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Football: Ragin’ Cajun Rally Falls Short In Loss At K-StateBrian McCann, September 7, 2013 Louisiana set to host Nicholls State in Herbert Heymann Classic MANHATTAN, Kansas – It was too little, too late for the Ragin’ Cajuns as Louisiana’s attempted comeback from a 31-point, third-quarter deficit fell short in a 48-27 decision at Kansas State on Saturday in front of a crowd of 53,073 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on the KSU campus. The Cajuns (0-2) fell for the fourth time in five meetings with Kansas State (1-1), which bounced back from a 24-21 loss last week to two-time defending FCS national champion North Dakota State. "Despite the loss, I saw a lot of good things out there tonight," Louisiana head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "We did not have a good first half of football, but we didn’t give up and we made some nice plays in the second half. "I really challenged our team at halftime because they were not doing the things that they were capable of. This should have been a game that went down to the wire, but because we gave up three touchdowns because of long returns and an interception, we couldn’t complete the comeback. "I’d be worried right now if the things that are hurting us weren’t correctable, but they are," Hudspeth added. "We can fix our dropped passes, overthrown balls and missed assignments when we play next week. We just need to continue to work hard in practice and then take that over to the game." After the Cajuns trailed 20-3 at half, Tramaine Thompson took the second half kickoff and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats ahead, 27-3. Thompson accounted for 234 all-purpose yards (46 receiving, 94 kickoff returns, 94 punt returns). It was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown against Louisiana since Troy’s Bryan Willis returned an on-side kick 38 yards for a TD in 2009. After the ensuing Cajuns drive stalled near mid-field, Thompson struck again, returning a Daniel Cadona punt 61 yards to the Louisiana 3. Two plays later, Jake Waters found the end zone on a one-yard run to extend the KSU lead to 34-3 with 10:15 left in the third quarter. But the Cajuns refused to let go of the rope. Daryl Surgent answered for Louisiana, returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to make it a 34-10 game. Surgent, who also owns a 97-yard kickoff return for a score against Oklahoma State in 2010, broke the old school record of 99 yards set by Mike McDonald at Pensacola Navy in 1968. The Cajuns would score again just 117 seconds later to make it a 34-17 contest when freshman Dominick Jones intercepted a Waters pass and returned it 20 yards to the KSU 17 to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Terrance Broadway with 8:07 left in the quarter. It was the 10th career touchdown, and first of the year, for the Cajun junior. The Cajuns then forced Kansas State to punt, taking over on their own 22 and ready to continue their comeback. But on the first play from scrimmage, Broadway’s short pass deflected off Surgent and into the arms of Ty Williams, who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to give KSU a 41-17 lead. "The play was the play that hurt us the most," Hudspeth said. "We were ready to go on another long drive to get even closer before the pass deflects right to their defender who has a clear path to the end zone." Louisiana came right back as Broadway engineered a 12-play, 80-yard yard drive, throwing an 18-yard scoring strike to Jamal Robinson to make it a 41-24 game with 3:35 left in the third. The Cajuns converted three third-down chances on the drive. Robinson led the Cajun receivers with six catches for 83 yards. Stephen Brauchle converted a 24-yard field goal at the 10:55 mark to pull Louisiana to within 41-27. Torrey Pierce, who had not played in the first three quarters, keyed the drive by carrying four times for 43 yards. That was as close as Louisiana would come as Daniel Sams led KSU on a 65-yard scoring drive with John Hubert scoring his second touchdown of the game, a two-yard run with 8:01 left to extended the Wildcat lead to 48-27. "That was really the only touchdown that our defense gave up in the second half," Hudspeth said of the Louisiana defense that limited KSU to 130 yards of offense in the final 30 minutes. "We started to put things together on defense late in the half and it carried over to the second half." Senior linebacker Justin Anderson turned in another career effort, making 10 of his career-high 15 tackles in the first half. Anderson, who recorded double-figure tackles for the eighth time in his career, previously set his career best with 14 stops last week at Arkansas. "I can’t say enough about Justin Anderson. He is quickly becoming one of the dominant defenders in the Sun Belt," Hudspeth said. Broadway led the Cajuns offensively, completing 18-of-30 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown while also rushing 13 times for 42 yards. The Louisiana ground game picked up 177 yards rushing, including 74 on 13 carries by Alonzo Harris and 42 on six carries by Pierce. Kansas State rotated quarterbacks throughout the game. Waters completed 22-of-31 passes for 278 yards but was picked off twice. Sams completed just one pass for 27 yards, but picked up 63 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Tyle Lockett was the primary receiving threat, catching eight passes for 111 yards while Hubert keyed the Wildcat running game, carrying 18 times for 56 yards and a pair of scores. Before a 42-point third quarter explosion, the first half featured just 23 points. Kansas State opened the scoring when Jack Cantele kicked a 28-yard field goal at the 9:17 mark of the first quarter to cap a 60-yard drive on the Wildcats’ first possession. The Louisiana defense set up the first points for the Cajuns when Tig Barksdale intercepted a pass that deflected high into the air off the hands of a Wildcat receiver. Barksdale returned it eight yards to give Louisiana the ball at the KSU 21, setting up a 26-yard field goal by Brauchle with 6:33 left in the opening quarter. Kansas State made it 10-3 when Hubert took a pitch from Waters on an option around the right side and ran it into the end zone from seven yards out with 59 seconds left in the quarter. The score capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive. After the Cajuns failed to convert a fake punt on a fourth-and-3 near mid-field, Kansas State drove 51 yards in six plays with Sams scoring on a quarterback draw for a 13-yard touchdown run to make it a 17-3 game with 11:20 left in the half. After Daniel Cadona expertly had a 45-yard punt downed at the KSU 3-yard line, the Wildcats drove 87 yards in 12 plays to take a 20-3 halftime lead on a 27-yard field goal by Cantele with 11 seconds remaining. The Cajuns return home to open the 2013 home slate when they host Nicholls State at 6 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 14) in Cajun Field. The Colonels (1-1) are coming off a 27-23 win at Western Michigan. "I want our fans to learn from Kansas State tonight," Hudspeth said. "Their fans weren’t happy after they lost to North Dakota State last week, but they came back and packed the place tonight. We need our fans to fill Cajun Field next week and help us come through with a win." NOTES: POST-GAME QUOTES: On K-State’s big plays being frustrating… On why they could not get big plays… Cornerback Dominick Jones On playing behind K-State… On creating adversity… Wide Receiver Jamal Robinson On frustration level of playing from behind… On confidence from the second half… Wide Receiver Darryl Surgent
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