The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns put together one of their most complete performances of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Troy Trojans 33-6 at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. UL controlled the game on both sides of the ball with a strong rushing attack along with a defense that consistently made life difficult for Troy.

Louisiana entered the game looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking 32-31 loss to Louisiana Tech last weekend. The Cajuns did just that, building a 19-0 halftime lead and never allowing Troy to seriously threaten their advantage. The win moves Louisiana to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt play.

Cajuns Continue to Find Success on the Ground

One of the biggest positives from Saturday was the continued success of Louisiana's rushing attack. The Cajuns finished with 243 yards on the ground, averaging nearly five yards per carry while finding the end zone three times.

For the third time this season, quarterback Lunch Winfield led the rushing attack with 65 yards on 15 runs, continuing as a major part of the Cajuns' offensive production even when the passing game isn't generating much. Redshirt freshman JJ Garner led right behind with 62 rushing yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that extended Louisiana's lead to 13-0. Quarterback Lunch Winfield added 65 yards on the ground.

Anthony Reagan Jr. finished with 58 rushing yards and a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, while Steven Blanco added 50 yards and a short touchdown run of his own. Having four players reach at least 50 rushing yards is a pretty good indication of how well Louisiana controlled the line of scrimmage.

The passing game, however, struggled yet again. Winfield completed 11 of 21 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, with KeDarius Wade catching the Cajuns' only passing touchdown on a three-yard connection in the first quarter. Trenton Chaney led the receivers with three catches for 45 yards.

Louisiana has shown throughout the season that it can move the ball effectively on the ground, and Saturday was another example of that. The concern is whether the passing game can develop enough to keep opposing defenses from loading up against the run. They threw it well against Louisiana Tech, and the expectation was that they would do the same, if not better, against a struggling Troy secondary. The lack of a passing game on Saturday proved not to be an issue, but the UL needs to have more production through the air as the schedule continues.

The Defense Continues to Make Big Plays

Louisiana's defense deserves a lot of credit for Saturday's performance. The Cajuns held Troy to only six points and 267 total yards, allowing just one scoring drive throughout the afternoon. Remember, this comes just one week after Troy's offense suffocated Southern Miss' defense with 662 total yards, including a whopping 437 yards on the ground. Louisiana held Troy to just 126 rushing yards.

Troy's only touchdown came early in the third quarter when running back Tucker Kilcrease broke free for a 23-yard score. The drive cut Louisiana's lead to 19-6 and briefly gave the Trojans some momentum coming out of halftime. The Cajuns responded exactly how they needed to, putting together a long scoring drive on offense before the defense went back to work. Louisiana limited Troy to just three conversions on 12 third-down attempts and stopped the Trojans on three of their four fourth-down attempts.

The defense also came up with two crucial turnovers. Harrison Kidder recovered a muffed punt early in the first quarter, giving the Cajuns the ball at Troy's eight-yard line and setting up their opening touchdown. Later in the second quarter, Micah Johnson recovered a fumble that helped Louisiana extend its lead.

Johnson has continued to step up in an important role for this defense, and his ability to make plays around the football has been valuable. Jake St. Andre led the team with eight tackles, while Maurion Eleam recorded five tackles and a sack. Brent Gordon Jr. also finished with five tackles and three pass breakups, including a fourth-down stop that helped shut down one of Troy's second-half possessions.

After allowing a touchdown to open the second half, the defense settled back in and made sure the Trojans never found another answer.

Tony Sterner Stays Reliable

While Saturday's win wasn't nearly as close as the Cajuns' victory over Arkansas State two weeks ago, Tony Sterner still played an important role in helping Louisiana build its halftime advantage.

The redshirt senior connected on field goals from 42 and 46 yards in the second quarter, with the latter coming as time expired before halftime. The two kicks helped push the Cajuns' lead to 19-0 and gave Troy an even bigger hole to climb out of.

Sterner has continued to provide consistency in the kicking game since taking over the starting job, and having a reliable kicker becomes especially important in conference play. Louisiana didn't need a game-winner this time, but his ability to convert from distance helped the Cajuns take control before halftime.

The offense also deserves credit for taking advantage of the opportunities created by the defense. Louisiana scored after both of its takeaways, and the early special teams recovery gave the Cajuns a short field for their opening touchdown. Those are the kinds of situations that can make a major difference in conference games. In the postgame, OL Fitzgerald West Jr. talked about how much the team valued being perfect on all three sides of the football.

A Strong (and much needed) Response after the Louisiana Tech Loss

The biggest takeaway from Saturday is that Louisiana responded well after a disappointing finish against Louisiana Tech. The Cajuns had a chance to win last weekend before falling by one point, but there wasn't much room for frustration to linger with another conference (and divisional) matchup on the schedule. Louisiana came out ready to play against Troy and built a comfortable lead before halftime.

The most impressive drive of the afternoon came after Troy scored its lone touchdown. Louisiana responded with a 16-play, 91-yard possession that took 8 minutes and 22 seconds off the clock. Blanco finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, and the Cajuns effectively took the life out of any momentum Troy had gained. That drive was a perfect example of what Louisiana wants its offense to look like.

The Cajuns ran the ball consistently, converted third downs and kept Troy's offense on the sideline. Louisiana finished with 23 first downs and controlled possession for more than 36 minutes, compared to just over 23 minutes for Troy.

There are still things to improve, particularly in the passing game, but it's hard to complain too much about a 27-point conference win. The Cajuns were physical, took care of the football well enough to avoid giving Troy any easy opportunities, and made the plays necessary to put the game away. Most importantly, they did not turn the ball over. Fortunately the one fumble they had was quickly recovered by JJ Garner, but Coach Des was not happy after the game about the team's ball security issues this season, and hopes they are resolved soon.

It also got a victory in a game which is believed to have massive implications down the road when it comes to determining who makes the Sun Belt Conference championship. Last season, Louisiana, despite finishing the regular season 6-6, fell just one game short of making the conference championship game. It was the loss to Troy halfway through the season that, weeks later, was revealed to have given the Trojans the edge and the right to play in the game instead of the Cajuns.

Louisiana is now 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Sun Belt play, putting itself in a good position heading into the next stretch of the schedule. The Cajuns will travel to Hattiesburg next Saturday to take on Southern Miss, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPN+.

Saturday was a good reminder of what this team can look like when the rushing attack is clicking and the defense is playing at a high level. Now, the challenge is finding a way to carry that performance onto the road and continue building momentum in conference play.