NEW ORLEANS — No. 23 Louisiana kicked off the Michael Desormeaux era the same way it concluded head coach Billy Napier’s tenure—celebrating a championship. The Sun Belt champion Ragin’ Cajuns downed future conference foe Marshall, 36-21, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for its third-straight bowl victory.
The win extended Louisiana’s program-record winning streak to 13 games and gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 13-win season for the first time in program history.
Louisiana scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to turn a 21-16 deficit into a 36-21 win.
Senior quarterback Levi Lewis threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, with junior wide receiver MIchael Jefferson leading the way among receivers with 108 receiving yards on three catches.
Lewis (74 yards) and a pair of freshman running backs—Emani Bailey (94 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Montrell Johnson (54 yards, 1 touchdown)—combined for 222 yards and three touchdowns in the ground game.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore safety Kam Pedescleaux and redshirt junior linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill each amassed a team-high six tackles, while redshirt junior safety Bralen Trahan came up with a key interception that set up a go-ahead Louisiana field goal heading into halftime.
Louisiana concludes the year 13-1 following its fourth-straight Sun Belt West Division crown, third-straight bowl win and first-ever outright Sun Belt title.