The UL Ragin Cajuns football squad, on the heels of vacating 22 games over four years due to NCAA violations, will have their work cut out for them in 2016. The university released the team’s 2016 football schedule Thursday and it includes powerhouse programs Boise State and Georgia along with McNeese State, a perennial FCS playoff contender that has long punched above its weight class.

Popularly known as the "Cajun Crown," the UL-McNeese rivalry dates back to 1951. Its most recent iteration was in 2007 when the Cowboys beat the Cajuns 38-17. McNeese currently holds a 20–15–2 edge over UL in the series.

The 2016 schedule features six home games — four of them Sun Belt Conference matches — beginning Sept. 2 when Boise State comes to Cajun Field.

“It’s a great home schedule, obviously with Boise State coming to town in the opener,” head coach Mark Hudspeth says in a statement released by the university. “It’s a very challenging schedule, one of the toughest schedules I think we’ve had in a while.”

And here it is (ALL CAPS represent home games; asterisks denote conference games):

Sept. 3 — BOISE STATE
Sept. 10 — MCNEESE STATE
Sept. 17 — SOUTH ALABAMA*
Sept. 24 — Tulane
Oct. 1 — New Mexico State*
Oct. 12 — APPALACHIAN STATE*
Oct. 22 — Texas State*
Nov. 05 — IDAHO*
Nov. 12 — Georgia Southern*
Nov. 19 — Georgia;
Nov. 26 — ARKANSAS STATE*
Dec. 03 — UL Monroe*

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