By David Rogers. LAFAYETTE, La. — In spite of committing five turnovers — four pass interceptions and a lost fumble — Appalachian State kept its Sun Belt Conference football hopes alive at Louisiana until the closing minutes. Ultimately, though, the drive killers were too much to overcome, the Ragin’ Cajuns coming out on top, 34-24.
There was a lot to like about the Mountaineers’ offensive performance but the turnovers overwhelmed any positive momentum. Senior quarterback Joey Aguilar completed 20-of-42 passes for 236 yards and three TDs, but all of that was nullified by the four pass interceptions crafted by Louisiana.
Once again the Mountaineers held the advantage in time of possession, 30:40 to Louisiana’s 29:20, and ran 77 total plays to the Cajuns’ 59 plays. Much of the credit for those opportunities should go to a ground attack headed by running back Kanye Roberts, who carried the ball 26 times for 148 yards. Ironically, the redshirt sophomore’s only success in finding the end zone came on the receiving end of a 15-yard pass from Aguilar with just 27 seconds left in the first half, closing the Mountaineer deficit to just three points, 17-14, as the teams packed up for intermission.
Also notable on the offensive side for the Mountaineers was the connection between Aguilar and the redshirt senior who has become his favorite receiver, Kaedin Robinson. The Asheville native — who played prep ball at The Christ School and junior college football for ASA Brooklyn (NY) and transferred to the University of Central Florida in 2021 before finding a home at App State in 2022 — was on the receiving end of critical, 3rd- and 4th-and long receptions to extend drives. He ended the night with seven catches for 96 yards.
App State converted more than 57 percent of its 3rd down conversion opportunities (8-of-14) and was successful on its only 4th down attempt. The Mountaineers rolled up 391 yards of total offense compared to 364 for the Ragin’ Cajuns, but Louisiana committed only one turnover, an interception by safety Jordan Favors. The redshirt junior poached a deep pass from Louisiana QB Ben Wooldridge intended for wide receiver Robert Williams, on the Mountaineers’ 16 yard line.
Favors’ INT came at a critical time. Aquilar had just brought the Mountaineers back to within a field goal, 27-24, with a 26-yard TD pass to senior tight end Eli Wilson, so giving the ball back to App State with 5:38 left in the game meant the visitors could somehow come away with an unlikely win with a TD or potentially tie the game with a field goal.
With Roberts ripping off rushes of 6, 7, and 6 yards on the ensuing possession, the comeback looked possible. Unfortunately, a pass intended for 6-4 redshirt junior wide receiver Dalton Stroman became a 50/50 ball, and the Ragin’ Cajuns’ defensive back Tyrone Lewis came down with it just before falling to the ground — and short-circuiting App State’s comeback hopes.
Big plays again the Mountaineers’ Achilles Heel
As has happened vs. opponents in earlier games this season, Louisiana capitalized on several big plays, especially in the first half. Those included a 28-yard pass in the first quarter from Wooldridge to Lance Legendre that took the ball from midfield to the App State 16-yard line, the drive ending with the game’s first score, a 32-yard field goal by Louisiana’s placekicker, Kenneth Almendares. While the redshirt senior from Clute, Texas barely missed on a 60-yard field goal try in the first half, his 53-yarder toward the end of the third quarter gave Louisiana a late lead, 20-17.
Arguably the biggest play of the game for the Ragin’ Cajuns came just a couple of minutes into the second quarter, after App State took a 7-3 lead on the visitors’ most impressive possession of the game. It was dominated by 10 rushes by Roberts out of 12 plays run by the Mountaineers that moved the ball from their own 23-yard line to a 3rd-and-goal opportunity at the Ragin’ Cajuns’ one-yard line. With everyone looking to Roberts for a punch-in score to finish the drive off, Aguilar faked the handoff to his running back and found redshirt junior tight end David Larkins alone in the right corner of the end zone.
Undaunted, Louisiana was quick to respond. After the kickoff return put the ball at the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 26-yard line, on the first play of the series Wooldridge dropped back and hurled a pass that was caught by tight end Terrance Carter just over the midfield line, surrounded by three Mountaineer defenders. Somehow, the redshirt sophomore from Killeen, Texas wrestled free from the defenders, spinning away, then sprinting down the sideline for a 74-yard TD.
Altogether, Louisiana picked up 133 yards on four chunk plays passing and another 67 yards on four rushing carries each gaining more than 10 yards, three of them in the first quarter.
While App State’s defensive unit gave up too many big plays, they also helped keep the game close by rallying at critical times to deprive the Ragin’ Cajuns of converting on third down. Louisiana was successful on just six of 13 third down opportunities (37.5 percent). In the end, though, it is rare for an FBS-level college football team to survive five turnovers when the opponent only commits one.
With the loss, App State falls to 2-4 on the season, 0-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. With conference championship aspirations all but dashed, the Mountaineers will need to win at least four of their remaining six games to become bowl eligible. They have a bye next week, but return to action on Saturday, Oct. 26, for a Homecoming matchup vs. Georgia State. The game is tentatively scheduled to be played at Kidd Brewer Stadium but, given the widespread regional damage from Hurricane Helene, the final decision has not yet been made as to the location, as of this writing.
Now 5-1 overall and undefeated (2-0) in Sun Belt play, Louisiana travels to Coastal Carolina on Oct. 19, for a 12 noon (Eastern time) clash.
THE WEEK’S SUN BELT CONFERENCE SCORES
- @Louisiana 34, App State 24
- Old Dominion 21, @Georgia State 14
- @ULM 38, Southern Miss 21
- @Texas State 41, Arkansas State 9
- @Georgia Southern 24, Marshall 23
SUN BELT STANDINGS
East Division
- 1 – Georgia Southern (SBC 2-0, overall 4-2)
- T2 – James Madison (1-1, 5-1)
- T2 – Coastal Carolina (1-1, 4-2)
- T2 – Marshall (1-1, 3-3)
- T2 – Old Dominion (1-1, 2-4)
- 6 – Georgia State (0-2, 2-3)
- 7 – App State (0-3, 2-4)
West Division
- 1 – ULM (3-0, 5-1)
- T2 – Louisiana (2-0, 5-1)
- T2 – Texas State (2-0, 4-2)
- T4 – Arkansas State (1-1, 3-3)
- T4 – South Alabama (1-1, 2-4)
- T6 – Southern Miss (0-2, 1-5)
- T6 – Troy (0-2, 1-5)
GAME STATS
Game Stats courtesy of Louisiana and StatBroadcast
