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The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns came off their bye week by welcoming an in-state foe in the Tulane Green Wave to Cajun Field for a nationally-televised game.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
On the second Louisiana possession, the Cajuns benefitted from a pair of pass interference calls against the Green Wave and a chunk play to Jaydon Johnson before the 79-yard drive was capped off by a two-yard touchdown run from Ben Wooldridge to give Louisiana the 7-0 lead halfway through the first quarter.
Tulane responded with a time-consuming, 15-play drive resulting in a Ty Thompson sneak touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.
Louisiana regained the lead in the second quarter with an 11-play, 72-yard drive before Tulane held the Cajuns to a 20-yard field goal from Kenneth Almendares to take a 10-7 lead. Right before the two-minute warning, Tulane answered with a field goal of their own to once again tie the game at 10-10.
Tulane regained the lead on the next possession with a 38-yard pick-six from Jack Tchienchou to make it 17-10 with 1:40 left in the first half. Louisiana responded with a quick drive down the field with another Almendares field goal to make it 17-13 at the break.
The Green Wave returned the opening kickoff of the second half 95 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-13. Louisiana then answered with a 74-yard run by Bill Davis put them inside the five and Wooldridge found Caden Jensen in the back of the endzone for the touchdown, but an unsuccessful two-point try kept it 24-19 with 13:06 left in the third quarter.
The contest quickly turned into a shootout with Tulane driving 73 yards on eight plays when Mensah found Reggie Brown for a 33 yard touchdown before the Cajuns came with a four-play 72 yard drive finished off by Wooldridge’s second touchdown pass of the game, this time finding Terrance Carter for a 36-yard strike to make it 31-26 with 6:42 left in the third.
The back and forth continued as Makai Hughes continued to thrash the Louisiana defense, capping off a 73-yard drive with a Hughes touchown to make it 38-26 late in the third.
Louisiana started the fourth with a touchdown drive that went 75 yards in nine plays before Wooldridge foudn the endzone again from two yards away to make it 38-33 early in the final frame.
The Green Wave then topok eight minutes off the clock before a 38-yard field goal from Ethan Head to make it 41-33 with 5:42 left.
Louisiana quickly turned the ball over on downs, but a missed field goal gave the Cajuns the ball back with three minutes to go. However, a couple of penalties and missed opportunities cost the Cajuns ate as they fell to Tulane 41-33.
BIG NUMBER: 272
Tulane had a dominant performance on the ground, rushing for 272 yards including 169 yards from Makhi Hughes.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Makhi Hughes
Tulane’s running back had a steallar day, rushing for 169 yards on 23 carries including a touchdown.
UP NEXT: Louisiana will head on the road to Wake Forest next Saturday. Kickoff from Winston-Salem is set for 2:30 p.m.