G5 Preview: Louisiana vs Southern Miss Game
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Louisiana opens its 24th season of Sun Belt Conference football on Saturday when the Ragin' Cajuns travel to face rival Southern Miss at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can listen to the game on the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network with Jay Walker (play-by-play), Cody Junot (analyst) and Dawson Eiserloh (sideline) on the call.
Louisiana (3-1, 0-0 SBC), which is 14-9 in SBC openers, earned a 41-38 victory last Saturday at ACC member Wake Forest. Ben Wooldridge accounted for four touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) in the win over the Demon Deacons while Kenneth Almendares' 31-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining proved to be the difference.
Wooldridge enters the week ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in quarterback efficiency (161.8) and fifth in total offense (275.0). The senior has completed 79 of 115 passes for 992 yards and nine TDs for the Ragin' Cajuns on the season.
Bill Davis, ranked second in the league in yards per game (78.3) has rushed for 313 yards and three TDs for Louisiana with Lance LeGendre (12 receptions), Jacob Bernard (11 receptions) and Terrance Carter (11 receptions) the top receivers.
The Ragin' Cajuns, who lead the league in total defense (318.0 yards per game) while ranking second in total offense (453.5) will look to snap an 11-game losing skid against Southern Miss (1-3, 0-0 SBC) including seven straight in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles, who are 24-1 all-time against Louisiana in games played at home, claimed a 34-31 overtime win in last season's contest in Lafayette and a 39-24 decision in 2022 in Hattiesburg.
Southern Miss opened its season with a 31-0 loss at Kentucky on August 31 before defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 35-10, in its home opener on September 7. Since then, the Golden Eagles have dropped games to South Florida (49-24) and Jacksonville State (44-7).
Tate Rodemaker has completed 44 of 71 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns for USM this season with Dreke Clark leading the team in rushing with 167 yards. Ti Mims is USM's top receiver with 16 receptions for 185 yards while Dylan Lawrence (25 tackles, 2 INT) and Tre' Pinkney (25 tackles, 2.0 TFL) are the top defenders.
Season tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Football are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).
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GAME 5 PREVIEW – Louisiana (3-1, 0-0 SBC) at Southern Miss (1-3, 0-0 SBC)
Location: M.M. Roberts Stadium (36,000); Hattiesburg, Miss.
Date | Time: Saturday, October 5 | 6 p.m.
TV/RADIO
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Jason Baker (play-by-play), Austin Davis (color)
Radio: Lafayette – Hot 107.9 FM; 103.3 The Goat, 1420 AM; New Orleans/Slidell – WGSO 990 AM; Worldwide – Varsity Network powered by Learfield
Talent: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Cody Junot (color), Dawson Eiserloh (sideline)
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall: Southern Miss leads 42-11-1
In Lafayette: USM leads, 16-10-1
In Hattiesburg: USM leads 24-1
Neutral Sites: USM leads, 2-0
Streak: USM +11
First meeting: Louisiana, 66-0 – 11/17/1923 in Lafayette
Last Meeting: USM, 34-31 (ot) – 11/9/2023 in Lafayette
LOUISIANA OPENS SUN BELT CONFERENCE PLAY AT SOUTHERN MISS
• Coming off a dramatic 41-38 victory at ACC member Wake Forest, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns open its 24th season of Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday when it ventures to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
• The third SBC meeting between the schools will be available on ESPN+.
• The meeting will be the 55th between the schools in a series which dates back to 1923 with USM holding a 42-11-1 advantage.
• USM claimed a 39-24 victory over Louisiana in Hattiesburg in 2022 and rallied for a 34-31 overtime win in last season's contest at Cajun Field.
• Louisiana looks to snap a two-game slide in SBC openers and is 14-9 overall when opening league play.
A LOUISIANA WIN WOULD ...
• Give the Ragin' Cajuns a 4-1 overall record.
• Improve its road record to 3-0 on the season.
• Be its first win in an SBC opener since 2021.
• Improve its record to 15-9 in SBC openers.
• Snap an 11-game slide to the Golden Eagles dating back to 1994.
• Be the Ragin' Cajuns first over USM in the series since a 13-7 victory at Cajun Field on Oct. 2, 1993.
• Be just the second-ever win in Hattiesburg in 26 meetings and first since a 24-21 victory on Oct. 21, 1989.
UPCOMING LOUISIANA MILESTONES
• With 272 career points, kicker Kenneth Almendares is five points shy of passing Elijah Mitchell (276, 2017-20) for fifth place in school history.
• Almendares, who has converted on 48 field goals in his career, is five shy of tying Stevie Artigue (53, 2015-19) for the school record while his 128 PATs are 23 shy of tying Artigue's school-record (151).
• Senior linebacker K.C. Ossai is eight tackles shy of reaching 200 in his career.
• Junior running back Dre'lyn Washington is 95 rushing yards shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.
• Jacob Bernard is 109 receiving yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark in his career.
TRACKING THE SOUTHERN MISS SERIES
• Saturday's game will be the 55th all-time meeting between Louisiana and Southern Miss making it's the fourth-longest series in school history.
• Overall, the Golden Eagles hold a 42-11-1 record in the series.
• Louisiana has faced Louisiana Tech (85 games), Northwestern State (73) and ULM (59) the most times in school history.
• The first game in the UL-USM series was played on November 17, 1923 in Lafayette with the Ragin' Cajuns claiming a 66-0 victory.
• The Ragin' Cajuns won the first seven meetings in the series (all in Lafayette) before USM earned a 13-7 win in November 7, 1931 in the first-ever contest in Hattiesburg.
• USM has won 24 of 25 meetings against Louisiana in Hattiesburg with the last Ragin' Cajuns victory on the road coming in a 24-21 contest on October 21, 1989.
• The teams have played 14 times as conference mates – including the previous two meetings since USM joined the Sun Belt Conference. The schools were members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1931-41) and Gulf States Conference (1948-51) prior to being SBC rivals.
20 UL PLAYERS WITH DEGREES IN HAND
• Louisiana has 20 players on its 2024 roster with at least a bachelor's degree in hand.
• The most recent #RaginGrads are Summer 2024 graduates Jordan Lawson, Keyon Martin, King McGowen and Chaz Ward.
• They join a list of Spring 2024 graduates Caleb Bonine, Landon Burton, Dalen Cambre, Logan Klotz, Lance LeGendre and Tyree Skipper.
• Previous graduates on the 2024 roster include Kenneth Almendares, Jacob Bernard, Chandler Fields, AJ Gillie, Jax Harrington, Tyrone Lewis, Amir McDaniel, Kyron Mims (Ball State), Hunter Sims and Ben Wooldridge.
TEAM NOTES
• Louisiana is one of 12 FBS teams nationally and two teams in the Sun Belt Conference which has not lost a fumble through the first five weeks of the season.
• Louisiana has started 3-1 on 23 occasions in school history, including five times in the past six seasons.
• Louisiana's 3-1 record is only the eighth time to achieve the mark since 1970.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have 84 players on its roster from the state of Louisiana to lead all in-state FBS schools.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have allowed 149.0 yards through the air in their first four games to rank first in the Sun Belt Conference and 13th nationally in passing yards allowed.
• Louisiana enters the week leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranked 44th nationally among FBS schools in total defense allowing 318.0 yards per game.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are third in the SBC and 36th in total offense (453.5).
