Davis and Perry help Cajuns run through Owls on the road 34–10 

For the fifth time since 2000 and the second time under head coach Michael Desormeaux, the Ragin’ Cajuns start the season off 2–0 after taking down the Kennesaw State Owls 34–10. 

The Cajuns traveled to Kennesaw, Georgia where the Owls would be playing their first ever home game as an FBS team. Their hope for a new era was dashed by Louisiana as they ran the rock without any hindrance. 

If you are a fan of old school, time of possession offense, then the first quarter was for you. The Owls would receive the ball first and would also be the first to score, finding the endzone after 16 plays, 8:32 and four third down conversions. 

The Cajuns would reply with a long drive of their own, burning more than seven minutes off the clock in a 13–play drive. The only difference between Louisiana’s drive and Kennesaw’s was that the Cajuns ended theirs with a field goal. 

The Owls would be forced to punt the ball on their next possession and would only score once with their next five drives. 

Louisiana did not have such an issue as they would score on six of their next seven drives, the offense rolling over the Owls’ attempts to stop it. 

The captain of this dominant offense was once again senior quarterback Ben Wooldridge. His second outting was even more efficient than his first, if not as dominant. 

Wooldridge would finish the game going 15/19 for 189 yards and a touchdown, making perfect throws and looking especially good with play actions and play fakes. 

Of those 15 competitions, four were caught by Jacob Bernard who led the team in receptions for 84 yards. Additionally, Robert Williams would catch two for 41 and Terrance Carter would bring down three receptions for 17 yards. 

If the ground game was efficient but underwhelming last week, this week it was the best part of the entire offense. 

The team was led on the ground by a two headed monster, a true hurricane of destruction. Freshman running back Elijah “Bill” Davis was thunder, hammering the Owls for 80 yards and two touchdowns off 11 carries, including a massive 49 yard run in the second quarter. 

If Davis is thunder then who is lightning? That answer can be found in Louisiana’s leading rusher, sophomore Zylan Perry. Lightning perfectly describes Perry as he is electric every time he touches the ball, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries. 

The ground game did not stop there as Wooldridge and even backup quarterback Chandler Fields added yards on the ground during the game. 

The final few minutes of the game though, belonged to freshman Tylon Citizen from Duson, Louisiana. 

Citizen would run for 29 yards on five carries in the final drive, helping the Cajuns cap off the impressive win. 

In total the team combined for 257 yards on 36 carries averaging an astonishing 7.1 yards per carry as a team. 

For the Cajuns though the most important part of the entire offense was once again the offensive line. 

Though not noticed by many, and not being shown in the stat book, the veteran offensive line proved their dominance over the inferior defensive line of Kennesaw State. 

The defense did not allow a single sack and helped keep Wooldridge safe in the pocket, allowing him to make calm and logical reads. 

They also opened up massive running lanes for Davis and Perry to rush through and even made good blocks at the second level throughout the game. 

Defense once again played well only allowing the Owls to generate a total of 204 yards offensive yards and 10 points. 

Senior linebacker K.C. Ossai once again led the team in total tackles with 12, five of them being solo tackles. Junior linebacker Jaden Dugger and senior defensive lineman Mason Narcisse each accounted for six tackles. 

The biggest issue for the defense was just getting off the field as they allowed four third down conversions at the beginning of the game. 

The defense would not make this mistake for the rest of the game, though they did allow two fourth down conversions. 

The defense also had slight issues stopping runs, specifically runs outside the tackles. It was a stark contrast to the defensive interior which was doing its best impression of a brick wall against the Owls attempted interior runs. 

A final issue was the pass rush from the Cajuns as they failed to gain a single sack throughout the game. It was a similar issue to last week against Grambling, where the pass rush would pressure the quarterback but they failed to catch him to get the sack. 

Louisiana now heads into an early bye week, which is perfectly timed for the upcoming game against in–state opponents, the Tulane Green Wave. 

The Cajuns will host the Green Wave at Cajun Field on Sept. 21 where they will be looking for their third straight win.