University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
2-1 , 0-1
UAB
1-2 , 0-0
Lightning Strikes As Chriss, Louisiana Beat UAB, 41-21
9/16/2023 11:25:00 PM | Football
Cajuns hand UAB second of five home losses since 2017
Louisiana (2-1), which will return home to entertain Mid-American Conference member Buffalo next Saturday at Cajun Field, harassed UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno all night as the Ragin' Cajuns defense picked off a pair of passes and recorded seven sacks.
The 20-point margin of victory for the Ragin' Cajuns was their largest in a non-conference road game since a season-opening, 42-14 win at Liberty in 2021. Louisiana claimed its third straight win over American Athletic Conference newcomer UAB (1-2) in the eight-game series and was the Cajuns' second road victory over the Blazers, who entered with a 30-4 home record since 2017.
Chriss, who overcame an 0-for-4 through the air, finished 14-for-20 overall for 174 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 103 yards on six carries – including a back-breaking 80-yard TD run one play after Tyler Guidry's interception in the end zone which helped Louisiana maintain a 7-0 lead.
The redshirt freshman came in after Wooldridge went down with a lower leg injury on the Cajuns' opening drive of the game.
After a scoreless first quarter, the game was halted for 1 hour, 51 minutes after heavy thunderstorms rolled through the Birmingham area.
Once the game resumed, it was all Louisiana.
Jacob Kibodi rushed for a career-high 108 yards – his second 100-yard game of his career and the first since rushing for a then 101 yards against Louisiana in 2017 when he played at Texas A&M. The senior opened the scoring for Louisiana when he scored untouched on a 30-yard run up the middle for a 7-0 lead.
UAB had a chance to tie the game on the following possession, driving into the Louisiana red zone before Guidry hauled in his first career interception.
Chriss added a 6-yard scoring run for Louisiana in the second quarter and Kenneth Almendares closed out the half with a 46-yard field goal for a 24-0 lead at the break.
Terrance Carter caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Chriss in the third quarter before freshman Elijah Davis scored his first career touchdown on a 2-yard run.
Cameron Whitfield recorded 2.5 sacks for Louisiana with Kendre Gant picking up a pair. Tyree Skipper picked off a pass for the Ragin' Cajuns with Guidry, Tyrone Lewis, Jasper Williams and Jordan Lawson each gaining a sack.
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Team Stats
LA 7, UAB 0
LA - Kibodi,Jacob 30 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 4 plays, 59 yards, TOP 01:05
LA 14, UAB 0
LA - Chriss,Zeon 80 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:16
LA 21, UAB 0
LA - Chriss,Zeon 6 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:02
LA 24, UAB 0
LA - Almendares,Kenneth 46 yd field goal 4 plays, -7 yards, TOP 00:47
LA 27, UAB 0
LA - Almendares,Kenneth 37 yd field goal 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:56
LA 27, UAB 3
UAB - Quinn,Matt 41 yd field goal 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 03:32
LA 34, UAB 3
LA - Carter,Terrance 11 yd pass from Chriss,Zeon (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:07
LA 41, UAB 3
LA - Davis,Elijah 2 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:39
LA 41, UAB 9
UAB - Zeno,Jacob 2 yd run (), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:01
LA 41, UAB 15
UAB - Beebe,Lee 1 yd run (), 2 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:49
LA 41, UAB 21
UAB - Rudolph,Samario 17 yd pass from Zeno,Jacob () 7 plays, 28 yards, TOP 01:14
