SAN MARCOS, Texas — The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns defeated the Texas State Bobcats 23-17 in a key Sun Belt Conference West Division matchup Tuesday night inside windy UFCU Stadium.
With the road victory, the Ragin’ Cajuns have eclipsed the season win totals from the 2022 and 2023 seasons and still have four regular-season games remaining. Louisiana also remains the only unbeaten team in SBC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Texas State used tempo to strike first as the Bobcats went with a hurry-up offense and marched down the field quickly as Jordan McCloud completed five of his first six passes, including the first four, for 52 yards. The drive stalled as Louisiana’s defense held firm and held them to a 21-yard field goal by Mason Shipley.
After forcing Louisiana to punt on its opening possession, Texas State went right down the field again as the Bobcats produced a 14-play, 69-yard drive. Yet, again the Cajuns’ defense held firm in the red zone and the Bobcats settled for a 25-yard field goal. Texas State’s first two possessions were 25 plays for 140 yards but only six points.
Louisiana got on the scoreboard with its second possession. Facing a 3rd and 10 from their 36-yard line, Dre’lyn Washington took the handoff, avoided Texas State’s defense which was crowding the line, and ran away from them for a 64-yard touchdown.
Ragin’ Cajuns forced the Bobcats to punt and started their next drive on their 13-yard line. Louisiana moved the ball fairly well but it stalled. Instead of kicking a long field goal into the wind, the team went for it on fourth and six but Ben Wooldridge’s pass to Jaydon Johnson was incomplete.
Louisiana’s defense forced another Texas State punt and the Ragin’ Cajuns offense got to work. Louisiana went 80 yards on 11 plays and capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass from Wooldridge to Caden Jensen.
A scary moment occurred on Texas State’s ensuing possession as Louisiana cornerback Keyon Martin lay motionless on the turf following attempting a tackle. The trainers came out and immediately called for the stretcher. After roughly 15 minutes, Martin was placed onto the cart and taken off the field to a nearby hospital.
At the break, the Ragin’ Cajuns led 14-6.
Louisiana went three-and-out to start the second half and the ensuing punt was short. That gave Texas State the ball at the Cajuns’ 45-yard line. With backup quarterback RJ Martinez leading the offense as McCloud was sidelined with an injury, the Bobcats needed 10 plays to score as Ismail Mahdi scored on a one-yard run. Texas State went for two and Jaden Williams caught the halfback pass for the conversion.
Louisiana looked ready to respond as Wooldridge hit Lance Legendre for a 37-yard completion on the first play of the next drive. Then a few plays later, he found him again for an 11-yard pickup which put the ball at the 18-yard line.
The Ragin’ Cajuns committed back-to-back penalties (false start and holding) to back them up to the 33-yard line. Wooldridge was able to get some of the yardage back on an eight-yard shuttle pass to Zylan Perry. That set up a 42-yard field goal by Kenneth Almendares who kicked it through the uprights.
Louisiana’s defense came up with a big turnover as linebacker Jaden Duggar stripped Mahdi of the ball and Amir McDaniel recovered it. The Ragin’ Cajuns turned it into points as Almendares kicked a 24-yard field goal. With 14:08 left in the fourth, Louisiana held a 20-14 lead.
Texas State responded with a nine-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard field goal. The Ragin’ Cajuns answered with another field goal by Almendares — this one from 45 yards out. With 7:07 left in the fourth, Louisiana held a 23-17 lead.
The Bobcats started marching down the field but the drive ended with 3:29 left in the game as Tyrone Lewis Jr. made a diving interception. The Ragin’ Cajuns took over and proceeded to run out the clock and win the game.
BIG NUMBER I: 12
With Tuesday night’s victory, Louisiana has now won its 12th straight contest against Texas State.
BIG NUMBER II: 20
With Tuesday night’s victory, Louisiana coach Michael Desormeaux picked up his 20th career win as head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: KENNETH ALMENDARES & TYRONE LEWIS JR.
The Ragin’ Cajuns record-setting kicker came up clutch for the team as he booted three field goals (42, 24, and 45 yards) and did so all in the second half. Lewis Jr. came up clutch in his own right with a diving interception with three and a half minutes left in the game.
UP NEXT: Louisiana (7-1, 4-0) will return home to Cajun Field for a three-game home stand starting with hosting Arkansas State on Saturday, November 9th. Kickoff is 4 p.m.
