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The old adage, 'Defense Wins Championships' was on display in the 14th annual R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns held Nevada in check all game, dominating defensively in a 16-3 win.
The three points allowed set a school bowl record, as well as the New Orleans Bowl-record. Nevada's (7-6) high-flying offense had not been held to just three points since a 35-0 loss at Notre Dame on Sept. 5, 2009.
With the victory, Louisiana (9-4) becomes the first school in college football bowl history to win the same bowl game in four straight seasons. UL has also won nine games for four straight seasons, sending off a senior class that posted the best four-year record in school history.
"We put together four quarters of possibly the best football we've played this season," said head coach Mark Hudspeth. "Terrance (Broadway) was spot-on and our running game was efficient. We played really solid defense and were able to apply pressure."
The Cajuns took the game's opening possession 77 yards in eight plays. Terrance Broadway connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Bates on third-and-nine. Little did anyone know at the time, that's all the offense the Cajuns would need.
Broadway was 3-for-3 on the drive and went on to complete 14 consecutive passes to start the game. No player in collegiate football bowl history had ever completed 14 straight passes to begin a bowl game. Overall, Broadway's feat ranks third behind Georgia's Mike Bobo (19 vs. Wisconsin, 1998 Outback) and NC State's Phillip Rivers (16 vs. Kansas, 2003 Tangerine).
Hunter Stover put the Cajuns up 10-0 late in the first quarter with a 46-yard field – the longest of his collegiate career. His previous high (38 yards) was set in games against ULM and Appalachian State.
Stover tacked on a 30-yard and 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. His three field goals tie a New Orleans Bowl record, as well as a school bowl record, last set by Brett Baer against East Carolina in the 2012 game.
Wolfpack quarterback Cody Fajardo, who entered the game averaging 281 yards of total offense per game, was held to 173 total yards. The Cajuns offense outgained Nevada 411-213.
Nevada's best opportunity came on their third drive of the game. After a 59-yard punt by Daniel Cadona, the Wolfpack moved 69 yards in 11 plays, but the Cajuns defense made one of the game's key defensive plays. After a completion down to the Cajuns 11-yard line, Sean Thomas forced a fumble that was recovered by Dominique Tovell. The fumble recovery was the first of Tovell's career.
The only blemish on the Cajuns defense was a 21-yard field goal by Brent Zuzo. After a short punt, Nevada took over at the UL 26-yard line. The Cajuns kept the Wolfpack out of the end zone, surrendering only 23 yards.
UL limited Nevada to 81 yards in the second half and put an exclamation point on the win with back-to-back sacks on the final two plays. Christian Ringo was credited with one of the sacks, helping him set a Cajuns new single season record (11.5), as well as tying for the career record (21) with Jeff Mitchell ('92-95). Darzil Washington registered two of the squad's four sacks.
Corey Trim led the Cajuns with eight total tackles. Trim contributed a key pass breakup midway through the fourth quarter as Nevada went for it on fourth-and-10 at the Cajuns 35-yard line. The defensive stop resulted in the Cajuns moving 47 yards over nine plays leading to Stover's final field goal of the contest.
Senior James Butler caught a career-high eight passes, eclipsing his previous best (6) set against ULM on Nov. 27, 2010. Elijah McGuire led the team with 99 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Broadway finished 26-of-31 passing for 227 yards and was named MVP, becoming the first two-time MVP in New Orleans Bowl history.
TROY, Ala. – Elijah McGuire rushed for 169 yards and became the fourth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns got a strong defensive effort in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and earn a 42-23 victory over Troy in the Sun Belt Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Alonzo Harris added 86 yards and three touchdowns while Terrance Broadway completed 14 of 19 passes for 142 yards as Louisiana (8-4, 7-1 Sun Belt) earned eight wins in the regular season for the fourth consecutive season under head coach Mark Hudspeth. Troy, which was playing its final game under legendary coach Larry Blakeney, finished its season at 3-9 overall and 3-5 in league play.
"Give Troy credit, they came out and played very inspired in the first half, and wanting to play hard for Coach Blakeney, made some plays and let it all hang out," Hudspeth said. "We didn't help ourselves in the first half with some costly penalties on the punt team. We told our guys at halftime to stop doing those silly things that's keeping us from executing on both sides. They came out (in the second half) and did a phenomenal job."
