Louisiana limits USM to 17 yards in second half; Whitfield ties record with four sacks
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Louisiana’s defense pitched a shutout in the second half and Kenneth Almendares hit two second-half field goals as the Ragin’ Cajuns opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 23-13 victory over Southern Mississippi here Saturday.
The Cajuns (4-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) took their first win at USM’s M. M. Roberts Stadium since 1989 and snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles dating back to 1993. The Golden Eagles (1-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) had won seven straight home games in the series and had won the first two Sun Belt meetings since USM joined the league for the 2022 season.
UL had two ball-control drives in the second half, including their longest march of the season for both plays and time of possession in the third quarter. A 15-play, 76-yard march took 8:15 off the clock and led to Almendares’ 30-yard field goal that gave the Cajuns a 20-13 lead.
Then, in the fourth quarter, UL took another 7:05 off the clock on an 11-play, 52-yard march before Almendares converted his third field goal of the game from 19 yards away for what turned out to be the final score.
That was enough for a Cajun defense that allowed only two first downs and 21 total offensive yards on 17 plays to the Eagles in the second half. USM did not have an offensive play in Cajun territory in the final two quarters.
In all, UL had a huge 41:35-to-18:25 advantage in time of possession, had a 410-177 edge in total offense – 188-to-37 on the ground – and took a 22-8 advantage in first downs.
Fittingly, it was that defensive unit that sealed the win in the final minute, when sophomore linebacker Cameron Whitfield recorded his school-record tying fourth sack of the game and forced a fumble from USM quarterback Tate Rodemaker that was recovered by Jordan Lawson at the Eagle 18 – UL’s first fumble recovery and third turnover of the season.
Two kneel-downs later, the Cajuns had only their second all-time victory in Hattiesburg in 26 games.
Wooldridge was 22-of-30 passing for 222 yards and the Cajuns’ first touchdown, but it was the ground game that accounted for much of UL’s 8-of-17 showing on third down and a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth down. Tight end Terrance Carter had a career-high seven catches for 64 yards while Dre’lyn Washington rushed for 91 yards and a second-quarter touchdown to lead UL’s 188-yard rushing attack,
USM’s only second-half signs of life offensively came with the second-half kickoff on a drive that only reached midfield. A key holding penalty on a fourth-down fake punt by Eagle punter Bryce Lofton nullified a 28-yard gain from the 50, forcing a punt, and the Eagles didn’t manage another first down over the final 25 minutes.
That UL defense held the Eagles to a minus-9 offensive yards in the first quarter – the lowest number allowed in a period since a 2007 game against Middle Tennessee – as the Cajuns jumped to a 10-0 lead. UL scored on its first possession for the fourth time in five games when Wooldridge’s 36-yard strike to Harvey Broussard set up Almendares’ 21-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.
UL’s defense forced two straight three-and-outs from USM on its first two possessions, and the Cajuns made the second one count when they drove 66 yards in 10 plays. Wooldridge had three completions on the last three plays of that march and found Lance LeGendre for a 15-yard over-the-middle touchdown on the fourth play of the second quarter.
However, the host Eagles came back with four straight completions from Rodemaker in a quick six-play, 80-yard march. Running back Kenyon Clay had the last of those catches, a 31-yard grab to the UL 1, and then scored himself two plays later to cut the difference to 10-7.
The Cajuns were just as quick to answer, going 67 yards in only five plays including a 30-yard connection from Wooldridge to Jacob Bernard that took it to the USM 30. Washington carried on the next three plays, the last one a 21-yard wide-open burst up the middle for a 17-7 advantage.
Almendares’ extra point after that touchdown gave him 277 career points, moving him into fifth place on UL’s all-time scoring list ahead of running back Elijah Mitchell (276 points). His three field goals in the game gave him 51 in his career, putting him within two of tying UL’s school record of 53 set by Stevie Artigue from 2015-19.
The Cajuns drove into USM territory on both of their final drives of the first half but were not able to add to their lead, and the Eagles cut the margin to 17-13 with 1:40 left before halftime with an 82-yard drive. Running back Dreke Clark provided 53 of those yards on only two carries and Clay scored his second touchdown from five yards out. Connor Gibbs’ PAT hit the right upright to leave UL in front 17-13 at halftime.
Wooldridge hit on 17-of-23 passes for 178 yards in the first half as UL held a 262-156 advantage in total offense, numbers that kept increasing throughout the final 30 minutes. Whitfield, who tied Rodney Hardeway (2007 vs. Middle Tennessee) and Chauncey Manac (2021 at Liberty) for the most sacks in a game, finished with two forced fumbles and six tackles to share team-high honors with K.C. Ossai. Antoine Baylis added a sack for Louisiana, which collected five sacks in the game after recording none in the first four games of the season.
Louisiana will return home on Saturday (Oct. 12) when it hosts SBC rival App State in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Cajun Field. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
