CAJUNS TAKE A LATE “LUNCH,” EARNS EPIC COMEBACK WIN, 54-51

Louisiana rallies from 17-point second half deficit to defeat Marshall in double overtime

LAFAYETTE – Lunch Winfield came off the bench to account for five touchdowns – including his 10-yard rushing TD – to lead a historic comeback for Louisiana in a 54-51 double overtime victory over Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.

Winfield rushed for 129 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns while completing 7 of 13 passes for 125 yards and two scores, including a game-tying 24-yard strike to Dale Martin with 16 seconds remaining in regulation.

Louisiana (2-3, 1-0 SBC), playing without four starters on offense and five of its top six tackles, trailed 34-17 midway through the third quarter before staging its biggest comeback since trailing ULM, 26-0, in the third quarter before scoring 40 unanswered points in a 40-26 win in 1982.

“I don’t know if there’s a whole lot to say. I mean, I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a group of people in my life than these guys right here,” head coach Michael Desormeaux said. “Everything that they’ve been through … we knew we were going to have to scratch out a win, and that’s what it’s going to be the rest of the year.

“I told them before, I didn’t know how, but we were going to have to find a way to win at some point. To be down 17 points like we were early in the third quarter, that just tells me everything I need to know about this group.”

Winfield scored his first collegiate touchdown with a 6-yard run in the second quarter to give the Ragin’ Cajuns their first lead of the night at 17-10 with 1:43 remaining before Marshall (2-3, 0-1 SBC) drove 75 yards in eight plays to tie the game with Demarcus Lacey scoring on a 32-yard pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.

The Thundering Herd, who earned a 31-3 win over Louisiana in last season’s SBC Championship Game, reclaimed the lead at 24-17 two plays into the third quarter when Michael Allen scored on a 68-yard TD run down the right sideline.

Marshall would record a pair of interceptions on the following two drives, beginning with Paul Hutson III’s 45-yard return for a touchdown before Boogie Trotter’s interception which led to a Lorcan Quinn’s 30-yard field goal for a 34-17 lead with 6:55 remaining.

Winfield replace UL starter Daniel Beale on the ensuing possession and engineered an 11-play drive, which resulted in Tony Sterner’s 35-yard field goal and closed the gap to 34-20.

After Quinn hooked a 52-yard field goal attempt wide left, Louisiana drove 65 yards in six plays with Winfield capping the drive with a 2-yard run with 10:16 remaining. The Lutcher native opened the drive with a 38-yard scamper off right tackle and added a 10-yard run on third-and-7 to the Marshall 14.

The Louisiana defense got a stop on Marshall’s ensuing drive as Collin Jacob and Jake St. Andre combined on a sack of Del Rio-Wilson, forcing a punt and giving the Ragin’ Cajuns a chance to tie.

Winfield, who missed his first four passes before completing seven of his final nine, connected with Charles Robertson on a 16-yard strike on third-and-14 from the UL 15 before the tandem connected again three plays later on a game-tying 45-yard TD strike with 4:27 left.

After Marshall took a 41-34 lead on Lacey’s 27-yard TD pass from Del Rio-Wilson with 1:01 remaining, Winfield and Louisiana would rally to score to send the game to overtime.

A Marshall penalty on fourth-and-1 at the UL 44 extended Louisiana’s drive as Winfield connected with Landon Strother on a 12-yard pass and Zylan Perry on a 15-yard completion to the Marshall 26 before Martin – a former walk-on and redshirt senior making his first career start – hauling in a 24-yard pass on the following play for his first career touchdown.

Perry opened the first overtime period with a 25-yard run on the Ragin’ Cajuns first play before Marshall would knot the game on its first possession in the extra period as Del Rio-Wilson found Adrian Norton on a 3-yard pass on fourth-and-goal.

Marshall would get a 46-yard field goal from Quinn to start the second overtime before Winfield carried the on the final four plays of a five-play drive, including his game-winner.

“I knew from Week One, when we sat in here really disappointed,” said Desormeaux, “I knew we had a chance to have a really good football team. I still feel like we have enough to make a run and do some good things, but the reality of it is the belief just has to be there even when it’s difficult.

“Our players were outstanding. The guys that stepped up — Charles Robertson, and obviously Lunch, and Jax (Harrington) moving to tackle — you can’t say enough about it. There’s a ton of individual efforts that are unbelievable. I’m just really proud, and I couldn’t be happier for a group of people than I am for those guys in that locker room.”

Jacob, a Loreauville native and former walk-on seeing his first significant action, recorded a career-high 14 tackles to lead Louisiana with St. Andre finishing with nine stops.

Strother caught three passes to lead Louisiana with Robertson, Martin, Perry and Trey Miller each adding a pair. Perry added 75 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, including a 19-yard run in the second quarter to cap an 8-play, 75-yard drive.

Louisiana will take the first of its two open dates next weekend before resuming play on Saturday, October 11, when it travels to Harrisonburg, Va., to face James Madison in a Sun Belt Conference game.

Single-game tickets are available for as low as $25 and can be purchased through RaginCajuns.com and its social media platforms (Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram).