COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

Texas State looks to snap their winless streak against the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns in their Tuesday Night conference showdown. Texas State is 0-11 against Louisiana.
Photo submitted by Texas State Athletics

Texas State will play a Tuesday Night home game at UFCU Stadium for the first time since 2014.
Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo

Bobcats take on Louisiana in a Tuesday Night showdown

The Countdown to Kickoff series previews the upcoming 2024 season for the Texas State Bobcats.

This week will take a look at the Bobcats Tuesday Night conference game against the nemesis Louisiana Ragin Cajuns.

Louisiana is coming off a 6-6 regular season and qualifying for the program’s sixth straight bowl game.

The Cajuns also finished their conference record at 3-5 with wins over Texas State, South Alabama and Louisiana Monroe.

Louisiana qualified for the New Orleans Bowl where they faced the Jacksonville State Gamecocks who made their first bowl game during their inaugural season at Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Gamecocks toppled the Ragin Cajuns in overtime 34-31 as Louisiana finished the season with a 6-7 record.

Louisiana returns six offensive starters from last year’s team that averaged 32.3 points per game.

Looking to lead the offense is quarterback Ben Wooldridge who is set to replace starter Zeon Chriss after the freshman transferred to Houston. Wooldridge played in two games for Ragin Cajuns before missing the rest of the season due to injuries. Wooldridge passed for 508 yards and five touchdowns for the Cajuns.

Running backs Dre’lyn Washington and Zylan Perry look to load off the passing game through the ground.

Washington ran for 515 yards on 92 carries and scored two touchdowns. Perry rushed for 213 yards on 54 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Jacob Bernard returns to the Cajuns after leading in both catches and receiving yards. Bernard caught 39 passes for 476 yards and one touchdown. Robert Williams also returns having made 31 catches for 385 yards and four touchdowns along with Harey Broussard who made 24 catches for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, Louisiana returns seven defensive starters on a squad that allowed 26.5 points per game. The Cajuns will also be under new defensive coordinator Jim Salgado.

Leading the charge on defense is linebacker K.C. Ossai. Ossai led the team with 95 total tackles and 52 solo tackles. Ossai also made one sack and two forced fumbles.

Cornerback Keyon Martin also returns having made 53 total tackles along with 37 solo tackles. Martin also made seven pass deflections and one interception.

History of the Texas State-Louisiana series has been a lopsided affair. Despite playing every year since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2013, Texas State is 0-11 against Louisiana.

In fact from 2022-2013, the average score of each game was 38.5-14.8 in favor of the Cajuns.

Last year’s meeting between the Bobcats and the Cajuns was the first time the game was decided by less than one score.

Texas State led Louisiana 30-21 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Cajuns scored twice in the fourth quarter and used a late game Bobcat turnover to seal a 34-30 win over the Bobcats to continue their streak.

While Texas State will look to break their losing streak to the Cajuns, the showdown between the Bobcats and the Cajuns will be played under unusual circumstances.

This year’s Texas State-Louisiana game will be played on a Tuesday night and be broadcast on ESPN2.

It is the first the Bobcats will play on a Tuesday night since 2014 when Texas State hosted Louisiana.

In their last Tuesday Night battle, Louisiana scored 31 unanswered points en route to a 3410 win over Texas State in the second ever meeting between the two teams.

Kickoff for Texas State-Louisiana is currently scheduled for Tuesday Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. from UFCU Stadium in San Marcos.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc