Louisiana head coach Michael Desormeaux isn’t sugarcoating the assignment in front of his team on Saturday night.
When the Ragin’ Cajuns walk into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to face No. 14 USC on Sept. 12, they’ll be staring down a Trojans front Desormeaux described in some of the strongest terms of his tenure. USC has opened the season with convincing wins over San Jose State and Fresno State, including a 39-0 shutout of the Bulldogs in Week 1, and DraftKings Sportsbook has the Trojans installed as 31.5-point favorites.
That’s the backdrop for a first-ever meeting between the programs, and Desormeaux made it clear what he believes Louisiana is up against.
“With USC, and really with Coach Patterson, traditionally, you don’t know where they’re going to be. They know where they’re going to be.
They’re going to try and out-execute you and out-fundamental you and out-physical you. It’s a very different challenge, a very unique challenge, and like I said, I mean these guys up front, this is about as good as it gets, from edge to edge and everything inside.
That’s the difference. We know where they’re going to be for the most part, but so do they.
And they’re going to try to out-execute and out-physical you,” Desormeaux said.
He doubled down on the message from there, framing the game as a measuring stick for a Louisiana team that finished 2025 at 6-7 and opened this season with a 38-7 win over Lamar.
“And you know, that’s something that, for us, we got a bunch of guys that want to play on Sundays. We got a bunch of guys who want to get ourselves in the College Football Playoff.
“This is a talented team. This team has as much talent as any we play.
Like, we have to go and play well and handle those moments. And if you don’t, then it tells you you’re short of there.
And you got a lot of work to do the rest of the year if you want to get there. It’s an opportunity for our guys to be able to step up, and we've got to play harder than they do.
You got to play harder, and we got to want to win the game more than they do,” Desormeaux continued.
Desormeaux also pointed to USC’s offense and coaching staff, saying his team is preparing for a group that can strike in a lot of different ways.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a hard time getting these guys focused on the things we've got to improve on because it’s a pretty damn good football team, no other way to say it. On offense, they’re explosive.
They’ve got a quarterback who can throw it all over the field. I think Coach Riley; it is well documented how good of a play caller he is.
That certainly hasn’t changed,” said Desormeaux
He saved some of his strongest praise for the Trojans’ defense, especially up front.
“On defense, they add Coach Patterson, who I think everyone in this game has tons of respect for, and the way he coaches a defense, and they have got some creatures on defense. I mean, this is probably the best defensive line in 11 years of being here, maybe outside of Alabama, maybe in 18.
This is about as good of a defense as we’ve played in a long time. Certainly, you know we got things to fix.
We better do it with some urgency because it's going to be on the line here on Saturday, and we better be ready to play,” Desormeaux continued.
USC enters the game after going undefeated at the Coliseum last season and will try to make it 12 straight home wins before Big Ten play begins on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Rutgers. Kickoff against Louisiana is set for 8 p.m. PT, with the game airing on the Big Ten Network.
In Other News...
Maiava Just Gave USC Fans A Real Heisman Conversation
Week 1 gave USC exactly the kind of early jolt it needed, and Jayden Maiava was right in the middle of it. Among a slate of eye-catching opening performances around college football, his showing for the Trojans stood out enough to push his name into a much bigger conversation than just a strong start for one quarterback.
For USC fans, that matters because the Heisman race can feel like it starts before most seasons really settle in, and Maiava has at least put himself on the board. There is a long way to go, of course, and plenty of other early stars to compare him against, but after opening weekend he is no longer just part of the backdrop of the national conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Maiava Is Raising USCs Ceiling Faster Than Anyone Expected
Jayden Maiava has barely had time to settle into USCs offense, and already he looks like the kind of quarterback who can change the math around the Trojans season. Through the first two games, he has been sharp and decisive, and his performance against Fresno State was especially eye-opening, with 23 completions on 25 attempts for 349 yards and three touchdowns. Lincoln Riley has noticed, too, praising Maiavas understanding of the offense and the arm talent that makes the whole system look like it has another gear.
For USC, the encouraging part is not just the production, but how quickly it has arrived. FanDuel Sportsbook now lists Maiava with the 10th-best Heisman Trophy odds, a reflection of how fast his name has moved into the national conversation. The Trojans still have a long season ahead, but if this is the baseline, the bigger question is no longer whether Maiava can manage the job. It is how high he might push USC if this level keeps up. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Enters A Season That Could Change Everything At USC
Lincoln Riley is heading into a season at USC with the kind of pressure that comes with expectations, especially after the move into the Big Ten raised the stakes around every game. Analyst Paul Finebaum recently pointed to Riley as one of the coaches who could do a lot for his standing this fall, and much of that hinges on the same formula that has long defined his best teams: a quarterback who can tilt games and an offense that keeps USC in the conversation.
Jayden Maiava has become part of that discussion after arriving from UNLV and showing well enough to give the Trojans real hope at the most important position. Even so, USCs path is about more than offense. The Big Ten has no shortage of physical tests, and Rileys team will need its defense to hold up if this season is going to look less like another reset and more like the one that changes the tenor of his tenure. [Read more 🡒]