LAFAYETTE, La. — App State Football fought back from a series of hard-to-believe developments in the fourth quarter to give itself a chance for a comeback road victory, but Louisiana pulled out a 34-24 win in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday night.
Kanye Roberts rushed for a career-high 148 yards on 26 attempts and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, while
Kaedin Robinson had seven catches for 96 yards to lead the offense.
Jordan Favors made a critical interception deep in App State territory with the Mountaineers trailing by three points in the final six minutes, but their third turnover of the fourth quarter and fourth turnover of the game set up an outcome-sealing touchdown on quarterback Ben Wooldridge's 1-yard sneak with 1:03 left. The Ragin' Cajuns forced another turnover in the final minute.
Trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, App State (2-4, 0-3) moved inside the UL 20 on a first-down run but lost a fumble that Justin Agu picked up and returned 68 yards to the Mountaineers' 17. With one half of the stadium closed because of construction and limited ability to see when the ball popped out from a large crowd, the on-field call of a fumble stood, and a penalty for a horse collar stop on the lengthy return gave the Ragin' Cajuns (5-1, 2-0) a first down at the App State 8.
Louisiana back Bill Davis mishandled the exchange with Wooldridge, kicking the ball through traffic into the end zone, and offensive lineman Landon Burton split two defenders to fall on the loose ball for an improbable touchdown. The Ragin' Cajuns intercepted a 50-50 deep ball at the UL 28 on the very next play, capping a 26-second stretch that needed to be seen to be believed.
App State's defense came up with a huge three-and-out stop, getting a third-and-short tackle from
Kyle Arnholt, and
Joey Aguilar completed three passes to Robinson to start a bounce-back drive that ended on
Eli Wilson's 26-yard touchdown reception with 8:06 remaining.
The Mountaineers regained possession at their 16 with 5:36 left when Favors intercepted a deep throw, but a desperate heave on a third-and-4 from the App State 35 was tipped and intercepted by Tyrone Lewis.
App State's defense again stood strong, putting Louisiana into a fourth-and-4 situation from the 26 with 2:11 left, but Wooldridge rolled right and completed a pass to Lance LeGendre crossing over the middle for a gain of 16 yards. His late touchdown pushed the margin to double figures, and Louisiana produced a fourth interception in the final minute.
Roberts came through in the first half with an all-around effort, rushing for 68 yards on App State's first touchdown drive and scoring a 15-yard touchdown on a toe-scraping, tackle-breaking reception off a screen pass into the flat.
App State received to open the game and allowed a field goal on the drive that followed an early punt. After that, it was a case of the defense giving up a big play after an offensive highlight and then the offense making a big mistake after a defensive highlight.
Roberts had 10 runs on a 13-play scoring march, including a 17-yard scamper into the red zone, to set up Aguilar's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end
David Larkins.
On the next play from scrimmage, Wooldridge threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to H-back Terrance Carter, who caught the ball ahead of three defenders and ran free after they all converged in an unsuccessful attempt to bring him down at the App State 42.
The Mountaineers' defense forced only the eighth punt of the season from Louisiana to end the next series, keyed by nose
Joshua Donald's stop for a 1-yard loss on a third-and-1 run from the UL 31, but Tyree Skipper intercepted a deep pass on the first play of App State's next drive and returned the ball 16 yards to the Mountaineers' 33.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored another touchdown five plays later when a well-protected Wooldridge completed a third-and-7 pass for an 8-yard touchdown to Harvey Broussard in the back of the end zone.
That score gave Louisiana a 17-7 lead with 1:55 remaining before halftime, but App State answered with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took less than 90 seconds. Aguilar delivered third-down passes to
Makai Jackson (for 9 yards on third and 5) and Wilson (for 24 yards on third and 10). A defensive pass interference moved the ball to the 5 before intentional grounding backed it up to the 15, and Roberts broke several tackles over the final 5 yards of his 15-yard touchdown.
A long kick return helped Louisiana move into position for a long-shot field goal to end the half, and a 60-yard attempt with enough distance sailed wide left.
After App State forced a punt to open the third quarter, Aguilar led an 11-play, 44-yard scoring drive that included a second-effort conversion on a fourth-and-3 keeper from the UL 45. Six plays later,
Jackson Moore drilled his second career field goal with a season-long kick of 44 yards to tie the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns responded with their own scoring drive, making a 53-yard field goal to move ahead 20-17 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
From there, it was about missed chances for the Mountaineers.
