Louisiana piles up school-record 759 yards of total offense in homecoming blowout
LAFAYETTE – Andre Nunez completed 19 of 25 passes for a career-high 315 yards and tied a school-record with five touchdown passes as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns piled up a school-record 759 yards of total offense and defeated New Mexico State, 66-38, on Saturday for homecoming at Cajun Field.
Earnest Patterson recorded a career-high 114 yards receiving while Elijah Mitchell rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns as Louisiana (3-3) scored on all seven first-half drives before punting to open the second half.
Nunez tossed three TDs in the first quarter, beginning with a 50-yard catch and run by Ja’Marcus Bradley before hitting Jarrod Jackson on a 30-yard strike and Trey Ragas on an 11-yard score.
The senior quarterback a 22-yard scoring pass to Jackson in the second quarter before his 31-yard scoring strike to Rhyeem Malone in the third quarter tied the single-game record held by Jake Delhomme against Northern Illinois in 1996.
Patterson added a school-record sixth receiving TD in a game after taking a second-quarter lateral from Jackson and racing 79 yards a 28-14 lead with 2:04 remaining in the first quarter.
Mitchell, who ran for a career-high 191 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 42-27 win at Texas State, gave Louisiana a 35-14 lead in the second quarter on a 31-yard TD before adding TDs of 36 and 9 yards in the fourth.
Louisiana gained 344 yards on the ground against NM State (2-5) while throwing for 415 yards through the air. Trey Ragas added 94 yards on the ground on a game-high carries for Louisiana with Raymond Calais adding 90 yards on 10 attempts.
Josh Adkins completed 25 of 44 passes for 284 yards with a touchdown for NM State with Josh Huntley recording 373 all-purpose yards – the second highest in school history. Huntley, who scored on an 87-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, led the Aggies with 85 yards rushing, 112 yards receiving and 176 yards in kick returns.
Louisiana will return to Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday (Oct. 20) when it travels to Boone, N.C., to face Appalachian State in a 2:30 p.m. CDT game.
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NOTES –
Matt Sullivan
Associate Director of Athletics Communications
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