The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (2-4, 1-1 SBC) return to Lafayette for Homecoming as they play host to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (4-2, 2-0 SBC) on Saturday. The matchup renews the rivalry between the two teams and marks the first Sun Belt West matchup for the Cajuns this season.
The Cajuns fell on the road against James Madison a week ago. Louisiana had a halftime lead of 14-7 but was outscored 17-0 in the second half and fell 24-14 to the East division favorites of the SBC.
The Golden Eagles last played on Thursday, October 9th when they defeated Georgia Southern 38-35. They did give up a big lead but ultimately held on to remain unbeaten in SBC play so far.
Kickoff between Louisiana and Southern Miss from Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium is set for 4 PM central on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH… KIND OF
Louisiana technically already had their SBC Championship rematch, a game they won 54-51 in double overtime a couple of weeks back. Marshall was the opponent, but the head coach and most of the roster was completely different from the December championship tilt.
Much of that roster and the head coach Charles Huff now reside in Hattiesburg, as he took over Southern Miss this offseason. That makes this matchup between UL and USM a bit spicier, which is already a fairly heated rivalry.
Among the players that went with Huff to his new destination was Braylon Braxton, who will start at quarterback. Braxton had a big game the last time he faced the Cajuns, throwing a couple touchdowns and accounting for more than 250 yards.
A ROUGH HISTORY
The Cajuns have historically had their struggles with the Golden Eagles. Despite winning the first ever matchup 66-0 back in 1923, UL has won just 11 times since in 54 tries.
Recently, things have been dominated by USM, as they had won 11 straight before UL got the win in Hattiesburg last season. The Cajuns won seven straight to start the series in the 20s and early 30s, but it has been mostly all USM since then.
IT’S STILL LUNCH TIME
The Cajuns got a surprise at this week’s media availability. Quarterback Walker Howard, who was injured in the first game of the season and has been out ever since, is returning to full practice this week much earlier than expected.
While Coach Michael Desormeaux announced that news, he was quick to follow it up by saying that Lunch Winfield is still the starting quarterback and that he is playing too well to give up the role right now.
Still, the return of Howard gives the Cajuns more depth at a position that has been snake-bitten with injuries in recent years. It will likely depend on how Howard performs in practice this week as to just how involved he is in the short-term plans for this team.
SERIES RECORD: Southern Miss leads 42-12-1
LAST FIVE MEETINGS:
2024: LOUISIANA 23 – SOUTHERN MISS 13
2023: LOUISIANA 31 – SOUTHERN MISS 34 (OT)
2022: LOUISIANA 24 – SOUTHERN MISS 39
2016: LOUISIANA 21 – SOUTHERN MISS 28
2008: LOUISIANA 21 – SOUTHERN MISS 51
STAT LEADERS:
Louisiana:
Lunch Winfield: 23-49, 372 Yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Zylan Perry: 59 Carries, 411 Yards, 5 TD
Rober Williams: 14 Catches, 223 Yards, 0 TD
Jaelen Crider: 1.5 Sacks
Jaden Dugger: 52 Tackles (24 solo)
4 Players Tied: 1 INT
Tony Sterner: 8-of-12 Field Goals, Long of 51, 17-of-17 PAT
Southern Miss:
Braylon Braxton: 128-196, 1,473 Yards, 13 TD, 3 INT
Jefferey Pittman: 74 Carries, 346 Yards, 6 TD
Carl Chester: 16 Catches, 267 Yards, 2 TD
J’Mond Tapp: 4 Sacks
Chris Jones: 64 Tackles (20 solo)
3 Players Tied: 2 INT
Reed Harradine: 5-of-8 Field Goals, Long of 43, 13-of-13 PAT