After Troy built a 23-21 lead at halftime behind an offensive performance that produced 342 yards, the Ragin' Cajuns stuffed the Trojans in the final 30 minutes as Louisiana yielded 52 yards and finished with a 486-394 advantage.
"We played more man coverage in the second half," Hudspeth said. "They (Troy) were creating some good separation in some of their routes and they had people come open. We wanted to stick with them and see if we could get the pass rush going and we got some good pressure and a couple of sacks. We did much better in the secondary in the second half."
Louisiana, which controlled the football for 11:45 in the third quarter and nearly 22 minutes in the second half, opened the half with a 10-play, 74-yard drive to take a 28-23 lead it would not relinquish. McGuire, who scored twice and joined Brian Mitchell, Michael Desormeaux and Tyrell Fenroy as 1,000-yard rushers in school history, opened the drive with a 13-yard gain before Broadway rushed for eight yards and connected with Gabe Fuselier on a 6-yard gain to the Troy 47.
"We just were committed to our plan (in the second half) of what we wanted to do in the red zone and that was keep the chains moving and being patient," Hudspeth said. "We got the option going today and that helped and allowed us to have a little more versatility once we got to the red zone. Our backs ran strong and I thought it was much better."
Three plays later on third-and-7, Broadway hit C.J. Bates for a 26-yard gain to the Troy 18 and Harris would score four plays later on a 1-yard scoring plunge to drive that took 5:00 off the clock.
After the Ragin' Cajuns forced a punt on Troy's first drive of the second half, Louisiana drove 87 yards in 12 plays that took 6:25 off the clock.
Broadway, who rushed for 78 yards on 14 carries, gained 13 yards on second-and-10 to the UL 26 before Harris kept the drive alive after gaining 11 yards to the UL 46 on third-and-1. McGuire added a 15-yard run around right end for a first down to the Troy 28 before Broadway hit Larry Pettis for a 13-yard gain on second-and-8 to the Troy 13.
Broadway capped the drive two plays later when he faked a handoff to Harris and rushed around the left side for a 9-yard score that gave Louisiana a 35-23 lead with :33 remaining in the quarter.
Harris added his third TD of the game for Louisiana when he scored on 1-yard run with 3:48 remaining that capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive.
The Ragin' Cajuns defense got in the action early after Troy drove down the field on its opening possession. Brandon Silvers completed four passes, including a 29-yard toss to Teddy Ruben to the UL 26, to help the Trojans threaten. But Troy McCollum forced a fumble by Khary Franklin and Jake Molbert recovered at the UL 22 to halt the drive.
Louisiana would need 13 plays to reach the end zone to take a 7-0 lead. Broadway connected with James Butler on a 5-yard pass on third-and-5 at the UL 27 before connecting with Fuselier for 12 yards to the Troy 46. The Ragin' Cajuns rushed on six of their next seven plays with McGuire capping the drive with an 8-yard TD run – his ninth straight game with a rushing touchdown.
The Trojans quickly moved the ball down the field, driving to the UL 2 after a Silvers' 6-yard pass to Josh Anderson on third-and-7. On fourth down, the Ragin' Cajuns defense stiffened as Tre'maine Lightfoot stopped Silvers for a 1-yard loss and Louisiana would take over at its own 3.
After Broadway was called down in the end zone for a safety following a bad snap, Troy drove 71 yards and reached the end zone to take its first lead of the game. Silvers, who finished 29-for-34 for 272 yards, hit Chandler Worthy for a 30-yard gain to the UL 31 before finding Bryan Holmes alone in the end zone two plays later on a 28-yard TD pass with 13:56 remaining in the first half.
Harris added a 2-yard TD run that gave Louisiana a 14-9 lead with 5:34 remaining in the second quarter before Troy bounced back after a 55-yard kick return by Worthy put the ball on the UL 40. Troy converted on fourth-and-7 when Silvers hit Ruben for 12 yards to the UL 25 before the duo connected two plays later for a 17-yard scoring pass for a 16-14 lead with 2:59 remaining.
