Louisiana scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally from a 10-point deficit and defeat North Texas in the Sun Belt Conference opener Saturday at Cajun Field.

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns were able to fight their way back from a 10-point disadvantage - after allowing North Texas to score 24 unanswered points - to claim a 38-34 win over the Mean Green at Cajun Field on Saturday evening.

Louisiana (3-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to stun the Mean Green (1-4, 0-2 Sun Belt).

Chris Masson completed the comeback when he connected with Marlin Miller for a touchdown pass on third-and-goal with 27 seconds remaining.

After entering the fourth quarter down 34-24, Louisiana was able to pull within three points at the 9:29 mark after a 17-play, 80-yard drive. Brad McGuire was able to run a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line for the touchdown. The 17-play drive was the longest drive in terms of plays for the Cajuns this season.

After North Texas moved the ball to their own 48-yard line on the ensuing possession, the Cajuns defense held strong on three straight plays and forced a punt. Following the punt, Masson completed a 20 yard pass to Louis Lee to the NT 38-yard line which put UL on track for the eventual game-winning tally.

Louisiana finished the fourth quarter with 26 total plays that covered 108 yards. Masson was 6-of-11 for 62 yards during the decisive quarter. The Cajuns defense held the Mean Green to just 16 yards of total offense.

The victory was the Cajuns' third straight in the series - the longest win streak over the Mean Green in the all-time series.

After recording a first down on the first play from scrimmage, the Cajuns were forced to punt after going three and out. Spencer Ortego's punt pinned the Mean Green at the North Texas six-yard line.

The ensuing North Texas drive ended with a 41-yard field by Jeremy Knott. A key play to the 70-yard drive was a pass interference called on the Cajuns while the Mean Green was facing a third-and-long situation deep in their own territory.

UL's next possession ended with another punt by Ortego. Once again, North Texas was able to drive the ball into Cajun territory. After stalling at UL's 35-yard line and facing fourth-and-four, Riley Dodge's pass attempt to convert the fourth down was picked off by Dwight Bentley. Bentley was able to return the interception 70 yards, giving the Ragin' Cajuns a 7-3 with 0:37 left in the first quarter. It was the sixth-longest interception return in UL's history.

On the Mean Green's very next drive, Bentley tied a school-record at Cajun Field after coming up with his second interception of the day. His 26-yard interception return to the North Texas 26-yard line set up a Tyler Albrecht 45-yard field and gave the Cajuns a 10-3 lead at the 13:57 mark in the in the second quarter.

For the third consecutive drive, the Mean Green's Riley Dodge turned the ball over after fumbling at the Cajuns' 27-yard line. Jordan Topp was able to recover the ball for UL, but the offense was unable to convert the takeaway and stalled after going three-and-out.

The Mean Green was able to knot the score at 10-10 after a one-yard touchdown run by Lance Dunbar capped off a nine-play, 80-yard drive at the 9:42 mark in the second quarter.

Louisiana responded on the next series, driving 75 yards in eight plays. During the drive, facing fourth-and-seven, North Texas was called for pass interference, keeping the drive alive. On the next play Chris Masson was able to find the endzone on a 25-yard rush up the middle.

For the fourth time on the evening, the Cajuns' defense came up with a big play. On fourth-and-14, North Texas attempted to punt the ball away but Richie Falgout was able to block the punt and Andrew Joseph was able to return the ball 33 yards for the score. The blocked punt return was the second-longest in Cajuns' history.

It didn't take the Mean Green long to respond. A two-play drive of 59 yards was the end result after a 37-yard touchdown run by Dunbar. The scoring drive took all of 53 seconds.

Dunbar found the endzone for the third time with a one-yard rush after a Cajuns' fumble set the Mean Green up with a short field near the end of the first half. The six-play, 39-yard drive was able to tie the score 24-24 heading into the half.

The Mean Green picked up where they left off to start the second half. North Texas was able to drive 69 yards on 10 plays and grab a 27-24 lead after a 27-yard field goal by Knott.

At the 3:51 mark in the third quarter, North Texas was able to cap off another 10-play drive as Dunbar scored his fourth touchdown of the day with a one-yard run.

UL SI