Levi Lewis produced 344 yards from scrimmage and threw a touchdown pass as No. 23 Louisiana came from behind to defeat Marshall 36-21 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
Lewis completed 19 of 31 passes for 270 yards and ran 12 times for 74 yards as the Sun Belt Conference champion Ragin’ Cajuns (13-1) outscored the Thundering Herd 20-0 in the fourth quarter. They extended their school-record winning streak to 13.
Emani Bailey added two rushing touchdowns and 94 rushing yards as Louisiana won in former co-offensive coordinator Michael Desormeaux’s debut as head coach. He replaced Billy Napier after Napier was named head coach at Florida earlier this month.
Rasheen Ali rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Thundering Herd (7-6), which lost for the third time in four games.
Louisiana won for the fifth time in six appearances in the New Orleans Bowl while Marshall lost in its New Orleans Bowl debut.
On third-and-goal, Ali ran nine yards for a touchdown that gave Marshall a 21-16 lead at the end of the third period.
Bailey rushed four yards for a touchdown, but a two-point conversion failed, leaving Louisiana with a 22-21 lead with 8:20 left.
Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Montrell Johnson’s three-yard touchdown run increased the lead to 29-21 with 3:54 remaining. Bailey added a two-yard touchdown with 1:41 left.
On the first possession of the game, Lewis threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy to complete a 13-play, 81-yard drive.
Nate Snyder kicked a 42-yard field goal on the Cajuns’ next possession for a 10-0 lead.
Ali broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.
A 14-yard run by Ali gave the Herd their first lead, 14-10 early in the second quarter.
Snyder kicked a 25-yard field goal before Bralen Trahan’s interception of Grant Wells led to Snyder’s 24-yard field goal as time expired, giving Louisiana a 16-14 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media