Headline: Cajuns Seek West Title
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The Sun Belt Conference West Division championship is now a presumptive low-hanging prize that is within the grasp of the Louisiana football team.
There’s still work to do, but with one regular season game remaining, the Cajuns need a victory to capture a title and perhaps host a conference championship game in December.
Louisiana cleared the path for that objective Saturday night with a 51-30 Cajun Field win over Troy.
Louisiana (9-2, 6-1) plays this Saturday at UL-Monroe and a Cajuns’ victory in that game or a South Alabama loss at Texas State will decide the division championship.
The Cajuns could have already taken the division outright, but Louisiana lost to South Alabama (24-22) two weeks ago in Lafayette.
Louisiana head football coach Mike Desormeaux said following the Troy victory that his players are ready to seize the opportunity to win a title.
“Our guys have believed all along. It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point, but our guys believed, when no one else in this building did. We’ve knocked on the door enough.” Desormeaux said.
Desormeaux is no stranger to division titles at Louisiana, but if the Cajuns do win the West, it will be his first as head coach.
When the Cajuns won four straight division titles beginning in 2018, Desormeaux was an offensive assistant. Desormeaux was the co-offensive coordinator when Louisiana won a Sun Belt title in 2021.
The win over Troy, Desormeaux said, was accomplished despite the loss of a starting quarterback (Ben Woolridge) against South Alabama, plus several other key starters who did not play because of injuries.
Senior quarterback Chandler Fields, who has previously stepped in as a starter when Woolridge was injured in 2022 and 2023, guilded the Cajuns to the win over Troy.
Field was 18-of-23 for 323 yards and two touchdowns, as the Cajuns scored 30 unanswered points to seal the victory.
Desormeaux noted the importance of having Fields in the lineup.
“This was a good team effort. Guys were stepping up. Chandler was one of those. (Fields) has been doing this since he has been here. He gives us an opportunity to win,” Desormeaux said.
Freshman running back Bill Davis ran for three touchdowns and 64 yards after Zylan Perry and Drylen Williams were injured. Senior cornerback Keyon Martin returned to intercept two Trojan’ passes.
Desormeaux complimented the Cajuns for their response after the loss to South Alabama.
“I have to be proud of the response from the team. After a really disappointing week, with a lot of adversity and the kind of hits in that game, you start to realize you’re going to be without some guys who have played a critical role in helping us get to this point.
“In really good teams, the next guy performs. We had a lot of that (against Troy),” said Desormeaux.
