Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns dropped a 61-34 decision at No. 9 Oklahoma State on Saturday evening in Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cajuns fell behind 34-10 at the half, but played the Cowboys nearly even in the second half.
Dwight "Bill" Bentley led the Cajuns defense with two interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown. Junior college transfer Jemarlous Moten also had an interception, which he returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
Darryl Surgent led the Cajuns offensively with 100 all-purpose yards.
UL pinned OSU deep after the Cajuns opening drive of the game under starter Blaine Gautier resulted in a punt. The Cowboys began on their 15-yard line. A big 38-yard pass from Brandon Weeden to Tracy Moore pushed OSU to the Cajuns 36-yard line. A 17-yard rush by Joseph Randle moved the hosts down to the eight-yard line, but the Cajuns defense stiffened, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Quinn Sharp.
After an ankle-breaking 31-yard punt return by Surgent set-up the Cajuns near midfield, Gautier was intercepted by Devin Hedgepeth. Hedgepeth's 26-yard return helped OSU start deep in Cajuns territory.
Three straight rushes by Randle for a combined 30 yards moved the Cowboys down to the Cajuns four-yard line. Three plays later, Randle finished the job with a four-yard touchdown run to give OSU an early 10-0 lead.
A 43-yard pass from Brad McGuire to Javone Lawson pushed Louisiana into OSU territory. Consecutive offside penalties helped the Cajuns to a first-and-10 at the 12-yard line. Back-to-back rushes by Alonzo Harris inched the Cajuns closer, but a third down pass from Gautier fell incomplete and UL took a 23-yard field goal by Brett Baer. The first quarter ended with the Cajuns trailing 10-3.
OSU took a 17-3 lead after a 13-play, 72-yard march, scoring on a one-yard run by Jeremy Smith. The Cowboys moved methodically down the field, converting on third down three times. The drive's biggest play was a 15-yard pass from Weeden to Moore.
The high-powered Cowboys offense scored again just 2:39 later. A quick three-and-out by the Cajuns led way to a four-play 59-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard Weeden TD pass to Josh Cooper.
Another quick three-and-out by the Cajuns led to the Cowboys third touchdown of the quarter. Randle ended a four play, 48-yard drive with his second rushing touchdown of the day. OSU's three second quarter scores spanned a total time of four minutes and 41 seconds.
Bentley notched his second career "pick six" when he stepped in front of a Weeden pass and went 38 yards to pay dirt. The score helped pull the Cajuns within 31-10 with 91 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Cowboys tacked on a 22-yard field goal by Sharp to end the half leading by 24 points.
The Cajuns scored three touchdowns in the second half, starting with Moten's interception.
Gautier directed a 14-play, 81-yard scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter. He was 5-for-5 passing for 46 yards and added five rushes, including a one-yard touchdown run.
Chris Masson entered the game late in the fourth quarter and directed an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. He completed 5-of-6 passes on the drive for 54 yards.
