Cajuns Rise To The Occasion In Jonesboro, Defeat Arkansas State
Jonesboro, Arkansas a place where Cajun football teams have gone to lose over the past 28 years but Thursday night was a different type of trip for Louisiana. The offense flowed and put up points while the defense deployed a bend but don't break mentality as they defeated Arkansas State 37-20.
With the win, the Cajuns now have the inside track to win the Sun Belt Western Division.
Things started off a little slow for UL as coach Napier said at halftime and after the game that the Red Wolves changed up what they normally do defensively and it took them some time to adjust.
However, once the offense adjusted in the second half it was all Louisiana as they scored 17 unanswered points to close out the first half.
A couple of big key plays for the offense were that Levi Lewis picked up two first downs with his mobility on third downs to keep drives alive. He made a couple of nice throws and all three running backs scored a touchdown in the half.
There was one little snag as Trey Ragas would sustain a bit of an ankle injury. He was able to walk off under his own power and did come back into the game during the second half but didn't need to do much as Mitchell and Calais carried the load and picked up their teammate.
The biggest plays in this game came after the Red Wolves scored a touchdown to cut the Cajuns lead to four at 24-20. On the very next drive, Louisiana engineered a 12-play drive that lasted over five minutes that culminated in an Elijah Mitchell touchdown increasing the lead 30-20 in the fourth quarter.
The other play came later in the fourth on the next drive for the Red Wolves as they lined up to go for it on 4th and 1 at their own 43-yard line. Chauncy Manac came up with the stop and the Cajuns would go onto score again on offense to close the game out.
With the win, Louisiana improves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt.
Next, they'll face the Texas State Bobcats on November 2nd after 16 days off for homecoming.