The lead was short-lived as McGuire raced up the middle on the Ragin' Cajuns first play of the ensuing drive and scored on a career-long 75-yard touchdown for a 21-16 lead with 2:49 left.
But Troy would not go away as Silvers hit B.J. Chitty on a 5-yard scoring pass that gave the Trojans a 23-21 lead they would take into the locker room.
Corey Trim led Louisiana with a career-high 10 tackles with Dominque Tovell adding nine. Tracy Walker added a season-high eight stops and a fumble recovery for the Ragin' Cajuns while Lightfoot added a season-best seven tackles. McCollum and Darzil Washington each forced fumbles as the Ragin' Cajuns forced a pair of turnovers and sacked Silvers twice.
Blakeney, who announced his retirement in October after 24 seasons as head coach, finished his career with a 178-113-1 record.
Worthy caught a game-high eight passes for 72 yards to lead Troy with Ruben catching five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Burks rushed for 50 yards to lead Troy with Franklin finishing with 43.
Terrance Broadway tossed for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another, Alonzo Harris rushed for 133 yards and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns defense recorded seven sacks, forced three turnovers and set a single-game school-record for rushing defense as it held off ULM, 34-27, in a Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at JPS Field at Malone Stadium.
Christian Ringo moved closer to becoming the school's all-time sack leader for Louisiana (7-3, 6-0 Sun Belt) as he registered 2.5 sacks to increase his season total to 10.5 and career total to 20.5.
Head coach Mark Hudspeth earned his 100th career victory at the NCAA level as Louisiana built a 17-7 lead in the first quarter before scoring a pair of touchdowns to withstand a ULM (3-7, 2-4 Sun Belt) rally.
"The kids came out and they wanted to play hard because it's the next game, and we've got a lot that we're trying to accomplish," Hudspeth said. "He (Alonzo Harris) was a different guy … the Alonzo that we know and love and he had his other gear tonight. He ran strong, he showed speed … just broke tackles. We're really proud of him."
Harris, who entered the game needing 19 yards to join Tyrell Fenroy and Brian Mitchell as the only players in school history to rush for over 3,000 yards, needed one carry to eclipse the mark when his 54-yard run on the game's third play from scrimmage put the ball at the ULM 5. The drive would stall and Hunter Stover would boot a 22-yard field goal to cap a seven-play, 70-yard drive to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 3-0 lead.
The Cajuns would score again on their next possession after ULM failed to convert a fourth-and-7 play at the UL 39. Elijah McGuire opened the drive with a 9-yard run before Broadway rushed for 23 to the ULM 29 before connecting with James Butler for a 21-yard gain to the ULM 8. Two plays later, McGuire scored on a 1-yard plunge that capped a five-play, 61-yard drive for a 10-0 lead with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter.
After a Pete Thomas 5-yard scoring pass to Kenzee Jackson cut the lead to 10-7, Louisiana drove 65 yards in four plays to push its lead to 17-7. Broadway, who finished 10-for-13 for 173 yards, connected with McGuire on a 39-yard pass down the right sideline to the ULM 22 before Al Riles caught a shovel pass from Broadway two plays later and scored from 16 yards out with :42 remaining in the quarter.
The Cajuns added a 38-yard field goal from Stover with 6:51 remaining in the second quarter for a 20-10 lead before ULM's Justin Manton kicked a 47-yard field goal at the buzzer to cut the lead to 20-13.
Broadway, who added 92 yards on the ground, scored on a 12-yard TD with 11:00 remaining in the game to give Louisiana a 27-13 lead before ULM attempted to come back.
Thomas, who completed 38 of 54 passes for a career-high 472 yards, capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive when he scored on a 2-yard run with 6:46 remaining that cut the lead to 27-20.
But the Cajuns answered with a seven-play drive that ended with Broadway's second TD pass of the night. McGuire rushed for seven yards on second-and-3 to the UL 39 before Broadway found Gabe Fuselier for a 12-yard pass on second-and-9 to the ULM 48. After Broadway rushed for 12 yards on second-and-10 to the ULM 36, the senior flipped a shovel pass to Fuselier on the next play and the freshman tip-toed his way down the right sideline with 2:53 remaining for a 34-20 advantage.
