Louisiana Falls to Coastal Carolina, 30-27

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns lost their first game of the 2020 college football season on Wednesday night at Cajun Field.

21st-ranked Louisiana fell to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 30-27, putting an end to their season-opening three-game winning streak.

Louisiana got on the scoreboard first, scoring on the initial possession of the game when Levi Lewis hit Jalen Williams with a 12-yard touchdown pass, capping off a 10-play, 75-yard drive, which gave them a quick 7-0 lead at the 10:04 mark of the first quarter.

Coastal Carolina answered right back on their first possession, going on a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive of their own, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by CJ Marable at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter, which tied the contest, 7-7.

The Chanticleers took their first lead of the game at the 1:23 mark of the second quarter when Grayson McCall hit Marable with a 13-yard touchdown pass, completing a 7-play, 84-yard drive.

After an unsuccessful PAT, Coastal Carolina led things, 13-7.

The Cajuns marched right down the field and scored with only five seconds remaining in the half, courtesy of a 9-yard touchdown run by Lewis, culminating a 9-play, 77-yard drive.

UL missed their PAT as well, and the two teams entered their respective locker rooms with the score tied, 13-13.

Louisiana outgained Coastal Carolina, in terms of total yards, in the first half, 256-197, including a 133-117 advantage in passing yards, as well as a 123-80 edge in rushing yards.

Lewis paced the Cajuns over the first 30 minutes completing 9-of-14 passes for 133 yards, to go along with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown, while Williams caught three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.

For the Chanticleers, McCall threw for 117 yards and a touchdown in the first half, while Marable compiled 51 rushing yards, to go along with 39 receiving yards and two total scores.

Coastal Carolina took the lead on the initial possession of the second half when McCall threw his second touchdown of the game, this one to Jaivon Heiligh from six yards away, capping off a long 16-play, 75-yard drive, which took 8:12 off the clock, giving them a 20-13 advantage at the 6:48 mark of the third quarter.

Louisiana answered right back, scoring on their first possession of the second half, when Elijah Mitchell scored on a 9-yard rushing touchdown at the 3:47 mark of the third quarter, completing a 7-play, 66-yard drive, to even the game once again, 20-20.

The Chanticleers took the lead once again at the 14:12 mark of the fourth quarter, following a big interception when McCall scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, ending a short 3-play, 26-yard drive, which gave them a 27-20 advantage.

The Cajuns responded, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Mitchell, his second score of the night, putting the exclamation mark on a 4-play, 55-yard scoring drive, which was set up on a 51-yard run by Lewis, which evened the contest yet again, 27-27, with 12:44 to go.

Coastal Carolina was able to get the game-winning score with :04 remaining when Massimo Biscardi nailed a 4-yard field goal, capping off an 11-play, 61-yard drive, which gave them a 30-27 edge.

That turned out to be the winning points, as the Chanticleers left with the 3-point triumph.

Coastal Carolina outgained Louisiana, in terms of total yards, 414-413, including a 202-173 advantage in passing yards, while UL finished with a 240-212 edge in rushing yards.

Leading the way for the Chanticleers was McCall, who threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns, along with another rushing touchdown, while Marable finished with 113 total yards and two touchdowns.

In a losing cause for the Cajuns, Lewis finished with 173 passing yards and one touchdown, along with 84 rushing yards and another score.

View the game box score.

With the victory, Coastal Carolina improved to 4-0, overall, and 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Louisiana fell to 3-1, and 2-1, respectively.

The Cajuns return to action on Friday evening, October 23, when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama to take on the UAB Blazers in a non-conference tilt.