Louisiana closes out road schedule at Troy

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns football team heads out on the road for the final time during the 2023 regular season when it travels to Troy, Ala., to face Sun Belt Conference West Division rival Troy Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on NFL Network with Doug Sherman (pxp) and Tyoka Jackson (analyst) providing the commentary.

Fans in the Lafayette area can listen to the call of Jay Walker (pxp), Gerald Broussard (analyst) and Cody Junot (sideline) on Hot 107.9 FM, 103.3 The Goat, KPEL 1420 AM or worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (5-5, 2-4 SBC) looks to become bowl eligible for a school-record sixth consecutive season by earning a victory in one of its final two games. The Ragin’ Cajuns face Troy (8-2, 5-1 SBC), which has secured a second straight berth to the SBC Championship Game, before returning home to face ULM in the final game at Cajun Field on Nov. 25.

Chandler Fields, making his first start of the season after season-ending injuries to Ben Wooldridge and Zeon Chriss, threw for a career-best 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Louisiana’s last contest – a 34-31 overtime setback to Southern Miss on Nov. 9.

Harvey Broussard (5 receptions) and Jacob Bernard (six receptions) each set career-best in their respective categories for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Jasper Williams recording eight tackles with Kendre’ Gant making 3.5 tackles for loss.

Troy enters the week on a seven-game winning streak, the 11th longest active streak in the country, following its 45-14 victory at ULM last Saturday. The win over the Warhawks was not the prettiest of the season for Troy, allowing its third-most yards (309) and totaling its third-fewest yards (346) despite winning by its second-biggest margin (31).

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

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GAME 11 PREVIEW – Louisiana (5-5, 2-4 SBC) at Troy Trojans (8-2, 5-1 SBC)
Stadium/Location: Veterans Memorial Stadium (30,000) / Troy, Ala.
Date/Time: Saturday, November 18 at 2:30 p.m.

TV/RADIO
TV: NFL Network
Talent: Doug Sherman (PXP), Tyoka Jackson (Analyst)
Radio: Hot 107.9-FM, The GOAT 103.3, KPEL 1420 AM, Varsity Network
Talent: Jay Walker (PXP), Gerald Broussard (Analyst), Cody Junot (Sideline)

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Troy leads, 10-9-0
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 7-6-0
In Troy: Troy leads, 4-2-0
Neutral Sites: Never met
Streak: Troy +1
First Meeting: Louisiana, 64-0 – 11/8/46 in Lafayette
Last Meeting: Troy, 23-17 – 10/22/2022 in Lafayette

LOUISIANA TAKES ON TROY ON SATURDAY

The Ragin’ Cajuns look to snap their two-game losing streak as they travel to take on the Sun Belt West champion Troy Trojans on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on NFL Network.
Louisiana is looking to register its sixth win of the year to become bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season.
Thursday’s meeting is the 20th meeting all-time with Troy holding a 10-9 advantage over the Cajuns. Louisiana has won two of the last three meetings against the Trojans.

A LOOK AT THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS

Louisiana’s defensive has been a force on opposing quarterbacks, as the Cajuns have recorded 29 sacks. The Ragin’ Cajuns are averaging 2.9 sacks per game, which ranks tied for 16^th nationally.
Louisiana’s offense has been equally as impressive as the Ragin’ Cajuns average 31.1 points per game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns rushing attack ranks 24th in the country and second in the Sun Belt at 190.6 yards per game.
Jacob Kibodi, who was put on scholarship following the win at UAB, leads the team in rushing with 651 yards to go along with six touchdowns. Kibodi is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Cameron Whitfield has made an impact defensively as he is the team’s leader in sacks with seven to go along with eight tackles for loss, which ranks second on the team. Whitfield was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week following his performance at South Alabama in which he had 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Kendre’ Gant has stepped up for the Louisiana defense has he ranks first on the team with 12 tackles for loss, second in sacks at 6 and third in tackles with 60. He has also forced three fumbles while recovering three, including one for a touchdown at South Alabama.
Kenneth Almendares has continued his stellar play from a year ago as he enters Saturday’s contest 11-for-12 on his field goal attempts and tied the school record for most consecutive field goals made at 18.
Chandler Fields, Louisiana’s third starting QB of the season, threw for a career-best 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first start of the season against Southern Miss.

LOOKING BACK AT SOUTHERN MISS

Dre’lyn Washington ran for a team-high 82 yards, the most he has had since running for 103 against Buffalo, and a touchdown.
Chandler Fields threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns while completing 24 of his 38 passes in his first start of the season.
Trayv’on Culbert hauled in his first career touchdown and finished the game with three catches and 25 yards.
Zylan Perry tallied his kickoff return touchdown as he ran for 95 yards to tie the game at 14-14 in the second quarter.
Defensively, Jasper Williams, Kendre’ Gant and K.C. Ossai led the team with eight tackles as Gant added a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss, a half sack a pass breakup and a QB hurry.

AGAINST THE TROJANS

Saturday’s meeting is the 20rd meeting all-time with Troy holding a 10-9 advantage over the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Louisiana has won two of the last three meetings against the Trojans.
The Ragin’ Cajuns came away with a 35-21 victory in the last contest at Veterans Memorial Stadium in 2021.

CHANDLER TAKES OVER AS STARTING QUARTERBACK

Chandler Fields became the third Louisiana starting quarterback this season after making the start against Southern Miss where he threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns while completing 24 of his 38 passes.
No stranger to the starting role, Fields opened the 2022 season as the starter before suffering an injury and regained the starting role for the last three games of the season, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to a bowl game with a win over Texas State in the regular season finale.
Last season, Fields threw for 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns and completed 106 of his 182 attempts.
For his career, he has completed 154-of-262 passes for 1,631 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The New Orleans native was one of the top quarterback prospects in the state of Louisiana and helped Archbishop Rummel to a 9-3 record his senior year and was the quarterback for NFL star Ja’Marr Chase.

GRADUATES

Twelve Ragin’ Cajuns proudly don the Sun Belt graduate patch on their jersey after graduating with their Bachelor’s degree.
The list includes Kenneth Almendares, Jacob Bernard, Glenn Brown, Kaleb Carter, Alan Guerrieri, Jacob Kibodi, Thomas Leo, Patrick Mensah, Pearse Migl, James Ohonba, Nathan Thomas and Ben Wooldridge.

125TH ANNIVERSARY

Throughout the 2023-24 athletics season, all Louisiana sports teams will celebrate the University’s 125th anniversary.
The 125 logo will be displayed on Louisiana’s helmets and throughout Cajun Field.
On July 14, 1898, Louisiana Governor Murphy J. Foster signed Act 162 to establish Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The University has been a staple in the Lafayette community and was designated as a Carnegie R1 university in 2022.