Louisiana football wins Zeon Chriss' starting debut, holds on against Buffalo
Coupling starting a freshman quarterback for the first time with a smothering defense and a potent ground game only helps the cause.
But what was once an early, comfortable affair quickly turned into a hold-on-to-your-butts coronation for the young signal caller along with the rest of the Louisiana football team.
UL's defense stymied Buffalo early, limiting the Bulls to a 22-year low in yards in the first half with 56 and spotted its offense a 17-point lead into the second half. But it had to hold on late as the Bulls scored all 38 of their points in the second half to make it a one-possession game with 2:00 left.
On the other side of the ball, quarterback Zeon Chriss navigated a couple of miscues and rough patches but overall played well enough, and the Ragin' Cajuns took down a winless Buffalo squad, 45-38, at Cajun Field Saturday night.
The Cajuns (3-1) held the Bulls to 373 total yards and the defense had a touchdown of its own, an interception return for a touchdown by Patrick Mensah, while Chriss guided the Cajuns' offense to 38 points off 520 yards.
Zeon Chriss' debut as Louisiana football starting quarterback
It started a tad slow but business picked up by the end of the first. Chriss found tight end Neal Johnson for an 8-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.
Chriss began the contest 10 of 15 for 104 yards by halftime and appeared to get more comfortable as the game progressed but was not immune to mistakes. The field goal drive with 4:08 left in the first half was a 14-play drive that spanned 81 yards. Chriss made an ill-advised throw right before halftime on a throw to the end zone that ended up getting picked off and had another pass intercepted on a throwaway attempt in the third.
For his first start, the redshirt freshman certainly has room to improve but looked to have command of Michael Desormeaux's offense, connecting with nine different receivers. He finished the night 22-for-29 for 249 yards, and his performance was highlighted by the 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Ragin' Cajuns defense continues hot streak of sacks
Coming into Saturday, the Cajuns ranked second in FBS in team sacks with 15 through three games.
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Defensive coordinator LaMar Morgan's bunch kept the hot start to the season going, garnering three sacks in the first half.
Sacks also continued to be spread throughout the defensive front as Kendre' Gant and Tyler Guidry recorded one each.
With Dre'Lyn Washington back, UL stays hot in run game
For the second straight game, UL surpassed 250 rushing yards.
The return of starting sophomore running back Dre'Lyn Washington boded well for Louisiana as he recorded his first 100-yard game, amassing 103 yards on 13 carries. The added threat of Chriss in the run game gives the Cajuns a viable run game that's a doozy to try and hem up.
Washington being back in the rotation provided a spark. Jacob Kibodi's 69-yard TD run in the third, the longest of his career, propelled the Cajuns past the 200-yard mark at the time. He later added another score for his first multi-score game of his career.
Louisiana averaged 7.3 yards per carry against Buffalo and had a total of 271.
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 edges Buffalo, wins Zeon Chriss' debut
