Louisiana vs Arkansas State: PostGame

[Bandwagon King]

I can't wait for this guy to have a good game.

[Turbine]

I can't wait for this guy to have a good game.

Three quarters was a nice taste

[CajunVic]

I surely hope he beats history. He is well on his way . . .

[Bandwagon King]

Three quarters was a nice taste

So true, but in the end he had to be pulled. Hopefully he will do better next time.

[NewsCopy]

Quarterback Ben Wooldridge threw for a career-best 316 yards and tied a school-record with five touchdown passes as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns piled up a season-high 522 yards of total offense and defeated Arkansas State, 38-18, in a Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at Cajun Field.

Dontae Fleming and Jacob Bernard combined for 11 receptions and three touchdowns as Louisiana (4-3, 2-2 SBC) scored 28 unanswered points in less than a quarter to win its second consecutive game overall and fifth straight against A-State (2-6, 1-4 SBC).

Wooldridge, who set career-highs in completions (21), attempts (34) and long pass (55), connected with 10 different receivers in the game and got the Ragin' Cajuns offense going on their third possession as he directed a 12-play, 49-yard drive in the opening quarter as Kenneth Almendares' 43-yard field goal gave Louisiana a 3-0 lead.

The junior signal-caller led Louisiana down the field after the Ragin' Cajuns defense forced A-State to punt for the third straight time, leading the team on a nine-play, 53-yard scoring drive and a 10-0 lead.

Wooldridge opened the drive with a 15-yard strike to Peter LeBlanc and later connected with Johnny Lumpkin for a 17-yard on third-and-9 to the ASU 9 before Fleming scored two plays later on a 7-yard scoring pass.

Arkansas State, which was held to 271 yards of total offense and went 0-for-11 on third-down opportunities, scored on its next two possessions to cut the lead to 10-9 as Dominic Zvada booted a 43-yard field goal before AJ Mayer led a three-play, 85-yard scoring drive with a 27-yard TD pass to Seydou Traore with 6:28 remaining in the half.

Louisiana, which controlled the football for nearly 38 minutes, regained the momentum on its next drive after the Red Wolves declined a holding penalty after Jacob Kibodi's 4-yard gain on third-and-10 to the ASU 45. The Ragin' Cajuns would keep the offense on the field and Wooldridge connected with Bernard over a wide-open middle of the field and the receiver raced untouched to the end zone for his first career TD reception and a 17-9 lead.

The Ragin' Cajuns defense would force another Red Wolves punt on the following possession and Wooldridge would engineer an 86-yard drive which was capped by a 55-yard scoring pass to Fleming to up the lead to 24-9.

Wooldridge added TD passes in the third quarter of 36 yards to Michael Jefferson and 13 yards to Neal Johnson, tying him with Andre Nunez (2018 vs. New Mexico State) and Jake Delhomme (1996 vs. Northern Illinois), before giving way to the freshman tandem of Zeon Chriss and Zy McDonald in the fourth quarter.

Fleming caught a career-high six passes for 81 yards (tying a career-best) for Louisiana with Bernard setting career-highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (97). Playing without Chris Smith for the second straight game, four rushers carried the bulk of the load for Louisiana with Terrence Williams leading the team with 58 yards on the ground on 11 carries.

Kibodi rushed for 54 yards on 12 attempts for Louisiana, which gained 206 yards on the ground in 50 attempts, with Dre'Lyn Washington setting season-bests in yards (48) and carries (11) while true freshman Zylan Perry rushed for 48 yards on 11 carries.

Jourdon Quibodeaux led Louisiana with eight tackles in the game with Sonny Hazard and Zi'Yon Hill-Green combining for 2.5 sacks. Bralen Trahan, who blocked an extra point attempt in the second quarter, capped off the first half with his third interception of the season – and 12th of his career, tying him with Charles "Peanut" Tillman for fifth place in school history.

Mayer was 8-for-23 for 155 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Arkansas State which dropped its third straight game overall and fifth straight in Lafayette dating back to 2012. Trevian Thomas led all players with 13 tackles with Jaden Harris adding nine.

Louisiana Athletics
RaginCajuns.com
PRESS RELEASE

[NewsCopy]

Ben Wooldridge says he had no idea he had five touchdown passes during the game versus Arkansas State. How Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns QB stays even-keel.

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Cory Diaz

[NewsCopy]

Ben Wooldridge put forth an incredible performance in his second game as a starter, leading the Cajuns to a 38-18 routing of Arkansas State.

The rest of the story
ESPN 1420

[Turbine]

No lightning needed

[CharlieK]

That stat line with 0 INTs was very impressive. I’ll have to rewatch, I don’t even remember many, if any, balls even close to being picked.

[fanof71]

There were a fewBW seems to want to "aim" the ball if that makes sense.however, when he "slings" the ball, he's much better.

[Jacob81]

21-34 Ben was and I know 3 drops for sure. Migl, Bernard, and Stephens.

[Fais do-do]

He looked confident but needs to learn to move up in the pocket instead of sideways when it is collapsing around him. All in all, great performance.

CMD, Please stick with a one quarterback system a.k.a. Ben!

[Bandwagon King]

21-34 Ben was and I know 3 drops for sure. Migl, Bernard, and Stephens.

He also threw a few away on purpose. Not sure why there isn't a stat to account for this as there seems to be a stat line to account for everything else on planet Earth. But having the good sense to throw the ball away in a situation when you have no chance to make anything good happen should not be counted against a QB.

[CharlieK]

He also threw a few away on purpose. Not sure why there isn't a stat to account for this as there seems to be a stat line to account for everything else on planet Earth. But having the good sense to throw the ball away in a situation when you have no chance to make anything good happen should not be counted against a QB.

Definitely a big reason for the pristine 5/0 stat.

[cajun tom]

So true, but in the end he had to be pulled. Hopefully he will do better next time.

He was pulled to give the other qb’s some experience.