Louisiana football can't erase early deficit, falls to Georgia State on homecoming
Stats never tell the full story for any game.
But in Louisiana football's homecoming loss to Georgia State Saturday night, one stat perhaps reveals what few turns the game had much clearly than most others.
The Panthers (6-1, 3-1) grated the Ragin' Cajuns (4-3, 1-2) all night long to an average of 5.6 yards per play, more than halfway to a first down on average.
Louisiana couldn't erase an early, 20-point deficit in front of family, friends and returning alumni at Cajun Field as the Panthers spoiled the celebration with a 20-17 win.
Georgia State bullies Louisiana football up front
On Georgia State's touchdown drive that put its up 20-0 in the second quarter – the drive where senior quarterback Darren Grainger exited the game for the rest of the first half after a big hit in the head area by UL's Amir McDaniel – the offense didn't think to throw it with backup Mikele Colasurdo under center.
But it didn't need to. Behind the offensive line, the Panthers chewed the Cajuns' defense up 10 straight plays on the ground, 68 yards capped by Colasurdo's 3-yard TD run.
Georgia State outgained UL, 343 to 289. It controlled the line of scrimmage much of the game on both sides of the ball. Louisiana came into the game averaging 224 rushing yards, but against the Panthers, it mustered just 165 yards, and 119 of those came from quarterback Zeon Chriss, who finished the night with more rushing yards than passing (106).
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Ragin' Cajuns defense forces turnovers to keep team in it
The Cajuns opened the game with a forced fumble down on the goal line on GSU's opening drive. And with 1:23 left, the defense created another takeaway when outside linebacker Kendre' Gant, who recovered the team's first fumble, caused Colasurdo to fumble on a big hit. Marcus Wiser fell on the ball at the Georgia State 27.
Five plays later, Louisiana senior running back Jacob Kibodi plunged into the end zone from the 3 for the Cajuns' first score, 20-7, right before halftime. UL managed a field goal on its opening drive in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 20-10.
Cajuns continue to be plagued by slow starts in Sun Belt Conference games
A slow start cost the Cajuns in Norfolk against Old Dominion. It nearly burned them two weeks ago against Texas State.
UL's inability to put any points up on the Panthers for the first 29 minutes of Saturday's matchup dug a hole a hair too deep out of which to climb.
Chriss' 2-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Carter with 2:01 left in the third gave the team life, but it couldn't break through. On the game's final drive, Chriss threw an interception in the end zone as the Panthers sealed the victory with 38 seconds left.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana football falls to Georgia State on homecoming
