Louisiana to Face Ohio in Primetime Matchup
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The midweek clash will kickoff 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN
Following a thrilling 27-24 victory in its home-opener against Nicholls, Louisiana Football will be back at Cajun Field Thursday to face the Ohio Bobcats at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
Entering the contest, the Ragin' Cajuns hold a 2-0 record in the all-time series between the two programs. The teams last met on Sept. 21, 2019, where Louisiana prevailed with a 45-25 victory.
The matchup will mark the first Thursday game for the Ragin' Cajuns since they defeated Coastal Carolina 48-7 on Nov. 7, 2019.
A Louisiana victory would improve the program to 5-0 in non-conference home games under head coach Billy Napier including a 3-0 record against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents.
Ohio enters the midweek meeting at 0-2 after dropping its first two matchups of the season to Syracuse and Duquesne, respectively.
Who: Louisiana (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Ohio Bobcats (0-2, 0-0 MAC)
Where: Cajun Field – Lafayette, La.
When: Thursday, Sept. 13 – 7 p.m. (CST)
Watch: ESPN
On the Call: Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Harry Lyles, Jr. (Sideline)
Listen: ESPN1420
On the Call: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Chris Lanaux (analyst), Cody Junot (sideline)
All-Time Series: Louisiana leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: W, 45-25 (9/21/2019)
Game Notes:
Meeting on The Mothership
• Thursday's game will mark the seventh ESPN appearance for Louisiana in the Napier era. The Ragin' Cajuns are 3-3 when televised on The Worldwide Leader in the previous matchups.
Out of the Sun
• Louisiana is 8-4 in non-conference games under Napier, including a 5-0 mark at Cajun Field.
Clean Laundry
• Louisiana has done a good job limiting penalties so far this season, ranking 14th in the nation and third in the Sun Belt with only eight flags thrown against.
Magic Number 8
• In addition to a 23-7 record as the starting quarterback for the Ragin' Cajuns, Levi Lewis needs 8 passing touchdowns to set the program record for career passing scores. The current record of 64 is held by Ragin' Cajun legend Jake Delhomme.
In the Trenches
• Four of Louisiana's offensive linemen have started in at least 26 games over the last two years. Ken Marks leads the way with 29 starts, while Shane Vallot has started in 27 games and Max Mitchell and O'Cyrus Torrence have each started in 26.
Let it Fly, Levi
• The senior currently leads the Sun Belt and ranks 19th nationally in total passing yards (586), while leading the league and checking in at 16th in the nation with his 293.0 passing yards per game. Additionally, he ranks 17th nationally and leads the league in completions per game (23.5).
• Lewis' 304 passing yards were the third-most of his career and marked the third time he eclipsed the 300-yard passing threshold. It was also the 37th 300-yard passing performance in program history.
Kenny's Kicks
• Kenneth Almendares has been consistent for Louisiana so far in 2021, going a perfect 4-for-4 on his field-goal attempts. He has made two field goals in each of the team's first two games
Run it Back
• Per ESPN's Bill Connelly, Louisiana returned a nation-high 96 percent of its production from a season ago, including 93 percent of its offensive production and 98 percent of its defensive production.
