Buried in a 24-point hole early in the second quarter Saturday, UL saw its hopes for a seven-win season and possible bowl berth quickly evaporating against Sun Belt Conference leader Troy.
That set up a furious 25-point rally to give the Ragin' Cajuns a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but they stumbled late in a 48-31 loss to close the regular season before 12,245 at Cajun Field.
The pain of the near-miss upset on Senior Night showed in the tears that rolled down the cheeks of UL coach Rickey Bustle during his post-game comments.
"I'm just extremely proud of our kids," Bustle said. "I hate this for the seniors. It was a tough one. Our kids just fought their hearts out."
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Joshua Parrott
jparrott@theadvertiser.com