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Cajuns Ride a Dominant Defensive Performance, Win Ninth Straight 35-21

Louisiana forces three turnovers, Lewis throws three touchdowns; Cajuns now set to host SBC title game

Matt Miguez

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER

Troy TD 12:25 Gunnar Watson 10 Yd Run (Brooks Buce Kick)

7-0 Trojans

Louisiana TD 7:52 Dontae Fleming 15 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Nate Snyder Kick)

7-7

Troy FG 2:12 Brooks Buce 30 Yd Field Goal

10-7 Trojans

Louisiana TD 1:00 Michael Jefferson 52 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Nate Snyder Kick)

14-10 Cajuns

SECOND QUARTER

Troy FG 4:20 Brooks Buce 47 Yd Field Goal

14-13 Cajuns HALF

THIRD QUARTER

Louisiana TD 11:31 Kyren Lacy 13 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Nate Snyder Kick)

21-13 Cajuns

Louisiana TD 6:03 Levi Lewis 27 Yd Run (Nate Snyder Kick)

28-13 Cajuns

FOURTH QUARTER

TROY TD 14:13 Tez Johnson 7 Yd pass from Gunnar Watson (Gunnar Watson Pass to Deshon Stoudemire for Two-Point Conversion)

28-21 Cajuns

Louisiana 5:15 Montrell Johnson 6 Yd Run (Nate Snyder Kick)

35-21 Cajuns FINAL


For the first time in program history, Louisiana has won nine straight games.

The Cajuns went into Troy, Alabama for homecoming today and took care of business, 35-21, behind three touchdowns from Levi Lewis and three turnovers forced by the Louisiana defense.

With the win and Coastal Carolina’s loss to Georgia State today, Louisiana will now host the Sun Belt Championship game Saturday, December 4th and 2:30 pm at Cajun Field at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. “It is a big deal,” Louisiana head coach Billy Napier told the media following the game when asked about the significance of hosting. “We talked to the team yesterday about trying to win today and secure that opportunity in the final game to clinch home field advantage. We didn’t do the math in our head that Coastal would get beat. It’s going to be a historic day for our entire community,” said Napier.

Levi Lewis had a solid performance leading the Cajuns offense, going 14-21 for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Lewis was also able to make some big plays with his feet, extending drives for Billy Napier’s offense. Chris Smith also added 102 yards on 15 carries.

NCAA Football: UL Lafayette at Texas Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Defensively, the Cajuns were lead with big performances from Ferrod Gardner (11 tackles, 1 INT) and Andre Jones (3 tackles, 1 sack). The Cajuns also forced two fumbles late in the game to seal their seventh win in the Sun Belt this season.

For Troy, Gunnar Watson went 29-55 for 350 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Kimani Vidal was their leading rusher with 21 yards on 11 carries and Tez Johnson led all Trojan receivers with 83 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Carlton Martial (10 tackles) and Javon Solomon (four tackles, 1 sack) had big games defensively for a team that allowed 370 yards of offense on the night. Solomon is now up to 11 sacks on the year for Troy.

Up Next

Louisiana (9-1, 7-0 SBC) will be on the road once again, this time to Lynchburg, VA to take on Liberty (7-3) next Saturday (3:00 pm CST, ESPNU). Troy (5-5, 3-3 SBC) will take on App State (2:30 pm CST, ESPN+) at home next Saturday.