GAME 11 PREVIEW: Arkansas State

LAFAYETTE - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team wraps up its 2016 home schedule on Saturday (Nov. 26) when it plays host to Sun Belt Conference rival Arkansas State at Cajun Field.

Kickoff is scheduled for 11:06 a.m., and will be televised live on the American Sports Network (locally on Cox Sports TV and KXKW-TV) and ESPN3. The game can also be heard statewide on the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network and worldwide on the Radio Pup app.

Before the game, Louisiana (4-6, 3-3 SBC) will honor its 2016 Senior Class:
QB - Anthony Jennings, Jalen Nixon
RB - Elijah McGuire
WR - Jared Johnson, Al Riles
TE - Nick Byrne
OL - Allen Cummins, Eddie Gordon
DL - Karmichael Dunbar
LB - Trey Granier, Tre'maine Lightfoot, Otha Peters
DB - Cole Bourque, Savion Brown, Christian Goodlett, Dominick Jones, Reginald Miles,
LS - Stephen Morella

Louisiana returns to action after falling last week at SEC foe Georgia, 35-21, as Jennings rushed for three TDs. McGuire gained 129 yards for the Ragin' Cajuns to become the second player in school history to rush for 4,000 yards. With 891 yards rushing on the season, McGuire is 109 yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive season.

Riles has caught a career-high 51 passes to pace Louisiana while Lightfoot (83 tackles) and Peters (79 tackles) lead a defense that ranks third overall in rushing defense in the Sun Belt Conference.

Arkansas State (6-4, 6-0 SBC) overcame an 0-4 record to begin the season and can earn a share of the SBC title with a win. The Red Wolves smothered No. 25-ranked Troy, 35-3, in their last game and have outscored their SBC competition, 202-84.

GAME 11
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (4-6, 3-3 SBC) vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (6-4, 6-0 SBC)
Nov. 26, 2016 • 11:06 a.m. • Lafayette, La. • Cajun Field (41,426)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Mark Hudspeth (Delta State, 1992) • @ULCoachHud
Record at UL: 22-30* (sixth season), Career Record: 88-51* (13th season)

ARKANSAS STATE
Head Coach: Blake Anderson (Sam Houston State, 1992)
Record at A-State: 22-14 (3rd season), Career Record: Same

SERIES HISTORY
Series History: UL leads, 23-20-1
In Lafayette: UL leads, 14-8 | In Jonesboro: A-State leads, 11-9-1 | In Little Rock: A-State leads, 1-0 | Hudspeth vs. A-State: 1-3
First Meeting: A-State 13, UL 12 • October 17, 1953 at Jonesboro
Last Meeting: A-State 37, UL 27 • October 20, 2015 at Jonesboro

TV/RADIO
American Sports Network | WatchESPN • Ron Thulin PXP • Keith Moreland Analyst
KPEL 1420 AM (Flagship) • Jay Walker PXP • Richie Falgout Analyst • Travis Webb Sideline

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Senior receiver Al Riles has caught a pass in 26 consecutive games dating back to the 2014 season.
• Senior Elijah McGuire is one of two players in school history to rush for over 4,000 yards in a career.
• Senior quarterback Anthony Jennings has rushed for 189 yards on 25 carries (a 7.56 average) with four TDs in his last two games.
• Louisiana's 276 yards rushing at Georgia marked a season-high for the Ragin' Cajuns and the most allowed by UGA.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have dropped four straight home games during the month of November dating back to the 2013 season (defeated Troy, 41-36 on 11/7/2013).

THE ARKANSAS STATE SERIES
• Louisiana renews one of its oldest rivalries in school history when it plays host to SBC leader Arkansas State in the Ragin' Cajuns home finale.
• Louisiana officially leads the all-time series, 22-20-1, with the Ragin' Cajuns winning 14 of 22 games played in Lafayette.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won nine of the last 10 meetings at Cajun Field between the schools since 1994 with the Red Wolves victory (50-27) coming in 2012.
• Today's meeting is the 45th between the schools in a series that dates back to the 1953 season.
• The teams have met annually since 2001.

THE LAST MEETING - Arkansas State 37, Louisiana 27, 10/20/2015 at Jonesboro
• Junior Jalen Nixon became the second quarterback in school history to record both 200 yards rushing and passing in a single game, but Arkansas State built a 34-7 lead in the second quarter and held on for a 37-27 victory over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in a nationally-televised game on Tuesday at Centennial Bank Stadium.
• Freddie Knighten tossed second-quarter touchdown passes of 2 yards to Darion Griswold and 46 yards to Chris Murray as Arkansas State (4-3, 3-0 SBC) gained 435 yards of total offense, including 306 on the ground. Freshman Warren Wand led the Red Wolves with 96 yards on the ground while Michael Gordon added 73 yards with a touchdown.
• Nixon completed 17 of 44 passes for a career-high 253 yards and two TDs while rushing for 201 yards on 19 carries. The Carencro native joined Brian Mitchell, who rushed for 271 yards and passed for 205 yards against Colorado State in 1987, as the lone players in Ragin' Cajuns to record 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game.
• Elijah McGuire tied a career-high with 10 receptions for Louisiana (2-4, 1-1 SBC) while setting a career-best with 134 yards receiving. The junior, who entered the game with 999 yards receiving in his career, took a swing pass from Nixon and gained 21 yards to become the first player in school history to record 2,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a career.
• McGuire became the third player in school history to record 4,000 all-purpose yards in his career following Tyrell Fenroy (5,231 yards from 2005-08) and Darryl Surgent (4,945 from 2010-13).

NOTES FROM THE GEORGIA GAME
• Captains were QB Anthony Jennings (Marietta), RB Elijah McGuire, LB Tre'maine Lightfoot, LB Otha Peters.
• Jennings' father, Willie Jennings, was a defensive lineman at Georgia from 1990-92.
• The announced attendance of 92,746 was tied for the third-largest game Louisiana has participated in school history (equaling the 92,746 at Georgia on Sept. 4, 2010).
• Louisiana's 276 rushing yards in the game marked a season-high (previous high 256 vs. South Alabama, 10/17).
• Louisiana won the coin toss (now 5-5 on the season) and elected to defer to the second half.
• Ishiah McKenzie's 82-yard punt return for Georgia in the first quarter was the first allowed by the Ragin' Cajuns since Bobo Beathard (33 yards) of Appalachian State in 2014. The return was also the tied for the second-longest against the Cajuns in school history.
• Jennings scored on a 9-yard TD in the second quarter for his fifth rushing TD of the season. He added two TD runs in the fourth quarter - a 13-yard score and a 1-yard rush for his first three-TD game of his career.
• Louisiana's four turnovers tied a season-high (also at Tulane).
• Tracy Walker' interception in the second quarter was his second of the season. The 39-yard return was the longest of his career (previous 14).
• Denarius Howard forced and recovered a Sony Michel fumble in the fourth quarter.
• Al Riles caught six passes for 105 yards – his third 100-yard receiving game of the season and fourth of his career.
• Elijah McGuire's 124 yards marked the 16th 100-yard rushing game of his career. McGuire increased his season total to 886 yards on 177 yards.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cole Bourque

Savion Brown

Nick Byrne

Allen Cummins

Karmichael Dunbar

Christian Goodlett

Eddie Gordon

Trey Granier

Denarius Howard

Anthony Jennings

Jared Johnson

Dominick Jones

Tre'maine Lightfoot

Elijah McGuire

Reggie Miles

Stephen Morella

Jalen Nixon

Otha Peters

Al Riles

Tracy Walker

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