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Louisiana Dominates 2nd Half, Defeats Iowa State 31-14

Two special teams touchdowns was the difference in the Cajuns’ first rod win vs a Top 25 program in school history.

Louisiana v Iowa State Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images

Scoring Summary

SECOND QUARTER

Cyclones TD 4:28 Kene Nwangwu 1 Yd Run (Connor Assalley Kick)

8 plays, 49 yards, 3:24

7-0 Iowa State

Cajuns TD 4:14 Chris Smith 95 Yd Kickoff Return (Nate Snyder Kick)

0 plays, 0 yards, 0:14

7-7

Cyclones TD 1:17 Breece Hall 11 Yd Run (Connor Assalley Kick)

7 plays, 69 yards, 2:57

14-7 Cyclones

Cajuns FG 0:00 Nate Snyder 30 Yd Field Goal

9 plays, 61 yards, 1:17

14-10 Cyclones at Half

THIRD QUARTER

Cajuns TD 2:02 Peter LeBlanc 78 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Kenneth Almendares Kick)

1 play, 78 yards, 0:12

17-14 Cajuns

FOURTH QUARTER

Cajuns TD 13:58 Eric Garror 83 Yd Punt Return (Kenneth Almendares Kick)

6 plays, 16 yards, 3:04

24-14 Cajuns

Cajuns TD 0:10 Trey Ragas 2 Yd Run (Kenneth Almendares Kick)

11 plays, 56 yards, 7:01

31-14 Cajuns FINAL


Recap

Louisiana and Iowa State both got off to sluggish starts offensively in this contest. Defensively was a different story however. The first touchdown of the game wasn’t until the 4:28 mark of the 2nd quarter. That’s when the Cajuns' special teams took off. Chris Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 14 seconds later. Breece Hall would run in another touchdown for the Cyclones and Nate Snyder would knock in a field goal as time expired to make it 14-10 Iowa State at the half.

The second half was all Louisiana. Outscoring the Cyclones 21-0, the Cajuns defense shined, led by Percy Butler, Ferrod Gardner (Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week), and AJ Washington. Eric Garror would return a punt for a touchdown, Levi Lewis threw a bomb to Peter Leblanc for a score, and then Trey Ragas ran a touchdown in with 10 seconds left to seal the deal 31-14 for the Cajuns.

The Cajuns were able to rattle Brock Purdy, a highly-touted quarterback for the Cyclones, all game long. Purdy was never able to get into a rhythm and that really halted Matt Campbell’s offensive gameplan. Louisiana was slugglish offensively as well, but the Cajuns were able to get help from the defense and special teams in this contest, earning the Cajuns their first win against a top-25 team on the road in school history.

Stats

Louisiana Leaders

Passing: Levi Lewis 13-21 154 yards 1 TD

Rushing: Trey Ragas 14 carries 49 yards 1 TD

Receiving: Peter Leblanc 5 rec 82 yards 1 TD

Iowa State Leaders

Passing: Brock Purdy 16-35 145 yards 0 TD 1 INT

Rushing: Brecce Hall 20 carries 103 yards 1 TD

Receiving: Xavier Hutchinson 4 rec 43 yards

Next Game

The 19th ranked Cajuns will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia State in their conference opener, while Iowa State will travel to Forth Worth to take on the Horned Frogs of TCU in a Big 12 matchup.

For more great Cajuns content, follow my Cajuns sports podcast Ragin Review @RaginReview. You can find the show wherever you get your podcasts or at www.raginreviewpod.com