Cajuns Emerge From Adversity
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
It might have seemed an unlikely 12-game journey by some, but Louisiana head football coach Mike Desormeaux apparently never doubted that his locker room contained a cohesive group of players who have handled their difficulties along the way.
The Cajuns, a 2-6 team at the end of October, is now on a four-game winning streak and bowl-eligible program for an eighth straight season.
Desormeaux briefly looked back as he saluted the tenacity again exhibited by his roster following a Cajuns’ 30-27 overtime victory over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.
“This has been a great team to coach everyday and I’ve been lucky to be part of it. It’s just been a group of players who have refused to take no for an answer,” said Desormeaux.
The win against ULM was the second overtime victory for Louisiana this season and the late-game scenario on Saturday seemed to mirror the comeback theme of the Cajuns’ entire season.
Louisiana quarterback Walker Howard, injured nearly all year with an oblique injury, entered the game in the fourth quarter and directed a late-game-regulation drive finalized by a 30-yard field goal by placekicker Tony Sterner that tied it at 27.
Then in overtime Howard ripped off a 20-yard gain that enabled Sterner to kick the 19-yard game-winner.
In the fourth, Howard completed 6-of-9 attempts for 44 yards and ran five times for 33.
The first field goal by Sterner, a 55-yarder in the second quarter, was two yards shy of tying a school-record kick made twice by the Cajuns’ Rafael Septien in the 1970s.
Desormeaux praised the effort of Howard, an LSU and Ole Miss transfer,who mostly observed his 2025 season from the sidelines as quarterback Lunch Winfield took control of the offense.
Winfield however was bothered on Saturday by a nagging ankle problem and by the third quarter Winfield was examined in the blue tent.
Then it became time for Howard to dramatically close it out and guide the Cajuns to a fourth straight win.
Afterward Desormeaux acknowledged the contribution Howard has made for his team.
“(Howard) is just an elite teammate, the best teammate you could have and the best backup. He came in and played his tail off and he has meant a lot to me. I couldn’t be happier and more thankful. Having him has been something that is really special,” said Desormeaux.
The win over ULM was nonetheless an arduous endeavor for the Cajuns that ended similarly to the regulation win over Arkansas State in Jonesboro nine days ago, when Louisiana used a goal line stand to stop the Red Wolves inside the 1-yard line on the final game-deciding play.
“This game went the way I’d thought it would go,” said Desormeaux, after ULM scored two touchdowns during the final 13 minutes to lead 27-24.
ULM outgained the Cajuns 516-388 in total yards, passing for 311 and rushing for another 205.
The Louisiana secondary was challenged almost all afternoon, as ULM quarterback Aiden Armenta completed three touchdown passes of 25, 68 and 43 yards.
At the end though, Cajuns’ cornerback Brent Gordon, targeted by ULM for most of the game, intercepted an overtime pass in the end zone by former Louisiana quarterback Hunter Herring, a play that enabled Louisiana to obtain the final offensive possession.
If the Cajuns are invited to a bowl game, it probably won’t be announced until next weekend, when the 82 postseason slots are decided by conference committees and ESPN network executives.
The Sun Belt Conference, which includes Louisiana, already had nine bowl-eligible slots.
