Photo by Benjamin Massey; Courtesy of Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (5-6, 4-3 SBC) are set to face the ULM Warhawks (3-8, 1-6 SBC) in a week 14 Sun Belt Conference matchup.
Last Thursday, the Cajuns went on the road and defeated the Arkansas State Redwolves 34-30 on national television. The Vermilion and White defense made a goalline stand on the final plays of the game to keep the team’s bowl hopes alive.
The Warhawks are on a losing streak that dates back to the beginning of October. Most recently, ULM fell on the road to Texas State 31-14, a game in which they were outscored by 14 in the second half.
Kickoff between Louisiana and ULM at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 29th.
BOWL ELIGIBILITY
After starting the 2025 season 2-6, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns found themselves backed against a wall. Head coach Michael Desormeaux’s group would need to run the table to reach the six win mark and become bowl eligible.
Since suffering their sixth loss, the Cajuns have rattled off three straight wins, beating the likes of South Alabama, Texas State, and Arkansas State. A victory over ULM would put Louisiana’s record at 6-6, good enough to go to a bowl game.
The Vermilion and White also have a seven-year bowl appearance streak on the line. In 2022 and 2023, Louisiana had to win its regular-season finale to make it to a bowl game. In one of those two games, coach Des’ group beat the ULM Warhawks 52-21. The last time the Cajuns finished a season with fewer than six wins was 2017, when they went 5-7.
BACK FROM SUSPENSION
Two weeks ago, the Cajuns took down the Bobcats of Texas State at home. At the end of the game, a postgame incident occurred on the field that led to the Sun Belt Conference having to announce suspensions to players of both teams.
Of the 13 suspended players, seven were on Louisiana’s side. Those players included Tyree Skipper, Courtline Flowers, Kody Jackson, Kailep Edwards, Collin Jacob, Evan Stroman, and De’Antonio Lesueur. The only Cajun who was suspended for more than one game was Skipper, whose college career came to an end due to this being his fifth season.
Everyone else missed their one game and can return to the field on Saturday. Flowers, Jackson, Edwards, Jacob, and Lesueur will provide huge boosts to the team’s defense, and Stroman will be an added depth piece to the wide receiver corps.
ATTACK ARMENTA
ULM will roll with sophomore Aidan Armenta as its starting quarterback on Saturday. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native’s season has been less than stellar, recording a 9-8 TD-INT ratio in 10 games. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since November 1st, when the Warhawks lost to the Monarchs of Old Dominion 31-6.
Armenta also started against the Cajuns to end the regular season last year. In that game, Armenta completed 15 out of 31 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Louisiana would go on to win that contest by 14 points in Monroe. Notably, Ahmad Hardy, who is now Missouri’s star running back, rushed for 172 and a score in ULM’s season finale loss to the Vermilion and White.
Pressuring Armenta could lead to turnovers and an early lead for the Cajuns. If so, the Warhawks would abandon the run game, the strongest aspect of their offense, with two running backs who have recorded at least 500 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the season. ULM also averages just 15 points per game in SBC play, while Louisiana puts up nearly 30.
SERIES RECORD: Louisiana leads 34-26
Last 5 Meetings:
2024: Louisiana 37 – Texas State 23
2023: Louisiana 52 – Texas State 21
2022: Texas State 21 – Louisiana 17
2021: Louisiana 21 – Texas State 16
2020: Louisiana 70 – Texas State 20
STAT LEADERS:
Louisiana
“Lunch” Winfield: 96-159, 1,242 Yards, 10 TD, 6 INT
Zylan Perry: 122 Carries, 644 Yards, 8 TD
Shelton Sampson Jr: 27 Catches, 477 Yards, 5 TD
Jordan Lawson: 3.5 Sacks
Jaden Dugger: 102 Tackles (49 Solo)
Courtline Flowers: 2 INT
Tony Sterner: 15-of-21 Field Goals, Long of 51, 34-of-34 PAT
ULM
Aidan Armenta: 129-222, 1,368 Yards, 9 TD, 8 INT
Braylon McReynolds: 112 Carries, 557 Yards, 3 TD
Jonathan Bibbs: 24 Catches, 304 Yards, 2 TD
Dylan Howell & D’Arco Perkins-McAllister: 4 Sacks
Noah Flemmings: 73 Tackles (38 Solo)
David Godsey Jr: 2 INT
Luke Stagg: 2-of-4 Field Goals, Long of 44, 11-of-13 PAT
