UL-L comes home for game against Georgia Southern

LAFAYETTE -- The No. 19 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns come home for the first time this season when they host the Georgia Souther Eagles at Cajun Field Saturday night.
The game, which is slated for an 11 a.m. kickoff, will be the third game of the year for Louisiana and the second conference contest for the Cajuns.
Louisiana is 2-0 on the season after pulling out a 34-31 overtime win over Georgia State this past Saturday. The Cajuns began the season with a win over Iowa State the week before.
In Saturday’s win over the Panthers, Louisiana had to overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit. The Cajuns scored the winning touchdown, a 12-yard run by Elijah Mitchell, the first time they held possession of the ball in overtime.
Georgia State took the early 7-0 lead on a 12-yard run by Cornelius Brown. The Panthers extended that lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter when Brown hit Roger Carter for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
Louisiana cut the lead in half with 1:33 to go in the second quarter when Chris Smith hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Levi Lewis.
Following a Georgia State score early in the third quarter, the Cajuns found some offensive rhythm, picking up two touchdowns of their own to tie the game up at 28-28.
A two-yard touchdown run by Trey Ragas early in the fourth quarter allowed Louisiana to go ahead for the first time in the ball game.
However, that lead would not last, as the Panthers tied the game at 28-28 with 7:47 left to go in the contest.
The game remained tied for the remainder of regulation. Georgia State gained possession of the ball first in the extra frame, after the Cajuns won the overtime coin toss.
Louisiana held tight on the defensive side of the ball, forcing the Panthers to kick a field goal. From there Louisiana took over possession and ended the game with the touchdown.
On Saturday, the Cajuns will try and keep their undefeated season in tact against a Georgia Southern team that is 1-0 on the season after escaping with a 27-26 win over the Campbell Camels two weeks ago.
The Eagles are a dangerous opponent for the Cajuns, as Georgia Southern employs a wishbone attack. Although Louisiana took down the Eagles 37-24 last season, they still had their troubles against the Georgia Southern rushing attack.
The Eagles return quarterback Shai Watts, who threw for 799 yards with 9 touchdowns and just one interception last year. The dual-threat also racked up 733 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground.
Also returning to the backfield will be Wesley Kennedy III. The versatile athlete averaged 6.9 yards per carry last season, and scored 11 rushing touchdowns with 824 yards on the ground.
Another familiar face to the Cajuns is J.D. King, who finished 2019 as the Eagles’ second-leading rusher. King powered his way to 804 yards and 8 scores last season.
As an option team, the passing game did not produce much last season, as well as the first game this season. The Eagles only threw for 981 yards in 2019 and two weeks ago finished with only 62 total yards.
Defensively, Georgia Southern returns their entire front seven, including leading tacklers Rashad Byrd and Reynard Ellis. The Eagles also return their leaders in sacks Randy Wade and Dillon Springer.