Sean Comiskey had just missed a third-quarter extra point and botched the following kickoff, and University of Louisiana coach Rickey Bustle collared him as he came off the field Saturday evening.

"He told me to act like a senior and not a punk freshman," Comiskey said.

Comiskey got a chance to atone for those miscues, and because of that the Ragin' Cajuns' hopes of a league title and a New Orleans Bowl berth still have life.

His 40-yard field goal in the first overtime, and a 37-yard miss moments later by Troy kicker Greg Whibbs, provided the Cajuns with a pulsating 31-28 victory before 21,204 homecoming fans.

The win was UL's second straight, following a 13-10 victory at Middle Tennessee last Saturday, and it was once again an improbable one.

Last week, it was a last-minute drive that led to the squad's first and only lead. This time, the Cajuns led all the way only to watch the Trojans rally with 21 fourth-quarter points and force overtime with 22 seconds left on Carl Meadows' 13-yard pass to wide out Smokey Hampton.

In the overtime, the Cajuns (3-5, 2-2) could not move on offense and Comiskey hit the pressure-packed kick that provided the three-point lead. That left it in the hands of a UL defense that pitched a shutout in the first half but struggled after intermission.

"The coaches told us to forget about everything and go play like it's 0-0," said tackle Marshall Delesdernier. "Everything that happened in the second half didn't matter ... this was a whole new game."

Meadows, who came on with less than two minutes left when starter Julian Foster began suffering cramps, threw incomplete on first down and two running plays gained five yards. That brought on Whibbs, the reigning Sun Belt Conference special teams Player of the Week, who had only missed once inside 40 yards all year.

But his 37-yarder from the right hash mark sailed just outside the left upright.

"A kicker's got 1.2 seconds to make or break it, and I broke," said Whibbs. "I knew it was going toward the left upright and I was hoping it would hook in and it didn't."

"I just started going crazy," said freshman linebacker Brenton Burkhalter, the Cajuns' leading tackler with 11. "I was running around yelling and looking for someone to grab."


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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com