LAFAYETTE, La. — A second half surge by UL Lafayette pushed the Ragin' Cajuns to a 49-27 victory over the Texas State football team Saturday evening. The Bobcats took the lead early and managed to go into the half tied with the Cajuns, but 35 second half points for UL Lafayette proved to be the deciding factor in the Bobcat defeat.
How It Happened: After holding UL Lafayette (2-3, 1-0 SBC) scoreless on its opening drive with a turnover on downs, Texas State (1-4, 0-1 SBC) came down and took its first lead in school history over the Cajuns on a 37-yard pass from
Tyler Jones to
Robert Lowe. The Bobcats moved the ball well on its opening drive, using just two minutes and 22 seconds to progress 68 yards on seven plays.
Texas State scored its second touchdown of the first quarter after UL Lafayette countered the first Bobcat touchdown with one of its own. Jones ran the ball in for 31 yards to give Texas State the lead once again.
With 35 seconds remaining before the intermission, UL Lafayette tied up the contest on a 17-yard pass to the back of the endzone.
Out of the gates in the second half, Texas State struggled to move the football. Back-to-back penalties on the opening drive of the half stuck Texas State inside their own 10-yard line and from there the momentum started to swing in favor of UL Lafayette. Once the Ragin' Cajuns forced Texas State to punt, they quickly used three plays to move the ball 45 yards for a touchdown and to take the lead for good from the Bobcats.
UL Lafayette scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter before
Brandon Smith recorded his third career kick-off return for 95 yards to make it just a two TD lead for the Ragin' Cajuns. The Cajuns, on cue, returned their next kick-off return for 100 yards to nullify Smith's touchdown.
The Ragin' Cajuns finished the game with 526 yards while limiting the Bobcats to just 351.
Who Stood Out: Tyler Siudzinski recorded his first touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Bobcats …
Lumi Kaba recorded two punts of 50+ yards for the first time since doing so twice against Florida State … Kaba's punt of 60 yards in the third quarter was a career-high …
Damani Alexcee tallied double-digit tackles for the first time in his career … he finished the night with 12 …
Brandon Smith recorded his third career kick-off return … all three of his KO returns have been against UL Lafayette, at Cajun Field.
What It Means: Texas State falls to 1-4 for the first time since the 2006 season. The Bobcats finished that season with a 4-6 overall record. The Bobcats are also 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference openers since joining the league in 2013. Both defeats are to UL Lafayette.
Up Next: Texas State will have its second bye week of the season next week before hosting South Alabama at home on October 24.
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