Homecoming week ended the best way it possibly could, with a dominating victory by the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns over the Arkansas State Red Wolves 55–19. The Cajuns dominated the Red Wolves in every aspect of the game, not letting them do anything on offense while scoring touchdown after touchdown on their defense.
The game started with two quick possessions by both teams that ended in punts. It was on the Red Wolves second drive that things began going downhill with no brakes.
Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, on the second play of the drive threw a deep pass into double coverage. The pass was tipped, and Louisiana safety Tyrone Lewis Jr. came down with the interception on Louisiana’s 29-yard line.
The Cajuns would not let this opportunity go to waste as they drove 70 yards downfield in seven plays, ending in a Ben Wooldridge 20-yard pass to Harvey Broussard for a touchdown to put the Cajuns up 7–0.
Arkansas State would end their next drive on downs, failing a fourth down conversion on fourth and 11 on the Louisiana 32-yard line.
With the ball once again in Louisiana possession, they would drive downfield into field goal range and set up a Kenneth Almendares field goal from 44 yards out to put the Cajuns up 10–0.
The Red Wolves would do nothing with the ball once again, punting after six plays to set up another Louisiana drive on their own 36-yard line.
This is the drive that the Cajuns would get the run game going, as they relied on Bill Davis for a handful of yards with some extra yards contributed from the passing game. Dre’lyn Washington would come in to finish off the drive as he burst through the Red Wolves defense for a 46-yard touchdown to expand the lead 17–0.
Another punt by the Red Wolves along with a 32-yard punt return by Jacob Bernard would set the Cajuns up on the Arkansas 41-yard line.
This drive would be Zylan Perry’s time to shine, as a couple of runs helped set up a 20-yard play action pass to Lance LeGendre to set up Perry’s four yard touchdown run.
Down 24–0, the Arkansas State Red Wolves would muster a five play, 15-yard drive that ended in yet another punt.
This Louisiana drive would start with a 94-yard Bill Davis touchdown run that was called back because of an offensive penalty.
One penalty was not enough to kill off the momentum that was well in the hands of the Cajuns at this point. Marching downfield, the Cajuns would set up Bill Davis for a touchdown from the Red Wolves’ 13-yard line. Davis would easily punch it in, making up for the big run he had called back earlier, putting the Cajuns up 31–0.
The Red Wolves would finally score a touchdown before the half to cut the lead to 25 before failing their two-point conversion attempt.
Coming out of the half, the Cajuns would not miss a step, driving down field again and setting up Almendares for another field goal that he made from 45 yards out.
Arkansas State would manage to score a touchdown on their first drive of the half, but would once again fail the two-point conversion attempt.
Louisiana would respond with a touchdown drive of their own, capped off by another Davis touchdown, his second of the night.
The Red Wolves next drive would end after yet another interception, this one caught by safety Tyree Skipper who caught it after boxing out the Arkansas State receiver.
Louisiana would turn this turnover into seven off of the back of Dre’lyn Washington again who would get his second touchdown of the night.
At 48–12 the game was all but over. The Cajuns’ defense would force another punt, and Louisiana would use their second stringers for their drive. The drive would be capped off by a 12-yard scramble for a touchdown by Chandler Fields.
Arkansas State would score one more time to try and make the score a bit more respectable, giving us the final score.
This game was all about Louisiana’s triple-headed monster in the backfield. This game, more than any other before, truly showed the strength of the run game and the three Cajun running backs.
Washington, Perry, and Davis would combine for 247 yards on the ground, averaging over nine yards per carry. The three would also combine for five touchdowns, two for Washington and Davis and one for Perry.
Washington was by far the best back on this particular day, averaging 15.4 yards per carry for 123 yards and those two touchdowns. Washington also had the longest rush of the day at 46 yards, though it would have been eclipsed by Davis’ 94-yard run if it had not been called back.
The excellent day by the backfield does not take away from the commander of the offense in Ben Wooldridge who once again had another great game.
Wooldridge would finish the game 17/26 for 264 yards and a touchdown, averaging 10.4 yards per completion. He did some damage on the ground, gaining 19 yards on two carries.
For the first time in a few games, the leading receiver was not tight end Terrance Carter, but instead it was Lance LeGrendre who caught four passes for 58 yards. Robert Williams, Ty Stamey and Carter would each have three receptions for a combined 133 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cajuns had their best game of the season without a doubt. They held the Red Wolves to under 20 points and most of the 400 yards that Arkansas State got came in the second half after the second and third stringers came out.
Pressure was the biggest change for the defense as the Cajuns managed to get to the quarterback for four sacks, 2.5 by junior defensive lineman Jordan Lawson.
Kicking was once again solid thanks to the ever-reliable Kenneth Almendares who finished the game 2/2 on field goals and 7/7 on PATs, finishing the game as Louisiana’s all-time leading scorer.
With only three games left in the season, the Cajuns are undefeated in conference play and are in perfect position to host the Sun Belt Conference championship game for the first time since 2021.