University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
6-6 , 3-5
ULM
2-10 , 0-8
Louisiana Sends Seniors, Cajun Field, Out In Style In Rout of ULM, 52-21
11/25/2023 7:52:00 PM | Football
Fields completes final 15 passes to set single-game completion record
Louisiana (6-6, 3-5 SBC) became one of a nation's best 12 SBC schools to become bowl eligible after scoring the most points in a game at home against ULM (2-10, 0-8 SBC) in the 58-game series. The Ragin' Cajuns 31-point margin of victory was the second-largest in school history following a 41-7 win in 1954.
The win for Louisiana, who became bowl eligible for the school-record sixth straight year, marked the final game played in Cajun Field's current configuration. The game marked the 288th in the 52-year-old facility with the West side portion of the stadium – the press box, upper deck and original seating in the lower bowl – slated to be torn down beginning in mid-December.
Replacing the structure in time for the 2025 season will be a state-of-the-art facility which contains the following: 34 suites, 40 loge boxes, 524 club seats, five lower bowl sections with chairback seating and modern and enhanced amenities for all fans.
Fields finished 18-for-20 overall through the air for 246 yards and TD passes of 24 and 28 yards to Neal Johnson. The Metairie, Louisiana native, broke Levi Lewis' single-game, school record (86.7 percent) previously set against Coastal Carolina in 2019.
The signal-caller directed Louisiana on a nine-play, 50-yard scoring drive on its opening possession, capping off the drive with a 5-yard scoring run around the left side. Zylan Perry added a 3-yard scoring run before Kenneth Almendares' 24-yard field goal gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 17-7 lead with 9:41 remaining in the first half.
ULM, which dropped its 10th straight game after a 2-0 start, closed to within 17-14 after Dylan Howell scooped up a Louisiana fumble and scored from 24 yards out before the Ragin' Cajuns scored twice in the final 2:51 of the half to take a 31-14 lead at the break.
Jacob Kibodi capped an 11-play, 86-yard drive for Louisiana with a 3-yard scoring run to give Louisiana a 24-14 lead before Jalen Clark's interception at midfield set up Fields' 24-yard scoring pass to Johnson with 32 seconds remaining in the half.
Johnson, who caught three passes for 67 yards, gave Louisiana a 38-14 lead with 13:20 remaining in the third quarter after his 28-yard scoring grab capped a four-play, 49-yard drive.
Freshman Elijah Davis added the first of a pair of rushing touchdowns for Louisiana, scoring on a 10-yard run in the third quarter before plunging in from 2 yards out in the final minute. The former Riverside Academy product led Louisiana on the ground with 109 yards on 14 carries.
Clark led Louisiana on the defensive side with a team-high eight tackles with K.C. Ossai adding seven. Tyler Guidry and Jordan Lawson each recorded a pair of sacks for the Ragin' Cajuns while Caleb Anderson thwarted a Warhawk scoring drive with an interception.
Louisiana finished with 476 yards of total offense, including 230 on the ground. The Ragin' Cajuns held ULM to 239 yards of total offense in the game with the Warhawks managing 86 yards in the air. Jiya Wright finished 6-for-10 for 66 yards with an interception for ULM with Blake Murphy finishing 3-for-10 with an interception and a fourth-quarter scoring pass to Alred Luke.
Bennett Galloway led ULM on the ground with 87 yards on 16 carries while Max Harris produced a game-high 10 stops.
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Team Stats
ULM 0, UL 7
UL - Fields,Chandler 5 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 9 plays, 50 yards, TOP 04:16
ULM 7, UL 7
ULM - Wright,Jiya 2 yd run (Guilbeau,Braxton kick), 14 plays, 77 yards, TOP 07:44
ULM 7, UL 14
UL - Perry,Zylan 3 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:04
ULM 7, UL 17
UL - Almendares,Kenneth 24 yd field goal 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 02:43
ULM 14, UL 17
ULM - Howell,Dylan 24 yd fumble recovery (Guilbeau,Braxton kick)
ULM 14, UL 24
UL - Kibodi,Jacob 3 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 11 plays, 86 yards, TOP 05:24
ULM 14, UL 31
UL - Johnson,Neal 24 yd pass from Fields,Chandler (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 5 plays, 50 yards, TOP 01:59
ULM 14, UL 38
UL - Johnson,Neal 28 yd pass from Fields,Chandler (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 4 plays, 49 yards, TOP 01:37
ULM 14, UL 45
UL - Davis,Elijah 10 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 03:08
ULM 21, UL 45
ULM - Luke,Alred 16 yd pass from Murphy,Blake (Guilbeau,Braxton kick) 13 plays, 51 yards, TOP 04:53
ULM 21, UL 52
UL - Davis,Elijah 2 yd run (Guerrieri,Alan kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:37
