Louisiana Shows Resiliency In Shaking Demons, 41-38
Kenny Almendares' 31-yard field goal with :52 seconds remaining snapped a 38-all tie and Matthew Dennis' potential game-tying 42-yard attempt at the buzzer bounced off the left upright as Louisiana earned a resilient 41-38 win over Wake Forest on Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Ben Wooldridge tossed for three touchdowns and rushed for a one while Lance LeGendre set career-highs in receptions (6), yards (123), touchdowns (2) and long reception (48) as Louisiana (3-1) never trailed and earned its first-ever victory over an ACC team in three tries.
Louisiana built a 14-3 lead in the first quarter after Wooldridge connected with Tavion Smith on a 2-yard scoring pass on the Ragin' Cajuns opening drive before bulling his way into the end zone on a 1-yard scoring plunge with :56 remaining in the period.
After Wake Forest (1-3) cut the lead to 14-10 on Tate Carney's 1-yard run, Wooldridge drove Louisiana 75 yards in eight plays and connecting with LeGendre on a 20-yard scoring pass with 1:18 left in the half.
Almendares added a 50-yard field goal to give Louisiana a 24-17 lead with 10:22 left in the third quarter before Wake Forest forged a 24-all tie on Demond Claiborne's 60-yard scoring run on the ensuing possession.
The Ragin' Cajuns would immediately respond with a 4-play, 75-yard drive as Wooldridge would find a wide open LeGendre, who raced down the right sideline for a 48-yard scoring pass and a 31-24 lead.
Carney would score the second of three TDs on the day for the Demon Deacons on a 1-yard scoring plunge and had a chance to take their first lead after forcing Louisiana to punt.
The Ragin' Cajuns would get a defensive stop as Tyree Skipper picked off a deflected pass from Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier and Bill Davis would score four plays later on a 2-yard run.
Carney, who rushed for 59 yards on 17 carries, tied the game with 1:55 remaining in the game but Louisiana would get a 57-yard kickoff return from Zylan Perry and Louisiana would drive to the Wake 13 before Almendares' go-ahead kick.
Wooldridge completed 20 of 29 passes for 257 yards for Louisiana with Davis gaining a game-high 95 yards on 13 attempts. Harvey Broussard caught four passes for Louisiana while Perry added 78 yards on the ground.
Keyon Martin tied a career-high with nine tackles for the Ragin' Cajuns with Justin Agu adding eight.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (October 5) when it opens Sun Belt Conference play at Southern Miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ESPN+.
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Re: Louisiana Shows Resiliency In Shaking Demons, 41-39
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