The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns have been on a roll, winning four in a row. Most recently, the Vermilion and White went on the road and defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 34-24.
Their next opponent will be the Texas State Bobcats, a team the Cajuns have had much success against. The Bobcats began the season 2-0 before losing three out of their last five games, most recently losing 24-14 to Old Dominion on the road.
Kickoff inside Bobcat Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
DOMINANT HISTORY
In the 11 times these two programs have faced each other, Louisiana’s come out on top every single time.
The series began in 2013 when the Bobcats visited the Cajuns. Louisiana came out on top in that one 48-24 as quarterback Terrance Broadway finished the day with 335 yards and four touchdowns on 18 completions.
Since then, they’ve played yearly, altering host sites between Lafayette and San Marcos as the Cajuns have won the other 10 contests. The closest Texas State came to getting their first win against Louisiana was last season when they lost 34-30.
SHINY NEW QB
Texas State acquired one of the best Sun Belt quarterbacks from last year, Jordan McCloud. The senior signal caller was a member of James Madison last season as he led the Dukes to an 11-2 record.
In his seven games with the Bobcats, McCloud has completed 68.5% of his passes for almost 1,900 yards and 20 touchdowns. McCloud has also been a threat with his legs as he’s rushed for over 200 yards and five touchdowns.
The Cajuns had a QB battle over the offseason and decided to name Ben Wooldridge as the starter. Wooldridge has since thrown for the sixth-most yards in the conference and has nearly a 4-1 touchdown-interception ratio.
UP THE CHARTS
In their win against Coastal Carolina, Cajuns kicker Kenneth Almendares scored 10 more points (four extra points and two field goals).
That puts Almendares at 303 career points scored heading into Tuesday night’s contest. The senior is eight points away from overtaking former kicker Stevie Artigue as second on the program’s all-time scoring list.
Elijah McGuire remains the all-time scoring leader with 318 career points. Almendares would have to average three points per game over the last five regular-season games
SERIES RECORD: Louisiana leads 11-0
Last 5 Meetings:
2023: LOUISIANA 34 – TEXAS STATE 30
2022: LOUISIANA 41 – TEXAS STATE 13
2021: LOUISIANA 45 – TEXAS STATE 0
2020: LOUISIANA 44 – TEXAS STATE 34
2019: LOUISIANA 31 – TEXAS STATE 3
STAT LEADERS:
Louisiana
Ben Wooldridge: 142-204, 1,785 Yards, 15 TD, 4 INT
Bill Davis: 80 Carries, 509 Yards, 3 TD
Terrence Carter: 29 Catches, 465 Yards, 4 TD
Cameron Whitfield: 5 Sacks
K.C. Ossai: 59 Tackles (31 Solo)
Tyree Skipper: 3 INT
Kenneth Almendares: 14-of-16 Field Goals, Long of 53, 26-of-26 PAT
Texas State
Jordan McCloud: 159-232, 1,891 Yards, 20 TD, 7 INT
Ismail Mahdi: 122 Carries, 646 Yards, 2 TD
Joey Hobert: 48 Catches, 499 Yards, 7 TD
Kalil Alexander: 5 Sacks
Jordan Polk: 43 Tackles (23 Solo)
Treylin Payne, Bobby Crosby & Ben Bell: 1 INT
Mason Shipley: 6-of-10 Field Goals, Long of 60, 29-of-30 PAT