G12 Preview: Louisiana vs ULM

**NewsCopy** · Yesterday, 10:30 pm

Louisiana Football heads to north Louisiana for its 2024 regular-season finale when it faces ULM on Saturday morning in a nationally televised contest at Malone Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. The game will be televised live on ESPNU with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Rene Ingoglia (analyst) providing commentary. Fans can listen to the game on the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network with Jay Walker (play-by-play), Cody Jonut (analyst) and Dawson Eiserloh (sideline) on the call.

Louisiana (9-2, 6-1 SBC) looks to secure its fifth trip in seven years to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game with a victory over its in-state rival (or a loss by South Alabama on Friday). The Ragin' Cajuns earned a 51-30 win over Troy in its regular-season home finale last Saturday at Cajun Field with Bill Davis rushing for three touchdowns with Chandler Fields throwing for a career-high 323 yards with a pair of scores.

ULM (5-6, 3-4 SBC), which looks to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2018, opened the season with a 5-1 record before dropping its last five contests. The Warhawks have dropped a pair of one-score games during the stretch, including a 28-21 setback last week at Arkansas State.

GAME 12 PREVIEW – Louisiana (9-2, 6-1 SBC) at ULM (5-6, 3-4 SBC)
Location: Malone Stadium (30,427) | Monroe, La.
Date | Time: Saturday, November 30 | 11 a.m.

TV/RADIO
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (color)

Radio: Lafayette – Hot 107.9 FM; 103.3 The Goat, 1420 AM; New Orleans/Slidell – WGSO 990 AM; Worldwide – Varsity Network powered by Learfield
Talent: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Cody Junot (color), Dawson Eiserloh (sideline)

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Overall: Louisiana leads, 33-26
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 16-13
In Monroe: Louisiana leads, 16-12
In Shreveport: Tied, 1-1
Streak: Louisiana +1
First meeting: ULM, 13-7 – 9/15/1951 in Lafayette
Last Meeting: Louisiana, 52-21 – 11/25/2023 in Lafayette

LOUISIANA, ULM WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON ON NATIONAL TV
• Louisiana closes out its 2024 regular-season schedule when it travels to face in-state foe ULM in a nationally-televised contest at Malone Stadium.
• A win by Louisiana, or a loss by South Alabama (vs. Texas State on Friday), would send the Ragin' Cajuns to the SBC Championship Game for the fifth time in the seven-year history of the game.
• The meeting with ULM will be the 60th all-time between the schools with Louisiana holding a 33-26 lead.
• The game marks the 14th time in school history the schools have met in the regular-season finale with Louisiana claiming eight contests, including the last six.

A LOUISIANA WIN WOULD ...
• Clinch a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game for the fifth time in seven years.
• Improve Louisiana's record to 34-26 in the all-time series.
• Mark its fourth 10-win season in school history - all coming in the past six years.
• Mark its first unbeaten record on the road since 1970 when the Cajuns finished 5-0.
• Mark the first time posting a 6-0 record in road games in school history.
• Be head coach Michael Desormeaux's 23rd career win.
• Improve Desormeaux's record in SBC games to 14-10.
• Be Louisiana's 94th overall win in Sun Belt Conference play.

UPCOMING LOUISIANA MILESTONES
• Kenneth Almendares enters the game three points shy of passing former Arkansas State and current New Orleans Saints kicker Blake Grupe (354) for second on the Sun Belt Conference career scoring list.
• Almendares and defensive lineman Mason Narcisse will each make their 60th career appearance – all at Louisiana – against ULM.
• Quarterback Chandler Fields is 81 passing yards shy of reaching the 3,000-yard mark of his career.
• Redshirt freshman running back Bill Davis is 112 yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark in his career.
• Davis is two rushing touchdowns shy of becoming the first Cajuns' back since Elijah Mitchell (16, 2019) to record 10-or-more rushing TDs in a single season.
• Senior linebacker K.C. Ossai will play in his 50th career game on Saturday.
• Ossai, with 253 career tackles, is 17 tackles shy of cracking the top-5 among linebackers in school history.

THE LOUISIANA-ULM SERIES
• Louisiana and ULM have met 59 times on the gridiron since the series began in 1951 with the Ragin' Cajuns owning a 33-26 advantage.
• The series with ULM is the third longest in school history for Louisiana with the Ragin' Cajuns facing Louisiana Tech (85 games) and Northwestern State (73) the most.
• The schools have met on a yearly basis since 1997 and began playing as SBC foes beginning in the league's inaugural season in 2001.
• Since 2008, Louisiana has won 13 of the last 16 meetings in the series, including a 52-21 win in last year's meeting at Cajun Field.
• The Warhawks' 21-17 win in the 2022 meeting at Malone Stadium snapped an eight-game losing streak to Louisiana in Monroe dating back their last home victory in 2004.
• Thirty-three (33) games in the series have been decided by one score (8 points or less).

