LAFAYETTE, La. (11/9/24) – Arkansas State football could not overcome an early deficit on Saturday night at Cajun Field, falling 55-19 to Louisiana.
The Red Wolves (5-4, 3-2 SBC) totaled 401 yards of offense, including 209 on the ground, but could not overtake the Ragin' Cajuns' (8-1, 5-0) balanced attack of 301 yards passing and 278 rushing.
Ja'Quez Cross rushed for 81 yards on the ground, while
Zak Wallace (5 rushes, 51 yards) and
Timmy McClain (3 rushes, 21 yards) recorded rushing scores.
Jaylen Raynor passed for 167 yards and a touchdown pass to
Adam Jones, completing 23 of 35 pass attempts.
Corey Rucker led the way in receiving with six catches for 73 yards.
Defensively,
Dontay Joyner tallied a team-high seven tackles, including a career-high six solos.
Louisiana led 10-0 after one quarter on a 20-yard pass from Ben Wooldridge to Harvey Broussard, followed by a 44-yard field goal by Kenny Almendares.
The Cajuns' ground game accounted for three scores in the second quarter, with Dre'lyn Washington (46 yards), Zylan Perry (4 yards) and Bill Davis (13 yards) finding the end zone to push the score to 31-0.
Seven seconds before halftime, Raynor linked up with Jones for a 16-yard pass, but the 2-point try was no good to put the halftime score at 31-6.
Almendares tacked on a 45-yard kick to open the second half, but A-State answered with a 13-yard rushing touchdown by Wallace to make it 34-12. Davis (10 yards), Washington (14 yards) and Chandler Fields (12 yards) accounted for 21 unanswered to cap the Cajuns' scoring, with McClain finding the paint on a 10-yard rushing touchdown to end the night.
Arkansas State returns to action Saturday, Nov. 16, traveling to Georgia State. Kickoff against the Panthers is set for 4 p.m. CT at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network as well as the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
