Over the nearly seven decades of games between Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette, the numbers suggest a relatively even split between the programs.
Both schools have won at least 21 of the 50 matchups. The first was a 13-12 ASU win in 1953 and the most recent was Louisiana-Lafayette's 28-27 victory last season.
The two schools sit atop the Sun Belt Conference's all-time wins list -- the Ragin' Cajuns' 95 just ahead of the Red Wolves' 92.
Things are a bit more lopsided, however, in the past 30 meetings. Not only has Louisiana-Lafayette compiled a 21-9 record in that span, but the Cajuns also have lost just twice in Lafayette -- the last defeat came in Oct. 2012.
ASU will be up against that recent history when it return to Cajun Field at 4 p.m. Central today, still searching for only its second road victory under second-year Coach Butch Jones.
What's different about this game is that neither ASU nor Louisiana-Lafayette resembles a program that demonstrated steady Sun Belt superiority throughout the 2010s.
Like the Red Wolves with their run of five conference titles in six seasons from 2011-16, the Ragin' Cajuns split a Sun Belt crown with ASU in 2013, then made conference championship game appearances in 2018 and 2019 before winning last fall. At 3-3, Louisiana-Lafayette is in danger of its first losing season since 2017.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that 2017 was the last time the Cajuns weren't under the leadership of Billy Napier. A two-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year honoree, Napier jumped from Lafayette in late November 2021, taking over at Florida after logging a 40-12 record in four seasons at the Group of 5 level.
On top of snagging the Ragin' Cajuns' head coach, the Gators grabbed running back Montrell Johnson -- part of Louisiana-Lafayette's three-headed backfield machine last season -- and All-Sun Belt tackle O'Cyrus Torrence.
That's dropped the Ragin' Cajuns from an average offense to one that ranks in the bottom third of the nation in points and yards, but what was a top-30 defense remains relatively intact. Louisiana-Lafayette has given up 19.2 points per game this season and its average of 354.3 yards allowed ranks 43rd nationally.
"[It's] really impressive in terms of watching them create turnovers," Jones said of the Cajuns while mentioning their FBS-best 2.8 takeaways per game. "They have 16 sacks, so they're very disruptive, and they have four [defensive starters] that are sixth-year players and they can wreck a football game in a hurry."
Among the 10 Louisiana-Lafayette players with an interception is linebacker Andre Jones, who leads the Cajuns with 4.5 sacks.
Zi'Yon Hill-Green, a three-time All-Sun Belt honoree, will challenge a Red Wolves' interior offensive line that has repeatedly failed to give quarterback James Blackman time in the pocket.
For an ASU offense that has already dealt with three top-50 defenses this season and gets a visit from another next week in South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette may well represent the stiffest defensive test of the Red Wolves' conference slate.
"You see flashes of [offensive production], but we've got to be consistent," Blackman said. "You see it all the time on film when you've got nine or 10 guys doing it right. But we need the whole 11 so we can be all as one -- that's the only way we're going to get the job done."