Louisiana Travels to No. 23 Iowa State for Season Opener

LAFAYETTE – Coming off its best season in school history, Louisiana Football will open the 2020 season in Ames, Iowa, for its first-ever meeting with the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Sept. 12, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.

The program was stellar in 2019, compiling an 11-3 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Sun Belt Conference play before capping off the year with a 27-17 win over Miami (Ohio) in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl.

Iowa State finished last season at 7-6 and ended its 2019 season losing to Notre Dame 33-9 in the Camping World Bowl.

With a victory, it will be the Ragin' Cajuns' first-ever win over a Big 12 opponent since defeating Kansas State, 17-15, in Lafayette on Sept. 12, 2009, and their first-ever win over a ranked opponent on the road.

Who: Louisiana (0-0, 0-0 SBC) at No. 23 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Where: Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa
When: Saturday, Sept. 12 – 11 a.m. (CST)
Watch: ESPN
On the Call: Tom Hart (play-by-play), Mike Golic (color), Cole Cubelic (sideline)
Listen: ESPN1420
On the Call: Jay Walker (play-by-play), Gerald Broussard (color), Cody Junot (sideline)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A

Game Notes:
For Coach Looney
• The Louisiana Football team continues to mourn the sudden loss of assistant coach D.J. Looney, who passed away on Saturday, Aug. 1, following a heart attack during a team workout.
• Looney, 31, was entering his third season on staff, working specifically with the offensive line.

What are they Ranked?
• Louisiana is facing off with a ranked opponent for the first time since 2018 when it took on No. 1 Alabama.
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 1-28 all-time against ranked opposition and 0-26 against those opponents away from home.
• The team's lone win against a ranked opponent came on Sept. 14, 1996, when the Ragin' Cajuns defeated No. 25 Texas A&M, 29-22, Cajun Field.

Defend the West
• Louisiana enters the 2020 season as the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt West Division, the second-straight season it was tabbed to do so.
• The Ragin' Cajuns earned seven of 10 total first-place votes.

Preseason Honors
• The Ragin' Cajuns picked up 10 selections on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Teams. Elijah Mitchell, Joe Dillon and Rhys Byrns all landed on the First Team, while Levi Lewis, Trey Ragas, Max Mitchell, O'Cyrus Torrence, Zi'Yon Hill and Eric Garror picked up Second Team honors.

Points Per Game
• Louisiana joins Oklahoma, Alabama, Memphis, SMU, FAU and Clemson as the only teams who enter the 2020 season with a streak of scoring 25 or more points in its last eight games.

Levi's Back
• Levi Lewis joins Ohio State's Justin Fields as the only two returning quarterbacks that threw for more than 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and less than five interceptions in 2019.
• He is one of just 15 quarterbacks to accomplish that feat in the last 20 years

Bosses in the Backfield
• Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas are the only two running backs in the country that share the same backfield who have recorded 1,100+ rushing yard seasons in separate years.

Close to History
• Joe Dillon now has 19.5 sacks in his career, 1.5 sacks shy of tying Jeff Mitchell and Christian Ringo for the most sacks in a career.

Louisiana Travels to No. 23 Iowa State for Season Opener

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Players Mentioned

Rhys Byrns

Joe Dillon

Eric Garror

Zi'Yon Hill-Green

Levi Lewis

Elijah Mitchell

Max Mitchell

Trey Ragas

Christian Ringo

O'Cyrus Torrence

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