Billy Napier's Ragin' Cajuns Crack the College Football Playoff Rankings
Future Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier has led his current team, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, to the No. 24 spot in the Week 14 College Football Playoff rankings, marking the first time Louisiana has made the top 25 this year.
The Ragin Cajuns' inclusion in the poll came after a 21-16 victory over in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe (4-8), and before Louisiana takes on Appalachian State (10-2) in the Sun Belt Championship game this Saturday.
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This is the second time in College Football Playoff history that Louisiana has been featured in the top 25, after Napier's quad peaked at No. 19 in the 2020 rankings due to 9-1 that included wins over the AP Top 25's No. 23 Iowa State in Week 1 - who finished the season at No. 10 in the CFP poll - and the program's first victory over Appalachian State, the conference juggernaut.
The closest a Sun Belt program has ever gotten to making the four-team playoff was Coastal Carolina in 2020, which peaked at No. 12 with an 11 record at the end of the season.
Napier shared on Monday that, despite his commitment to Florida, that coaching in the Sub Belt championship game was non-negotiable and that he would arrive in Gainesville on December 5, the day after the matchup with the Mountaineers.
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