Football: Boise State Earns 34-9 Win Over Cajuns

Box Score BOISE, Idaho – Jay Ajayi rushed for 150 yards and three first-half touchdowns while Boise State’s Grant Hedrick completed 24 of 31 passes for 237 yards to lead the Broncos to a 34-9 victory over the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in a non-conference game on Saturday at Albertsons Stadium.
 
Louisiana (1-3), playing its final tuneup before opening Sun Belt Conference play on Oct. 4 against Georgia State, was led by Elijah McGuire, who caught a career-high 10 passes for 106 yards while rushing for a team-high 31 yards and a touchdown.

"Our defense played much better," Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "We lost Trae Johnson (on Friday) and was without our leading tackler, and we still rallied and played hard. We got zero help from the offense and our defense was on the field all day long. Offensively, we’ve got to find some ways to get our playmakers the ball. We’ve got to get Eli (McGuire) some more touches. We’ve got to get Torrey Pierce and Al Riles more involved and we’ve got to get our big-play guy (Jamal Robinson) back."
 
Ajayi scored on runs of 2, 2 and 16 yards as Boise State (3-1) scored on its first two possessions and built a 21-3 lead at halftime. Hedrick completed his first 15 passes in the game as the Broncos outgained Louisiana, 499-241, in total offense.
 
The Cajuns got on the board in the first quarter after a botched snap on an attempted field goal resulted on a 14-yard pass from Hunter Stover to Evan Tatford on fourth-and-14 to the BSU 7. Boise State held after the Tatford’s reception with Stover converting on a 22-yard boot with 2:01 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Dan Goodale gave Boise State a 24-3 lead when he made a 40-yard field goal with 10:58 left in the third quarter before Devan Demas scored on a 5-yard run.
 
Louisiana reached the end zone after driving 80 yards in 11 plays with McGuire scoring on a 7-yard run with 11:56 remaining in the game.

Playing without leading tackler Trae Johnson (injury), Trevence Patt led Louisiana with a career-high 14 tackles with Dominque Tovell, Kevin Fouquier and Corey Trim adding eight stops each. Tovell, Marquis White and Christian Ringo each recorded sacks for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

"This open date is going to be good for us," Hudspeth said of the Cajuns’ upcoming break. "We’re going to revamp, regroup and get ready for (Sun Belt) conference play. We’re going to get it going offensively, because defensively, I thought we battled all night long."