The Ragin’ Cajuns spent their Saturday night battling the No. 14 USC Trojans under the bright lights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which ultimately led to a Trojans 49–30 victory over the Cajuns.

Louisiana’s mentality heading to California was to treat this game like any other, while at the same time making the adjustments necessary in preparation for a Top 25 team. The Cajuns wasted no time in making their presence felt in front of the 60,000 fans wearing USC cardinal and gold.

The Trojans’ opening drive only lasted a little over a minute-and-a-half. The drive ended with the Cajuns sending a four-man rush on third & 10, pressuring USC quarterback Jayden Maiava into an interception right into the hands of Cajuns’ cornerback Avery Demery. 

The Cajuns capitalized off of the Trojans’ turnover, getting in range for Tony Sterner to squeak by a 47-yard field goal.

With Louisiana drawing first blood, it wasn’t long before USC responded. The Trojans went 79 yards on 13 plays, capping the drive off with a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Bowman to put USC in the lead 7–3.

The Trojans extended the lead to 14–3  early on in the second quarter with Maiava finding Bowman in the endzone for the second time of the ballgame. However, the Cajuns answered back with a great drive of their own.

A mix of good rushes and short pass plays led the Cajuns to USC’s 23-yard line, before an unsportsmanlike conduct call pushed them back 15 yards to the 38-yard line. 

On second & 24 Lunch Winfield connected with Brock Chappell down the middle for 37 yards before being brought down at the one-yard line. The drive concluded with Steven Blanco leaping over for a one-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the deficit to 14–10.

The Trojans made sure to use the remaining nine minutes in the first half to pull away. The Trojans scored two unanswered touchdowns before the half ended, including an 86-yard punt return, to give the Trojans a 28–10 advantage at the break.

The Cajuns went three-and-out in their opening drive of the second half, forcing them to punt the ball. Unfortunately, the Trojans’ special teams were able to get in the backfield in time to alter the course of the ball, allowing their offense to start the drive at the Cajun’s 41-yard line. The Trojans took advantage of the great field position by scoring another touchdown, increasing the lead once again to 36–10.

The Cajuns weren’t done fighting yet as they responded with an 81-yard, 12-play drive that ended with Winfield powering through on a designed quarterback-run for a one-yard touchdown. Winfield found himself having to respond to another USC touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.

Trailing 42–17, Winfield found himself avoiding pressure in the pocket before turning on the jets and scrambling for a 32-yard run. The Cajuns attempted a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful, leaving Louisiana still trailing at 42–23.

Both teams spent the rest of the game trading one touchdown apiece as the Cajuns refused to go down in silence. Louisiana’s last drive of the game ended in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Russell Babineaux with a little over two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The game ended with a final score of 49–30 and the Cajuns dropping to 1-1 for the year.

Despite the loss, there were a lot of good takeaways from Louisiana’s performance. The Cajuns flew across timezones to not only take on a team from the Big Ten conference, but a team that’s nationally ranked in the Top 25. Scoring 30 points on the road in that kind of environment, no matter the circumstances, should be an indicator of just how good this Louisiana team could be.

The Cajuns rushed for 146 yards and passed for 212 yards on USC’s defense. Winfield posted 307 total yards and three touchdowns, while completing 73% of his passes. The combination of designed runs and scrambles from Winfield kept Louisiana in the fight for almost the entire game.

Standout performances include freshman and Acadiana Highschool alum Babineaux who broke out for 91 receiving yards and one touchdown, and redshirt senior Collin Jacob who led the game in a total of 13 tackles.

The Cajuns’ next game will see them back home on Sept. 19 to take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers. This will be the first of two back to back American conference opponents for Louisiana before entering Sunbelt conference play.