Louisiana (Lafayette) nearly completed a comeback Wednesday that would have served as a fittingly resilient punctuation to its season as a whole.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (6-7) held Delaware (7-6) scoreless on its final three possessions and scored 10 straight points to pull back within a possession, and a hobbled D’Wanye’ “Lunch” Winfield (Lutcher) led the offense 86 yards on a potential game-winning or -tying drive, its longest of the night, in the final minutes.
But the Blue Hens managed to survive Louisiana, 20-13, as a final throw into the end zone on a third-and-goal from the 7-yard line ricocheted incomplete as time expired in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
“Since we were down 17, the whole sideline knew we’d been in this situation before,” Winfield told reporters at Hancock Whitney Stadium after the game. “Marshall game, everybody knew. Everybody had the same belief vision, same vision and the same goal that we were gonna win that game, and we were trying to will it to win.”
The three-score deficit deep into the third quarter proved just slightly too much for the Cajuns to overcome this time, though.
Winfield finished 21-for-36 (58.3%) for 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception and rushed 14 times for another 40 yards, as Louisiana narrowly edged Delaware in total yards, 335 to 334, and first downs, 20 to 16.
But a pair of missed opportunities early — a missed 39-yard field goal and an end-zone interception — and a minus-3 turnover margin kept the Cajuns behind the eight-ball.
And the Blue Hens managed to hold Louisiana to an inefficient 2.7-yard rushing average and 55.3% pass-completion rate as a team in that uphill battle.
“There’s a lot of things I wish I would’ve done better for ’em to score some points,” coach Michael Desormeaux said. “Could’ve done a better job on some of these play-calls when we got down there early on.”
Delaware took advantage of the slow start to strike first with a 61-yard Jo Silver breakaway late in the first quarter, trade second-quarter field goals and then stretch its lead to 20-3 in the third quarter.
Louisiana shut the Blue Hens out the final 21:59 and trimmed the deficit with a second Tony Sterner field goal, a 39-yarder, and then an 8-yard pass from Winfield to sophomore receiver Shelton Sampson Jr. (Catholic-Baton Rouge) midway through the fourth.
“We just knew we couldn’t give up anything else,” said senior defensive lineman Jordan Lawson, who wrapped up five tackles and blocked a field goal. “We were at a point in the game where we knew we had to make a push, and it was gonna start by us making a stop and giving it back to the offense so they could go and score. So once we got to that point in the game, I think everybody just had it on their mind that they couldn’t get anything else.”
But the Cajuns’ rally would ultimately run out of time.
Sophomore tight end Caden Jensen, the target on the final end-zone throw, caught four passes for 72 yards, and Sampson had three receptions for 42 yards and the team’s lone touchdown.
Senior linebacker Jaden Dugger led the defense with seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack, and junior defensive back Maurion Eleam (Neville) had six tackles and a pass breakup.
Louisiana overcame an injury-plagued season and a 2-6 start to win four straight games and earn a bowl game for an eighth straight year, extending the program-best streak.
But the Cajuns fell short for the fourth straight postseason after having won their previous three (2019-21)
