've got to get on a roll, but you can't start a streak without the first one. These next two games are huge before we get to the bye week."

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Chase Edwards said the team "has flushed" last week's loss in Ruston.

"We just have to be more vocal on defense when things get tight," Edwards said. The lights can't be too bright. We just have to make plays. We all know that."

Indeed, motivation is at an all-time high.

"We are just angry with ourselves for not finishing the job," running back Anthony Reagan said. "We know we lost a game we shouldn't have lost, so this week, you know you've got to go hard. There can't be any lack of focus this week."

Troy comes to town 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play after dismantling Southern Miss last week 55-34.

The Trojans are ranked fourth in total offense in the Sun Belt at 429.8 yards per game - led by veteran quarterback Goose Crowder, who has thrown for 1,047 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions and also run for 219 yards and two scores.

"He's got a lot of arm talent," Desormeaux said. "He can make all the throws. You add his ability to run, and it's a scary thing because he can get out and hurt you with his legs."

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this matchup is Troy leads the Sun Belt in rushing yards (236.2), while UL's defense leads the league in rushing defense (100.7).

Like UL, Troy's backfield is balanced between Gavin Griffin (69-337, 1 TD), Jaheim Merriweather (50-281, 4 TDs) and Jordan Lovett (44-254, 1 TD).

"I think they do a really good job upfront covering it all up," Desormeaux said. "Their O line plays really vertical. They kind of shut down the movement a little bit, which we've been moving our front quite a bit. They do a good job of shutting it down. I think their backs are really patient. They've got really good play strength."

Helping UL even more on the defensive front is the recent return of defensive tackle Brodrick Stewart.

"He's playing better and better every week, man," Desormeaux said of Stewart. "He's getting in the right spots. Brodrick, I'm really pleased with his progress right now."

Like always, though, much of UL's formula for victory falls on the shoulders of quarterback Lunch Winfield, who is coming off a disappointing game with a fumble and two losses.

"We've got to move on," offensive coordinator Tim Leger said of Winfield. "He's a great leader. 
He's a natural competitor. I just hope he doesn't try to press himself into playing to make enough for it all at one time.

"I know he wants (bounce back), and he will. He'll play good. He'll be the reason we win a bunch of games going forward."

Most of UL's nine fumbles this season have been by the running backs, so it remains a high priority for that unit.

"We do ball security drills every single day in practice," Reagan said. "We just have to make sure as a group that we tell each other to do a better job of holding on to the ball. This is our program. The ball is our program.

"We're always in traffic, so it's got to be two hands and locking the ball."

The other big question entering this contest is UL’s pass defense, which has struggled since the injury to safety Collin Jacob.

“We didn't cover great (at Tech),” Desormeaux said. “In man coverage, we had too many times where we were way too loose in coverage. That's something we haven’t been doing. We played tight coverage and made people earn it.

“In zone, I think they hit some really tight windows. There were some where we were, we're not in the right landmarks, and we're not in the right spots, you're leaving somebody open. We’ve just got to tighten up.”