The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (4-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) had a decision to make on Saturday when it came to their starting quarterback against South Alabama (3-6, 2-3 Sun Belt). Head coach Mark Hudspeth took a risk in starting freshman Levi Lewis, but it wound up paying off with a 19-14 win to get back to .500 and get the first road win in the series.
Stevie Artigue showed very little rust after 16 days off with a 37-yard field goal with 4:17 left in the first quarter to give the Cajuns an early lead. Lewis got things done through the air early in the second quarter with a 54-yard pass to Michael Jacquet to take a 10-0 lead.
The Cajuns wasted little time getting back on the board with another touchdown at the 10:34 mark with Lewis finding Chase Rogers on a 13-yard pass to extend the Cajuns lead to 16-0. After another field goal from Artigue, the Jaguars cut into the Cajuns lead with a 12-yard pass from Malik Stanley to Garvin Cole to end the first half down 19-7.
The score remained that way until the final minute of the ballgame with Stanley finding Garvin once again to make it a five-point ballgame. However, JaMarcus Bradley sealed the victory for the Cajuns after he recovered the onside kick.
The Cajuns will head over to Oxford next Saturday for a matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels (4-5, 2-4 SEC) with kickoff set for 11 am.
-Clint Domingue