With Thursday night’s win over Troy University, Louisiana football set a new milestone. For the third season in a row, the Cajuns are Bowl Eligible. This year, it is no surprise that their eyes are fixed upon the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, where they have earned back to back Championships in 2011 and 2012.
Looking Forward
Getting to this 7-2 mark with a perfect 4-0 in the Sun Belt Conference didn’t come easy. Louisiana Football has won 5 straight games since losing to Kansas and Arkansas at the start of their season. On the other hand, Troy University is still trying to find conference wins to get them into the post season. The Sun Belt Conference sends a second bowl eligible team to the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile. Troy is currently in 4th place and after Thursday’s loss, slipped to 5-5 overall. They meet Texas State and Old Miss to finish off their season.
Offense then Defense
Troy and Louisiana both put on an offensive show in the first half of Thursday night’s game. Troy is 15th overall in FBS rankings for their passing game, averaging 325 yards per game. Troy’s offensive power kept the game close through the first half. At halftime, they headed into the tunnels down by just nine points, 35-26.
The second half of the game was a defensive stand. The third quarter had only a field goal by Troy, which brought the score within a touchdown. For the fourth quarter, it was back to the races in a tug of war with the Cajuns scoring within the first minute, but then failing to capitalize on the two point conversion. With 7 minutes remaining, Troy found the end zone with Eric Thomas grabbing a short 3 yard pass from QB Corey Robinson. With their PAT, Troy was still 5 points short and that’s how the game ended, 36-41.
Keeping those Dreams Alive
Win this win, Louisiana keeps their R+L Bowl hopes alive, eradicating an 0-2 start with seven straight wins. Arkansas State, their closest competition, stayed within striking distance with a 42-14 drubbing of Louisiana-Monroe. Conference USA teams have been keeping the pedal down as well, with East Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Marshall, and North Texas all pulling out wins. Tulane and Rice are also in the hunt, but suffered losses last week. Visit our blog this Thursday to check in on C-USA’s matchup this week.
