Louisiana Heads West To Battle New Mexico State

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team opens a two-game roadtrip on Saturday, Nov. 8, when it faces New Mexico State in a Sun Belt Conference contest at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, N.M.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. MST and can been seen on ESPN3/AggieVision with Glen Cerny (pxp) and Danny Knee (color) on the call. The game will also be broadcast statewide on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Sports Network with Jay Walker (pxp), Gerald Broussard (color) and Steve Peloquin (sideline) handing the action.

Louisiana (5-3, 4-0 Sun Belt) remained unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play after earning a hard fought 19-9 win over South Alabama last Saturday. Elijah McGuire gained 93 of his game-high 116 yards rushing in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a game-sealing 8-yard touchdown with 5:01 remaining. The sophomore added a game-high nine receptions for 90 yards as he accumulated 229 all-purpose yards.

Christian Ringo kept up his impressive SBC season for the Ragin' Cajuns defense, recording five tackles with three for loss, two sacks and a key fourth-quarter fumble recovery inside the UL 10-yard line to help preserve a 12-9 lead. As a unit, the Ragin' Cajuns defense held USA to 66 yards on the ground - the fewest allowed in a single-game since allowing 54 to the Jaguars on Nov. 24, 2012.

Hunter Stover converted on all four field goal attempts for Louisiana, including a go-ahead 32-yard kick with 11:28 remaining to break a 9-9 deadlock.

After opening the season with a 2-0 mark, New Mexico State (2-7, 1-4 SBC) dropped its seventh consecutive game with a 37-29 setback to visiting Texas State on Saturday. The high-powered Aggies recorded a season-high 639 yards of total offense against the Bobcats, including season-high marks of 235 on the ground and 404 through the air, but committed a pair of turnovers and allowed the Bobcats to rush for 287 yards. Larry Rose III ran for 181 yards a touchdown for NM State while Tyler Rogers completed 36 of 52 passes for 404 yards and three scores.

GAME INFORMATION
-/- LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS (5-3, 4-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992)
Record at Louisiana: 32-15 (4th season), Career Record: 98-36 (11th year)

-/- NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (2-7, 1-4 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Doug Martin (Kentucky, 1985)
Record at NM State: 4-17 (2nd season), Career Record: 33-70 (9th season)

* - Rankings listed at Amway Coaches' Poll/AP Poll

November 8, 2014 • 7:00 p.m. CDT • Las Cruces, N.M. • Aggie Memorial Stadium (30,343)
Series History: Louisiana leads, 5-3 ... Cajuns have won two of last three meetings, including 49-35 win in Lafayette in 2013 ... NM State has won both meetings played in Las Cruces (2002, 2004).

TV/RADIO
ESPN3/AggieVision: Glen Cerny, PxP • Danny Knee, Color
Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network: Jay Walker, PxP • Gerald Broussard, Color • Steve Peloquin, Sideline
In Lafayette: KPEL 1420-AM (Flagship); KHXT 107.9-FM
Affiliates: KTUX 98.9-FM (Shreveport); WGSO 990-AM (New Orleans); KJEF 1290-AM (Jennings); KLCL 1470-AM (Lake Charles); KRJO 1680-AM (Monroe); KTIB 640-AM (Thibodaux)
Live Stats: RaginCajuns.com
Twitter Updates: @ULRaginCajuns; Facebook: RaginCajunsAthletics;
YouTube: IAm4RaginCajuns; Instagram: ULRaginCajuns

GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• Louisiana is 513-528-34 against all opponents dating back to 1901.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have averaged 35.5 points and 274.5 rushing yards per game during its four-game win streak.
• A win over New Mexico State would make Louisiana bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive year.
• Louisiana looks to record a 5-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play for the second consecutive season.
• After being outscored 104-9 in points off turnovers in non-conference play, Louisiana has outscored Sun Belt Conference opponents, 34-6.

FIVE QUICK HITTERS
1 - Louisiana is 25-2 when leading at halftime under head coach Mark Hudspeth.
2 - Senior right guard Daniel Quave has started in 47 consecutive games.
3 - Alonzo Harris is 19 yards shy of becoming the third player in school history to rush for 3,000 yards.
4 - Harris is five points shy of passing Brett Baer (256, 2010-12) for third-place in school history.
5 - Elijah McGuire leads all FBS rushers in yards per carry (8.82).

WE ARE LOUISIANA
• There is confusion among the national sports organizations as how to refer to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
• Our official name is the University of Louisiana ... at Lafayette, but much like our opponents around the country, we simply go by Louisiana when referring to our athletic programs.
• Although we proudly refer to our University with its full title for academic purposes, we ask that Louisiana, Ragin' Cajuns or Cajuns be used to refer to us athletically.