Cajuns Get Thrashed in the Run Game in Loss to Florida State

The Cajuns came into week 12 of the college football season with a record of 5-5 and just one win away from that coveted bowl eligibility. The Cajuns come into this game banged with starting quarterback Ben Wooldridge out with a torn ACL. He will be out for the remainder of the season. That will put Chandler Fields at the helm for the first time since their homecoming loss to Troy.

The Cajuns' opponent for today is the Florida State Seminoles. The Noles come into the day with a 7-3 record and rank #20 in the latest CFP rankings. The Seminoles are led by their star quarterback, Jordan Travis. The has been set for a pivotal matchup between the Cajuns and the Seminoles, let's see how it all went down.

The Cajuns won the toss and elected to defer until the second half as Louisiana would start the game on defense. The Noles would quickly get into Cajun territory thanks to the legs of Jordan Travis. FSU continued to get big chunk plays on the ground as Treshaun Ward would take in from 36-yards out to get the Seminoles on the board first as they led 7-0 in the first quarter.

Chandler Fields would come out onto the field for the Cajuns' first offensive possession of the game. The Seminole defense wouldn't allow the Cajuns to get anything going as Louisiana would go three-and-out on their first drive.

Jordan Travis went back to work for the Noles as he continued to be a problem for Cajuns on the ground. FSU ripped big runs to get inside the Cajun 20-yard-line in just three plays. Travis would finish this drive himself as he would walk in for the two-yard score to make it a 14-0 nothing ball game with 7:37 left in the first quarter.

The Cajuns' second drive would start better than the first as Louisiana would move the chains a few times with the help of some FSU penalties. The drive would stall as just past mid-field with the Cajuns facing a fourth-and-two. The Cajuns would keep the offense on the field but the run from Williams would come up short and the Seminoles would take over on downs.

The Noles would take full advantage of the great field position as Travis would once again take it on the ground for the score. The 13-yard score would make it 21-0 FSU lead with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Cajuns couldn't find much success on their third drive of the game. Louisiana would pick up one first down before punting the ball back to FSU to end the first quarter. The Noles would put 165 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone.

The Cajun defense would keep the FSU ground game in check for the first drive of the second quarter as the Noles couldn't convert on third-and-short. The Cajuns would force the first FSU punt of the game giving Chanler and the boys another crack at it.

The Cajuns still struggled to get anything going on the offensive end of things as a huge sack set up fourth-and-long. The Cajuns would punt it back to FSU who would return it for great starting field position. The Noles would do all the damage on the ground again as Treshaun Ward would take it in from two yards out for his second score of the day. That touchdown would make it a 28-0 game in favor of FSU.

The Noles would continue to flex their offensive power as they add a fifth score just before halftime. This one came off of a touchdown pass from Travis to McClain to make it a 35-0 game in favor of FSU.

The Cajuns would get something going on their final possession of the half as they would work their way into FSU territory. Chandler Fields would do a little bit of everything as he would use his legs to move the chains but it was his arm that would get the Cajuns to the FSU 1-yard-line. The drive would stall and the Cajuns would be forced to kick a 25-yard field goal. Kenny Almendares' kick was up and good to make it a 35-3 game going into halftime.

The Cajuns would get the ball to start the second half but they continued to struggle against the Seminole defense as they would be forced to punt it back to the FSU offense. Tate Rodemaker would come into the game to spell Jordan Travis. The backup quarterback didn't disrupt the potent offense as a big strike would quickly get the Noles inside the Cajun 20-yard-line. The Noles kept on the ground once they got close and Trey Benson would take it in for the 2-yard score to make it 42-3 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.

Things went from bad to worse on offense as Washington would fumble on the ensuing possession giving FSU the ball back at the 18-yard-line. The Noles didn't let up on offense as the third-string QB, Duffy would toss a touchdown to Douglas to make it a 49-3 game.

The Cajuns would get something going on the offensive side of things and Fields would get the Cajuns into FSU territory. The drive would stall as the Cajuns fail on a fourth down allowing the Noles to take over on downs from their own 43-yard-line. The Noles would go for a fourth down attempt as well and the Cajuns' defense would come up with a turnover on downs of their own.

The Cajuns would get the ball back to start the fourth quarter.

The Cajuns would start the fourth quarter facing another fourth-and-short but the Cajuns were able to convert with a good run from Williams. The Cajuns would continue the good momentum as Jamal Bell would set the Cajuns up with first-and-goal after a good catch and run. The Cajuns would face another fourth down on this drive and Chandler Fields would link up with Michael Jefferson for the first score of the game for Louisiana. That would make it a 49-10 ball game.

The Cajuns would get another stop on defense and looked to get a little practice time in on the offensive side of things. Louisiana would continue to fight as Chandler would connect with John Stephens to get the Cajuns in the red zone. Fields would add to his stats as he would scamper in for a touchdown to make it 49-17

Neither team would score again for the remaining five minutes with the final score at 49-17. The Florida State Seminoles would rush for 245 yards, the most given up by the Cajuns all season. The 20th-ranked Seminoles would improve to 8-3 on the season and the Cajuns will fall to 5-6. The Cajuns will head into the season finally against Texas State needing a win to get bowl eligible.