The marquee in-state football matchups in Louisiana have always been LSU-Tulane and Southern-Grambling.One doesn’t normally think of LSU playing Louisiana-Lafayette as a big rivalry, despite the teams’ campuses being separated by a mere 50 miles of interstate.But there is a bit of history behind this weekend’s game, albeit a lopsided one.The Tigers have taken all 21 games against the Ragin’ Cajuns, with the first game dating back to 1902, a 42-0 LSU victory.The most recent matchup was a 45-3 LSU victory three seasons ago in Baton Rouge.”I don’t think we had enough spark plugs in the engine to be as solid of a football team as we needed to be,” UL-Lafayette coach Rickey Bustle said in a news release. “We’re taking a more solid team over there, and we’re looking forward to it.”LSU has also won the last five games against UL-Lafayette by a combined 274-3 score, including a 93-0 shutout in 1936.But all the lopsidedness won’t take away from the luster of the game for LSU coach Les Miles and his players.”This is a new year, and ULL is 2-0 for the first time in a while, so they are fired up,” said sophomore center T-Bob Hebert. “They would like nothing more than to come into Death Valley and get a victory. We are going to have to match their intensity.”The Ragin’ Cajuns will come into Tiger Stadium after starting off the season with a pair of home victories.ULL was on the good end of a 17-15 battle against Kansas State in Lafayette last week thanks to a 48-yard field goal from junior place kicker Tyler Albrecht, his first collegiate field goal. The victory was the Cajuns’ first win against a BCS-conference school since a 29-2 win against Texas A&M on Sept. 14, 1996. “I’ve gotten texts and e-mails from people I don’t even know and a lot from people I do know,” Bustle said. “You must keep it in perspective though … You have to be able to handle it.”A victory against ULL would be 12 straight September wins for the Tigers — who have not lost in September since Sept. 16, 2006, against Auburn — and 21 straight non-conference wins.Hebert said those 11 straight September wins are important because they show the team has traditionally gotten off to a strong start.”In any season, you can’t afford any early losses because they can put a damper on your season,” Hebert said. “You’ve got to fight through that first month, get geared up and be rolling by the end of the season to be at your top form.”Herbert also had high praise for ULL’s defensive line, saying they could pose a defensive threat to the offensive line.”Their whole [defensive line]is returning starters, so they have a lot of experience up front,” the sophomore said. “They run a good scheme, so just like with Vandy and Washington, we have to spend a lot of time in the film room.”Miles acknowledged his team will be tested this weekend against the Ragin’ Cajuns, a team Miles said may be better offensively than Vanderbilt.”They have ability to maybe do a few more things offensively than Vanderbilt did,” Miles said. “Any time that you get beyond a team with victory, it’s much easier to discount their abilities because frankly, you won that, and Lord, I’m thankful that we did. It just appears that the next opponent is pretty talented.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]