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McGuire Carries Louisiana Past South Alabama 19-9

Louisiana's Elijah McGuire takes over in the second half to carry the Cajuns past South Alabama 19-9.

Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

University of Louisiana Lafayette's Elijah McGuire used 151 second half yards to stay undefeated in conference play and to snap South Alabama's four game winning streak. It was South Alabama's first road loss of the season.

The first half was a defensive struggle with the Jaguars getting on the board first. But South Alabama shot themselves in the foot time and time again with passes over open receivers head's and penalties that killed drives.

The Cajuns tied the game with a field goal of their own but would find themselves trailing once again when the Jaguar defense forced a fumbled which would lead to a touchdown, leaving the Jaguars with a 9-3 advantage.

Later, the Jags had a chance to extend their 9-6 lead before halftime, but Aleem Sunanon hooked a 49-yard attempt as time expired in the half.

Lafayette broke the tie with their fourth field goal of the game taking a 12-9 lead, their first of the game.

South Alabama would drive deep into Cajun territory behind backup quarterback Matt Floyd's leadership in place of an injured Brandon Bridge. Floyd would complete some big passes, including a 40-yarder to Marvin Shinn, but a miscommunication on a zone read at the 2 would result in a fumble recovered by Lafayette at their own 9 yard line.

The Cajuns would gash the winded Jaguars defense with a healthy dose of McGuire both on the ground and through the air. He would cap off the drive with an 8 yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.

South Alabama's Brandon Bridge ended the game 16-of-27 for 177 yards and a touchdown. He had several receivers open behind the secondary but just overthrew them. Floyd came in and went 4-of-8 for 93 yards in relief. Shavarez Smith caught 8 passes for 116 yards.

Terrance Broadway went 16-of-28 for 216 yards with a large chunk of that coming in the fourth quarter to McGuire on wheel routes. McGuire rushed for 116 yards on the ground and hauled in nine passes for 90 yards to put up 230 all-purpose yards.

Play of the Game

The fumble by South Alabama late in the game recovered by Lafayette's Christian Ringo kept the momentum with the Cajuns. UL would put the game away with the resulting touchdown to extend their winning streak to four games.