Cajuns Have Bowl Chances
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Considering the situation a month ago, the chances then of Louisiana capturing fifth straight postseason football bowl invitation was like picturing gumbo without a roux.
However, the aroma of a bowl game filtered through Our Lady Of Lourdes Stadium ever so slightly Saturday night, as the once buried Cajuns’ program continued reemerging from a difficult start with a 42-39 victory over Texas State.
Louisiana, now 4-6 with two 2025 games remaining, has a potential chance at a 13th game, providing the Cajuns defeat their final two regular season opponents — Arkansas State and ULM — later in November.
The win over Texas State — now 0-13 in the football series against Louisiana — was significant for a program that began a Sun Belt Conference schedule winless after the first three games.
Now after two straight SBC winLouisiana head coach Mike Desormeaux took postgame time Saturday night to compliment the tenacity of his players.
“We were supposedly a team that was left for dead a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like the only ones who believed in us at that time were the players in (the Cajuns) locker room,” said Desormeaux.
As Desormeaux previously mentioned to anyone who wanted to listen, there are players on the Cajuns’ roster who have believed in themselves, despite consecutive conference losses to West Division leader Southern Mississippi, overall conference leader James Madison and Troy.
Desormeaux emphasized that there hasn’t been a particular moment or game that could be defined as an agent that is redirecting a year that was seemingly threatened.
“There really wasn’t just one thing. We just asked our players to filter out all the noise. We have a leadership group that met with the other players and they told the rest of the guys how much it meant to play a 13th game.
“I know these players mean a lot to me and it makes you proud to embrace the culture of what this team is by finding ways to win,” Desormeaux said.
Defeating the Bobcats before the 14,231 who attended proved difficult at the end, as Louisiana had to withstand a determined, fourth quarter Texas State comeback that featured 19 points scored over a nine-minute span.
The Cajuns seemingly appeared in control (42-20) with 13:02 left before Texas State launched a comeback, using an imaginative array of reverses, Cajuns’ defensive lapses and accurate passing by quarterback Brad Jackson that recaptured the momentum.
“I would have loved to finish this game better, but Texas State had some trick plays that were really good,” Desormeaux said.
Louisiana quarterback Lunch Winfield, starting a fourth straight game, ran for two touchdowns and passed for three more, as the Cajuns compiled 394 total offensive yards.
Two of the touchdown throws went to wide receiver Shelton Sampson, Jr.
Winfield said his attitude and that of his teammates have remained constant throughout the season.
“It’s been the same goal since Week One. You can ask everyone on the team. We have never gotten frustrated. It means a lot for us to handle adversity and injury. We wouldn’t be where we are if we didn’t go through it,” said Winfield.
