Last Modified: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 12:30 PM

LAFAYETTE (AP) — Sometimes there are glaring problems that continue to eat at a coach.

Sometimes the week of preparation was poor and the subpar performance on the weekend is just a byproduct of that approach.

Junior wide receiver Harry Peoples did reveal he had concerns about the team's focus.

But sometimes, there are weeks when it's best to simply shake the other team's hands and move on to the next opponent.

That pretty much was coach Mark Hudspeth's mentality as he addressed his football team before the trip home after Saturday's 42-23 loss at Western Kentucky, and he hadn't changed his mind by Monday's weekly press luncheon.

"I did think that we had the same focus that we've had all season long," Hudspeth said. "When we were down 28-23 in the fourth quarter, we were in good position to win just like we've been in the six games we won. I guarantee you that everybody on our football team thought we were going to win that game at that point.

"It's just hard to win on the road. We got beat by a good football team."

Instead, being outscored in the fourth quarter for the fourth time in the past five games proved crucial this time, snapping UL's six-game winning streak.

"I just told the team (on the plane) to take the loss like a man, and that now it's time to go back to work like a man," Hudspeth said. "You know when you've sort of gotten beat. We got beat fair and square in between the white lines.

"We've just got to put this one behind us. Like an old coach once told me, 'Don't let a team beat you twice.' We've got to move on now."

While the loss left the Cajuns 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Sun Belt play, just a half game behind Western Kentucky, defensive lineman Tyrell Gaddies and Peoples aren't so sure the loss won't help down the stretch.

"It might be good that we lost," Peoples said. "We were getting a little ahead of ourselves.

"We have to play big every week to get to our goals."

When the season began, the Cajuns played with a chip on their shoulder after so many predicted UL to finish last in the Sun Belt.

Saturday's loss might have enlarged that chip.

"I feel like it will be a positive for us," Gaddies said. "The target is getting bigger, and we like that. Our focus was the same. We really wanted to show Western Kentucky after last year game, but it didn't happen. You don't win them all.

"Last year, we were 2-6, now we're 6-2."

"I feel like we have an even bigger chip on our shoulder now. There are no more excuses. I see a lot of focused faces."

If there were any questions about how the team reacted to the loss, they left after Sunday night's practice.

"Everybody was in line (for drills)," Gaddies said. "There was no talking and there was no laughing. Everybody was focused."

Hudspeth made the same observations.

"I liked the looks on their faces," he said. "That loss hurt them. You could tell. I think they're really anxious to get back out there."

Besides the emotional aspect of losing for the first time in seven games, there was the issue of the running game. Western Kentucky rushed for 234 yards as a team, led by Bobby Rainey's 206 yards on 32 carries. The Cajuns, meanwhile, rushed for 121 yards, and 79 of those came on one Aaron Spikes' touchdown run.

"We had a good game plan going in," Gaddies said. "We just didn't play fundamental football. I wouldn't say he (Rainey) wore us down, because we had a rotation. We just didn't tackle well and we didn't bring him to the ground."

This week, the Cajuns will face a Middle Tennessee offense that ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense and passing offense.

"We definitely have our work cut out for us again," Hudspeth said. "We have some tough games left on our schedule. All of them are going to be tough. Plus, three of the last four are going to be on the road."