Saturday night wasn't the fun UL's administration, coaches, players or fans envisioned it would be.
New quarterback, new offense, new stadium - lots of buzz - and only 12 points to show for it in a loss to Rice.
Yes, it was a huge punch in the gut.
Even worse, that new quarterback suffered an injury after the first play of the Cajuns' final drive that could have ended with a game-winning field goal.
But now that the disappointment has been processed for a few days, let's review what else was lost in the 14-12 setback.
Football-wise, the only thing lost was that longshot goal of being the mid-major team in the College Football Playoff.
Truthfully, this offense was never going to be efficient enough for that this season. Approaching that goal required the defense to realize its potential and the offense to be as steady as it was last year.
So that one's really easy to get over.
Support-wise, the Cajuns certainly lost some of the old fans who were giving the program another chance because of the new stadium.
Theoretically, a winning streak could correct that issue.
Team leaders like offensive guard Jax Harrington went right to work to keep the team's spirits up early in the season.
"Yeah, it really started right after the game - keeping guys focused on the fact that when adversity hits, you got to look at it as a positive," Harrington said. "It's a blessing. You can't get better if you don't go through struggle. So, keeping that message in the guy's heads, that, you know, adversity is a blessing. We're going to get through this, stay together, don't splinter."
The bigger potential concern is the quarterback situation.
For starters, Walker Howard's injury late in the game cost him the opportunity to put a subpar performance behind him and lead his team to victory.
After all, the drive was off to a good start with a 25-yard completion to Shelton Sampson.
Even worse, every sign is now pointing to Howard being out for at least Saturday's 7 p.m. game against old rival McNeese. His actual injury hasn't been officially declared, but it's believed to be in his hip.
That's unfortunate because everyone at the opener saw Howard and his targets need all the practice time available to get on the same page.
The lack of experience at quarterback and wide receiver was always going to be this team biggest question mark. That showed up in a major way in the opener.
What the injury will likely do, however, is provide us with the first real look at redshirt freshman Daniel Beale. His emergency playing timin UL's last two games don't count in his evaluation process.
If the Cajuns can grab a win with Howard out, that seasoning could pay off down the road when Beale is next called upon in relief.
As for the wide receivers, if Saturday's parade of drops doesn't motivate the group, nothing will.
The other culprit in the passing game was the offensive line's lack of protection at times - especially on Howard's interception and Howard's sack-fumble.
"It really wasn't as big as you would think, watching the game," Harrington said of the line's grade. "It was a few inches here, a few inches there. It was one guy here, one guy there. Really just got to get all 11 playing right ball at the same time, I think, is what we got to improve on the most.
"O-line-wise, definitely could have had a little bit more strain, a little bit more finishing areas that would have took a 4 or 5-yard run into maybe even a house call. So it was it was very frustrating."
The poor passing game also deprived some from evaluating the rest of the team. If the passing game can improve, competing in the Sun Belt is still very realistic.
The running game wasn't great, but you could definitely see the potential with 151 yards at 4.9 a carry.
The defense missed tackles in the first half, but the first game is essentially a preseason game that counts. The tackling was much better in the second half.
There's still every reason to believe the defense can be among the league's best units.
The kicking part of special teams play was surprisingly good. Tony Sterner made two difficult kicks and Nathan Torney averaged 45.7 yards on three punts.
The return and coverage teams need upgrades, but it's too early to pass judgment on those units.
UL's got three more games to get all of its ducks in a row before the first Sun Belt game against Marshall at home on Sept. 27.
"It's going to give us that fire we need for the season," senior safety Tyree Skipper said.