JONESBORO, Ark. – Freshman Jaylen Raynor completed 18 of 28 passes for 194 yards while rushing for a pair of touchdowns as Arkansas State snapped a five-game losing streak to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in a 37-17 win Saturday afternoon at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Louisiana (5-4, 2-3 SBC), which plays host to Southern Miss on Thursday in a nationally-televised contest, rushed for a season-low 64 yards while allowing Arkansas State (5-4, 3-2 SBC) to gain 232 on the ground – the most against the Ragin' Cajuns in 2023.
The Red Wolves took the opening kickoff and scored on Zak Wallace's 18-yard TD for a 7-0 lead before Louisiana tied the game when Zeon Chriss connected with Peter LeBlanc for an 87-yard TD strike.
Raynor, who kept Louisiana off-balance by adding 53 yards on the ground, scored the first of his two TDs on a 2-yard run with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter as Arkansas State led 14-7 after the first quarter.
Dominic Zvada booted field goals of 41 and 20 yards for the Red Wolves while Kenneth Almendares' 24-yard field cut the deficit to 20-10 at the half.
Louisiana closed to within 20-17 with 6:25 left when Chriss capped an 11-play drive with a 1-yard TD run before A-State responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive as Raynor scored on his second 2-yard run of the day.
Zvada added a 30-yard field goal with 1:16 left for a 30-17 lead before Javante Mackey scooped up a fumble and scored on a 16-yard TD to seal the win.
Chriss, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a lower leg injury, went 12-for-17 through the air for 171 yards. Chandler Fields finished 10-for-17 for the Ragin' Cajuns with 92 yards. LeBlanc caught six passes for a career-high 129 yards for Louisiana with Terrance Carter catching a career-high five passes.
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