University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Middle Tennessee
Cajuns Shock Middle Tennessee
11/10/2007 6:00:00 AM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns shocked Middle Tennessee 34-24 on Saturday, spoiling the Blue Raiders Senior Day and homecoming.
Louisiana (2-8, 2-3) piled-up 528 yards of total offense, more than double the 256 yards of total offense by Middle Tennessee (5-6, 4-2). In addition to allowing the fewest yards this season, the Cajuns defense recorded 14 tackles-for-loss and four sacks.
UL won the game in the second half, outscoring the Blue Raiders 20-3 and gaining 305 yards of offense compared to just 84 yards by MT.
Trailing at the half, the Cajuns took the first possession of the second half 70 yards into the end zone to tie the game. Michael Desormeaux was 5-for-6 passing on the drive for 71 yards, completing a pair of passes to Richie Falgout for 31 yards. The Cajuns overcame a first-and-25 during the drive and eventually scored on a four-yard strike to Kevin Belton.
Middle Tennessee took back the lead again, but only by three points. The Blue Raiders ensuing possession went 55 yards down to the Cajuns two-yard line. On third-and-goal, Scooter Rogers stopped Desmond Gee for a one-yard loss to keep MT out of the end zone. David DeFatta connected on a 20-yard field goal to give MT a 24-21 advantage with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cajuns drove 51 yards inside MT territory, but Desormeaux's pass was tipped and intercepted by Roy Polite in the end zone. The UL defense allowed MT to drive inside Cajuns territory, but eventually forced a Blue Raiders punt.
UL took over on their three-yard line and put together an eight-play, 97-yard drive to take their first lead of the game. Desormeaux ran three times for 11 yards and completed two passes for 57 yards, including a screen pass to Deon Wallace that turned into a 52-yard touchdown. Tyrell Fenroy added three carries on the drive for 29 yards. The Cajuns held a 28-24 edge with 10:57 left to play.
The Cajuns saw their lead increase to 10 points just 2:30 later. A brilliant defensive stand that included one of Rodney Hardeway's three sacks helped the Cajuns get the ball back near midfield.
UL needed only four plays and 59 seconds to travel 48 yards into the end zone. Jason Chery scored on a 31-yard run to give the Cajuns a 34-24 advantage with 8:27 remaining.
From there, the Cajuns defense forced a three-and-out and Gerren Blount sealed the game on the following series with his third interception of the season.
Desormeaux finished with 175 yards rushing, his sixth 100-yard effort on the season. In the process, he topped the 1,000-yard rushing plateau, becoming just the 24th quarterback in NCAA history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. He has 1,105 yards on the season, the third most in school history, and the 23rd-most in NCAA history by a quarterback.
Desormeaux also passed for 152 yards and two scores, marking the second time this season that he rushed and passed for over 150 yards in the same game.
Fenroy added exactly 100 yards, marking his fourth 100-yard game of the season and his school record 15th career 100-yard performance.
Seven different players had a reception for the Cajuns, with Fenroy and Chery each recording three catches.
Middle Tennessee jumped out to a quick 14-point lead in the first half. After the teams traded punts on their opening possessions, MT used excellent field position to score the game's first touchdown. Starting from their 45-yard line, the Blue Raiders used a mixture of running and passing plays to move into the Cajuns red zone. An incomplete pass and rush for loss created a third-and-goal from the 11-yard line. Joe Craddock found Jonathan Grigsby in the end zone to put the hosts in front 7-0 at the 8:18 mark.
After a nice defensive stand, the Cajuns found themselves starting near midfield. A 10-yard run by Chery moved UL to the MT 41-yard line, but Desormeaux was intercepted by Rod Isaac to end the threat.
The Blue Raiders converted the turnover into points. MT moved 48 yards in six plays, doing most of their damage on the ground. Facing a third-and-17 from the Cajuns 32-yard line, Craddock under threw a deep ball down the middle that was tipped by Torres Kingsby. The ball ricocheted into the hands of Taron Henry who strolled into the end zone.
Louisiana responded with an 11-play scoring drive. The Cajuns ran the ball 10 times for 57 yards, culminating with a one-yard touchdown run by Wallace. Wallace had three carries on the drive for 13 yards, while Fenroy ran six times for 33 yards. Desormeaux added an 11-yard rush. UL gained five first downs on the drive and only faced one third down.
The Cajuns defense immediately forced a three-and-out to get the offense back the ball. Things looked bleak for UL, as the Cajuns faced a third-and-18 from their 12-yard line. Desormeaux dropped back to pass, but was forced to scramble. He found a seam, made a few moves and received good downfield blocking from his receivers. The junior quarterback cut back across the field and raced down the sideline before stepping out of bounds at the two-yard line. His 86-yard run marked the second longest rush in school history and set-up a two-yard touchdown run by Fenroy to tie the game at 14-14.
Middle Tennessee countered with a five-play, 54-yard scoring drive in 2:09 to take back the lead. The drive's key plays were a 39-yard run by Gee and a pass interference penalty against the Cajuns in the end zone. DeMarco McNair gave the hosts a 21-14 lead with a one-yard plunge at 1:35 of the second quarter.
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