Controlling the pace of the game was key when Louisiana football hosted Troy in Week 7 of the 2026 college football season.
That meant the Ragin’ Cajuns (5-2, 2-1 SBC) needed to rely on their strength, which has been their defense all season long. The Cajuns’ defense answered the call as they held the Trojans to a season-low, beating them 33-6 on Saturday, Oct. 17.
“Our defense was the catalyst in the first half,” UL football coach Michael Desormeaux said. “Defense was able to give us some short fields on offense by creating takeaways and turnovers, and we were able to get points. When this group, has a clear goal and has clear vision and focus. I think we’re capable of being a pretty good football team.”
Last week, the Trojans put up 55 points against Southern Mississippi and on average, they score about 28 points per game. UL’s defense set out to do everything to make Troy’s offense uncomfortable as they didn’t give up much all game long. Troy totaled just 267 total yards after rushing for 437 yards just a week ago.
“To be honest, I don’t worry about what anybody averages because UAB averaged 220 something and we saw what happened in that game,” UL football defensive lineman Fitzgerald West Jr. said. “We worry about film. Seeing what they’re trying to get to, so we’re not surprised. We trying to get back to goose eggs in the score column.”
This kind of outing is nothing new for the Cajuns’ defense, who further proved after tonight that they are the true stars of the show this season.
UL’s 'see ball, get ball' mentality
All game long, the Cajuns were applying pressure, playing with a chip on their shoulder after Week 6’s 32-31 loss against Louisiana Tech. In that loss, they let their foot off the gas pedal, allowing the Bulldogs to score 19 points in the second half. This go-round, they were much stingier and not just in the first half.
"We talked about communication all week, like our communication has to be better on defense," UL football linebacker Jake St. Andre said. "All week in practice, it's been a big deal. No secrets on defense, that's what Coach [Jim] Salgado always says, 'Black and white, no gray.' So that was kind of the main thing for us tonight."
Leading the charge was St. Andre and sophomore cornerback Brent Gordon Jr. The former led the Cajuns in tackles with eight, while Gordon led them in pass breakups (2) along with five total tackles. In the trenches, defensive linemen Maurion Eleam, West and linebacker Micah Johnson were also key in neutralizing Troy’s run game.
Eleam ended the game with three tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Johnson finished with five tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and one of UL’s two fumble recoveries. Freshman linebacker Harrison Kidder came up with the other fumble recovery on special teams.
It was a true team effort for the Cajuns’ defense as they made big play after big play, squashing any hope for the Trojans to make a comeback.
Defense leads to offense
While the Cajuns’ defense dominated Troy, UL’s offense was able to cash in on the other end. It was far from pretty, but Lunch Winfield and company ran through the Trojans, rushing for 243 yards as a team. Winfield led all rushers with 65 yards on 15 carries.
“We just weren’t throwing it real well,” Desormeaux said. “I think the wind was a factor, particularly going into the wind; we didn’t throw it really well and I didn’t think we had our best day in the pocket. I thought we had some time where we could have stood in there and get to the guys that were open.”
Outside of Winfield, all three UL running backs found the end zone. Freshman JJ Garner looked the best out the backs, rushing for 62 yards on 10 carries and long of 37 yards. Anthony Reagan Jr. followed him with 58 rushing yards and Steven Blanco added 50 yards.
Although the ground game was fruitful for the Cajuns, much was left to be desired from their passing game. Winfield opened up the game with a three-yard touchdown pass, but outside of that, UL didn’t get much in the air.
The Cajuns will look to have their offense clicking on all cylinders, similar to their defense, as they hit the road next week to face Southern Miss at 4 p.m. on Oct. 24 in Hattiesburg.
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Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana football's defense nearly shuts out Troy in Week 7