The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (1-1) are set to face the #25 Missouri Tigers (2-0) on the road in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
The Cajuns bounced back after an opening loss to defeat McNeese 34-10 at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium last week. Daniel Beale made his first career start in the victory, and the offense rushed for more than 300 yards in the win.
The Tigers are off to a hot start in 2025, with a 2-0 record and a big win over rival Kansas in last week’s game. They entered the AP Top 25 after that triumph over the Jayhawks.
Kickoff between Louisiana and Missouri from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium is set for Noon on Saturday.
DEJA VU?
The last time Louisiana won a road game against a ranked opponent was in the 2020 season against the Iowa State Cyclones. That was the Brock Purdy-led Cyclones team that ultimately ended up winning the Fiesta Bowl over Oregon.
That was a Cajuns team with Billy Napier as the head coach and Levi Lewis as the quarterback. Plenty has changed since then, but Michael Desormeaux does also own a win over a power-conference opponent on the road. The Cajuns defeated Wake Forest last season and will be looking to pull off another big upset on Saturday.
FANCY SEEING YOU HERE
There are two familiar faces on this Missouri team that UL has seen before: the head coach and the starting running back.
Eliah Drinkwitz was the head coach at Appalachian State in 2019, where he went 12-1. He won the Sun Belt Championship over the Cajuns that year, and Michael Desormeaux was a member of that staff.
Ahmad Hardy was a Freshman-All-American for UL Monroe last season. He played against the Cajuns in the final game of the regular season, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown. Despite Hardy’s big day, Louisiana won the game 37-23.
It remains to be seen if the Cajuns can use a bit of familiarity to their advantage on Saturday.
STRENGTH ON STRENGTH?
The Cajuns program and offense have been built on running the football for quite a while now.
That was evident on Saturday when the Vermilion and White ran for more than 300 yards on McNeese, the first time a Coach Des-led team had accomplished such a feat.
This week, however, that strength meets the Missouri front that allowed just 31 rushing yards on 19 attempts to Kansas last week. One of those has to give, and we will find out which side it is on Saturday.
SERIES RECORD: First ever meeting
STAT LEADERS:
Louisiana:
Daniel Beale: 14-28, 86 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Bill Davis: 30 Carries, 190 Yards, 2 TD
Shelton Sampson Jr: 5 Catches, 63 Yards, 0 TD
Terrence Williams, Caleb Kibodi, & Jaelen Crider: 1 Sack
Jaden Dugger & Terrence Williams: 13 Tackles
Jalen Clark: 1 INT
Tony Sterner: 4-of-6 Field Goals, Long of 51, 4-of-4 PAT
Missouri:
Beau Pribula: 53-67, 617 Yards, 5 TD, 0 INT
Ahmad Hardy: 35 Carries, 212 Yards, 2 TD
Kevin Coleman Jr: 16 Catches, 174 Yards, 1 TD
Damon Wilson II: 2 Sacks
Josiah Trotter: 13 Tackles (7 Solo)
Dante McClellan & Daylan Carnell: 1 INT
Robert Meyer: 2-of-2 Field Goals, Long of 25, 8-of-9 PAT