"ROIS" ("Kings" in French) OF THE ROAD
• With a 5-0 record in road games during the 2024 season, Louisiana has equaled its best mark since 1970 when the Ragin' Cajuns posted the same mark in road games en route to a 9-2 overall record.
• No Louisiana team in school history has ever gone 6-0 in road games with three teams - 1908 (3-0), 1944 (3-0) and 1943 (2-0) - posting unbeaten records in seasons with multiple road games.

CHAMPIONSHIP CAJUNS
• In its 123-year history on the gridiron, Louisiana has recorded 10 conference titles, including four Sun Belt Conference crowns.
• Louisiana claimed back-to-back titles (1993-94) as members of the Big West Conference and claimed its first SBC title in 2005.
• The 2021 SBC title saw Louisiana finish with 13 straight victories, including a New Orleans Bowl victory over Marshall in Michael Desormeaux's head coaching debut.

1952 – Gulf States Conference
1965 – Gulf States Conference
1968 – Gulf States Conference
1970 – Gulf States Conference
1993 – Big West Conference
1994 – Big West Conference
2005 – Sun Belt Conference
2013 – Sun Belt Conference*
2020 – Sun Belt Conference†
2021 – Sun Belt Conference

* - vacated
† - game not played; declared co-champions with Coastal Carolina

THE (RECORD) BOOK OF ALMENDARES ... LOU GROZA FINALIST
• Named on Tuesday (November 26) as a Lou Groza Award finalist, Kenneth Almendares continues to add to his Louisiana career scoring record as he enters Saturday's game with 352 points.
• The list of records set by the Clute, Texas native is like a broken record beginning with most points scored in Ragin' Cajuns history:

1. Kenneth Almendares (2018-) – 352
2. Elijah McGuire (2013-16) – 318
3. Stevie Artigue (2015-19) – 310
4. Tyrell Fenroy (2005-08) – 294
5. Brian Mitchell (1986-89) – 286

• In Sun Belt Conference history, Almendares is three points shy of moving past Blake Grupe (currently with the New Orleans Saints) into second place on the league's all-time scoring list:
1. Chandler Staton, App State (2017-21) – 464
2. Blake Grupe, Arkansas State (2018-21) – 354
3. Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana (2018-) – 352
4. Brian Davis, Arkansas State, (2010-13) – 326
Diego Guajardo, South Alabama (2019-23) – 326

• With three field goals in a 51-30 win over Troy, Almendares increased his career total of field goals to 66 and breaking the previous Sun Belt Conference record (64) set by Grupe and App State's Chandler Staton.
• The top six players in SBC history are listed below:

1. – 66, Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana (2018-)
2. – 64, Blake Grupe, Arkansas State (2018-21)
64, Chandler Staton, App State (2017-21)
4. – 60, Austin Rehkow, Idaho (2014-16)
5. – 58, Josh Arauco, Arkansas State (2006-09)
58, Diego Guajardo, South Alabama (2019-23)

• Almendares added the single-season record in points scored (117) in Louisiana's win over Troy with his 25 made field goals this season shattering the record (20) set by Brett Baer in 2012.

TEAM NOTES
• Louisiana became the last FBS team nationally to lose a fumble this season in its Week 12 game against South Alabama.
• Louisiana has turned the ball over six times during the 2024 season to rank tied for second (Vanderbilt) behind Army (4) among FBS schools.
• Louisiana is +11 in turnover margin in 2024 to rank eighth nationally.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have 84 players on its roster from the state of Louisiana to lead all in-state FBS schools.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have allowed 191.0 yards through the air in their first 11 games to rank second in the Sun Belt Conference and 31st nationally in passing yards allowed.
• Louisiana has controlled the clock during the 2024 season ranking 12th nationally in time of possession (32:31 per game).
• Louisiana enters the week second in the Sun Belt Conference and ranked 43rd nationally among FBS schools in total defense allowing 342.4 yards per game.
• Louisiana ranks fourth among all FBS teams in tackles for loss allowed (3.36 per game).
• Louisiana's third-down conversion percentage (.469) is second in the Sun Belt and is 17th among FBS programs.
• Eight players – King McGowen (OT), Kaden Moreau (OG), Quinton Williams (OT), Caden Jensen (TE), Zylan Perry (RB), Lorenzell Dubose (CB), Cody Jackson (S) and Carmycah Glass (LB) – have each earned their first career starts during the 2024 season.
• Fourteen players – Ben Wooldridge (QB), Lance LeGendre (WR), Terrance Carter (TE), Bill Davis (RB), Dre'lyn Washington (RB), Harvey Broussard (WR), Tavion Smith (WR), Robert Williams (WR), Landon Burton (C), Caleb Kibodi (LB), Chandler Fields (QB), Zylan Perry (RB) and Caden Jensen (TE) – have scored at least one touchdown this season for Louisiana.
• Louisiana's four interceptions against App State equaled its most in a game since October 30, 2010, at Ohio.
• Louisiana had a string of 18 consecutive quarters with a score snapped after going scoreless in the third quarter of its 34-24 win at Coastal Carolina.