Louisiana Fights Off Ohio for 45-25 Road Victory
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ATHENS, Ohio – Louisiana found its groove in the second half of Saturday's game against Ohio, scoring 35 points and producing 310 yards of total offense in a 45-25, victory over the Bobcats at Peden Stadium.
It was a balanced attack all day for the Ragin' Cajuns, which produced 285 yards on the ground and 204 through the air.
Elijah Mitchell once again stole the show for Louisiana, toting the ball 17 times for 143 yards and three touchdowns. His performance was complimented by Trey Ragas, who recorded 129 rushing yards and a score of his own. It was the 27th time in program history two people had at least 100 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Levi Lewis had a nice day, going 19-for-29 for 188 yards and two scores, which were brought in by Ja'Marcus Bradley and Nick Ralston. Bradley finished the day as Louisiana's top receiver with five catches for 75 yards.
The Ragin' Cajuns' defense had a strong day, forcing four turnovers and holding the Bobcats to just 103 yards on the ground. Jacques Boudreaux led the defensive unit with eight tackles and a quarterback hurry, while Joe Dillon and Zi'Yon Hill each accounted for six tackles.
Louisiana capitalized on great field position following a muffed punt and scored a play later when Mitchell barreled his way into the end zone from two-yards outs to put the Ragin' Cajuns ahead, 7-0, in the first quarter.
The home side was able to work its way back into the game in the second quarter with two field goals to cut the lead to 7-6. The Ragin' Cajuns were able to put together a nice drive in the final minute of the half that was capped off by a 27-yard field goal by Stevie Artigue to put Louisiana ahead, 10-6, at halftime.
Mitchell extended the lead to 17-6 in the third quarter, scoring his second touchdown of the day from two-yards out with 10:19 remaining in the third period. The lead extended later in that same period when Lewis hit Ralston for a two-yard score to push the lead to 24-6.
Ohio (1-3) found some offense late in the third quarter, scoring on a one-yard rush by Ja'Vahri Portis to cut the lead to 24-12. The Louisiana offense responded quickly, though, taking the ball 65 yards in 1:33 to set up a 15-yard rushing score by Ragas.
The Bobcats made things interesting in the final period of play, scoring two touchdowns in less than four minutes to cut the lead to 31-25. However, the offense stormed back with two touchdowns inside a minute from Mitchell and Bradley to stave off Ohio and secure a 45-25 victory.
Louisiana continues its road swing on Sept. 28 when it travels to Statesboro for a matchup with Georgia Southern. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. (CST) on ESPN+.
