SHREVEPORT, La. – Louisiana scored the first 13 points—and led 16-6 at the half—before falling to Houston, 23-16, in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on a final-minute touchdown.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are officially 5-3 in 10 Bowl Season appearances—with two additional victories vacated due to sanctions.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Chandler Fields found a crossing Johnny Lumpkin for a four-yard touchdown connection to cap a 15-play, 75-yard opening drive. The redshirt senior tight end caught the ball in the corner of the end zone, tapping a toe in bounds for the score.
Redshirt sophomore kicker Kenneth Almendares added a pair of 42-yard field goals to give Louisiana a 13-0 advantage, before Houston got on the board with a 33-yard bomb from senior quarterback Clayton Tune to senior wide receiver KeSean Carter with 3:00 to play in the first half.
Louisiana responded with a 13-play, 83-yard drive that concluded with a 32-yard Almendares field goal to produce the 16-6 halftime margin.
The Cougars scored their second touchdown on a two-yard connection from Tune to junior wide receiver Nathaniel Dell on the opening drive of the second half, but continued to trail 16-13 until a 19-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Kyle Ramsey knotted things up with 13:40 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Tune again found Dell—this time from 12 yards out—to close out a seven-play, 92-yard scoring drive with 20 seconds to play. The final-minute touchdown, which gave the Cougars their first lead of the game, proved to be the game winner.
Louisiana was held scoreless in the second half, despite Fields completing 17-of-25 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Lance Legendre caught five passes for a team-high 56 yards, while redshirt junior running back Chris Smith rushed for a team-high 48 yards.
Redshirt junior safety Kam Pedescleaux, senior linebacker Kris Moncrief and redshirt senior linebacker Jourdan Quibodeaux paced the Ragin’ Cajuns defense with seven tackles apiece.
The loss snapped a three-game bowl winning streak for Louisiana, which fell to 6-7 on the year.