The UL Ragin' Cajuns got a week of moderate work and some rest.
As coach Micheal Desormeaux was quick to distinguish on Oct. 26, the Cajuns didn't have an open date last week because they practiced three times.
At 4 p.m. Saturday against South Alabama, the Cajuns will find out whether the extended time between games was beneficial.
"We didn't play to the standard that our team has set for themselves," Desormeaux said of the 35-31 road loss to Southern Mississippi before the open date. "When that happens in this league and in the way that this thing works, anytime you play under your standard, you leave some things to chance.
"So, this week has been about, hey, how can we consistently do that and go have a really strong finish to this year?"
Desormeaux left open the possibility of senior safety Collin Jacob returning Saturday. Jacob suffered an injury in the Oct. 3 home win over Arkansas State and was projected to be out 4-6 weeks.
In UL's road loss to Louisiana Tech, Jacob's absence was noticeable in the pass defense. In the loss at Southern Miss, the run defense was lacking by allowing 286 yards.
"Collin Jacob right now has a real chance for this week, which for us is obviously huge news," Desormeaux said. "He was a starter for a reason and played really well for us. Since he's been out, I think defensively, we've been a little bit inconsistent there.
"I'm not saying it's all because he's been out, but certainly having, if we can get him back ... I think that'd be huge for our defense."
The Cajuns return to Sun Belt play with the West Division even more balanced than it appeared after the game in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Louisiana Tech is clearly on top at 6-2 and 4-0 in the Sun Belt. After the Bulldogs, there's a five-way tie for second among UL (5-3, 2-2), Arkansas State (4-4, 2-2), Troy (4-4, 2-2), Southern Miss (3-5, 2-2) and South Alabama (4-4, 2-2).
Southern Miss proved the upset of UL wasn't a fluke by defeating UL-Monroe 35-21 on Saturday. And Troy, which the Cajuns beat 33-6 and lost at home to UL-Monroe, won at James Madison 24-21 on Thursday.
UL's next foe, South Alabama, struggled in a 20-13 road loss at Marshall two weeks ago but outplayed Louisiana Tech in many areas in Saturday's 35-20 loss.
The Jaguars won in first downs 24-16, total yards 397-315 and time of possession 33:23-26:37. A minus-2 in turnovers and 12 flags for 100 yards spoiled those advanatages.
"South Alabama started fast on offense," said Desormeaux, who said the offensive line is the best unit of any Sun Belt opponent to date. "They went down and scored on three of their first four drives.
"On defense, Louisiana Tech had a tough time running the ball with any type of consistency. They created some yardage through the throw game, created some explosives in the throw game, but they didn't run it overly efficiently."
Desormeaux hopes the Cajuns play with better effort than they did in Hattiesburg.
"It wasn't like we were loafing all over, but I didn't think we'd played with the same speed and intensity," Desormeaux said. "I don't know, when you're the head coach, you question everything. I just don't think that we played with the same intensity, play speed. It just wasn't the same."
The goal for this week is to bring the kind of energy and motivation that teams do in a season opener.
"You need the Week 1 excitement, right?" Desormeaux said. "When you get to Week 1, that Lamar game, you sit in the team room, and everybody is on the edge of their seat because they're so excited about finally getting to the season. You need that excitement back.
"But you got to have Week 9 execution and confidence and experience and all the things that you've done and that you've gained confidence throughout the year doing. So that's what you hope you get out of the bye week."