ULM scored four plays later as Thomas hit Rashon Ceasar on a 45-yard scoring pass with 1:47 remaining and the Warhawks forced Louisiana to punt on its next possession. But after Justin Hamilton collected the Ragin' Cajuns seventh sack of the game, Tre'maine Lightfoot recovered a Jackson fumble two plays later at the ULM 19 and the Cajuns would run out the clock.
Louisiana outgained ULM, 456-444, in total offense and gained 282 yards on the ground. The Ragin' Cajuns limited the Warhawks to minus-39 yards rushing – the fewest since allowing eight yards to UNLV in 1993.
Corey Trim and Trevence Patt recorded nine tackles each to lead Louisiana while Ringo added eight stops, including 5.5 stops for loss. The senior increased his season total in sacks to 10.5 (one-half shy of the single-season record set by Jeff Mitchell and Conrad Lewis) while increasing his career total to 20 (one shy of tying Mitchell).
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 22, when it plays host to Appalachian State in the home finale at Cajun Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3. The game will mark the final home appearance for 21 seniors, who have helped accumulate 34 wins since 2011 – the best four-year mark in school history.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Elijah McGuire rushed for 136 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns while Terrance Broadway completed 12 of 23 passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns scored 28 unanswered points and cruised to a 44-16 win over New Mexico State in a Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
Jared Johnson caught TD passes of 5 and 9 yards and Tracy Walker picked off a pair of passes as Louisiana (6-3, 5-0 Sun Belt) became bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive year and opened 5-0 in league play for the second straight season.
"To me, it says a lot about the stability and the overall health of our program," Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "The thing that I'm excited about is that we're playing so many young kids right now and developing players. We're playing a lot of people and that's only going to help us as we move forward. There's a lot of football to be played, but we're excited to be bowl eligible for the fourth time in the past four years."
Louisiana gained 402 yards of total offense, including 244 on the ground. James Butler caught five passes for 95 yards for Louisiana with Jevante Watson adding an interception. The Ragin' Cajuns defense forced four turnovers against the high-powered NM State (2-8, 1-5 Sun Belt) offense and allowed 307 yards of total offense, including 103 on the ground.
"To me, our defense continues to improve," Hudspeth said. "Anytime you cause four turnovers and hold a team that's had a lot of success offensively this year the way we did tonight, you've got to really give them credit."
After allowing NM State to take a 3-0 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Maxwell Johnson, the Ragin' Cajuns took the lead for good as Broadway connected with Johnson on a 5-yard TD pass to complete a 15-play, 75-yard drive.
"That was big to be able to go down and score and answer their first drive," Hudspeth said. "They (NM State) did a nice job on getting down the field and (head coach) Doug Martin does a really good job. He's got a really young team and they're getting better. For our guys to come back and score said a lot about our team. Our kids were ready to play tonight."
McGuire added a 7-yard scoring run for Louisiana in the second quarter before Effrem Reed added a 2-yard scoring run to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 21-3 lead at halftime.
McGuire added a 4-yard scoring pass from Broadway with 11:23 remaining in the third quarter to give Louisiana a 28-3 lead and the Ragin' Cajuns added a defensive extra point when Corey Trim returned a NM State extra point attempt that was blocked by Darzil Washington.
Broadway closed out the night with a 9-yard scoring pass to Johnson for a 37-9 lead before redshirt freshman Darrius Hoggins recorded his first career TD when he scored on a 3-yard run.
NM State, which dropped its eighth straight game after opening the season 2-0, scored its first touchdown of the game with Tyler Rogers connected with Teldrick Morgan on a 42-yard scoring pass in the third quarter. Xavier Hall added a 5-yard TD run for NM State with 2:09 remaining.
Rogers finished 19-for-34 for 204 yards for the Aggies with three interceptions. Hall gained 47 yards on 19 carries for the Aggies with Morgan posting game-highs with eight receptions for 117 yards.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (Nov. 15) when it visits ULM in a 6 p.m. contest at JPS Field at Malone Stadium.
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.
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