University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Saturday, September 16
Birmingham, Ala.
6:00 p.m.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

2-1 , 0-1

41
at
21

UAB

1-2 , 0-0

Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Final F
Louisiana02410741
UAB0031821
Zeon Chriss

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

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Zeon Chriss, replacing injured starter Ben Wooldridge in the first quarter, recorded career highs in both rushing and passing and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns used a 24-point second quarter after a nearly 90-minute lightning delay to earn a 41-21 victory over UAB on Saturday at Protective Stadium.
 
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.
 
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
 
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@RaginCajuns) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Athletics.
 

Players Mentioned

TE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
S
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football

Team Stats

LA
UAB
Total Yards
513
396
Pass Yards
208
280
Rushing Yards
305
116
Penalty Yards
65
98
1st Downs
22
21
3rd Downs
5
3
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
29:05
30:55
2nd Quarter
Logo

LA 7, UAB 0

LA - Kibodi,Jacob 30 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 4 plays, 59 yards, TOP 01:05

Logo

LA 14, UAB 0

LA - Chriss,Zeon 80 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:16

Logo

LA 21, UAB 0

LA - Chriss,Zeon 6 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:02

Logo

LA 24, UAB 0

LA - Almendares,Kenneth 46 yd field goal 4 plays, -7 yards, TOP 00:47

3rd Quarter
Logo

LA 27, UAB 0

LA - Almendares,Kenneth 37 yd field goal 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:56

Logo

LA 27, UAB 3

UAB - Quinn,Matt 41 yd field goal 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 03:32

Logo

LA 34, UAB 3

LA - Carter,Terrance 11 yd pass from Chriss,Zeon (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:07

4th Quarter
Logo

LA 41, UAB 3

LA - Davis,Elijah 2 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:39

Logo

LA 41, UAB 9

UAB - Zeno,Jacob 2 yd run (), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:01

Logo

LA 41, UAB 15

UAB - Beebe,Lee 1 yd run (), 2 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:49

Logo

LA 41, UAB 21

UAB - Rudolph,Samario 17 yd pass from Zeno,Jacob () 7 plays, 28 yards, TOP 01:14

Game Leaders

CMP
14
TD
1
YDS
174
INT
0
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
34
INT
1
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
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