YPSILANTI, Mich. — Louisiana’s comeback bid fell short Saturday as Eastern Michigan kicker Rudy Kessinger drilled a 41-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Eagles to a 34-31 victory, their first win of the season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-3) jumped out quickly with a 23-yard touchdown run from Franklin native Zylan Perry on their opening drive, but the Eagles (1-3) answered behind quarterback Noah Kim, who totaled two touchdowns (one rushing, one passing) and helped Eastern Michigan to its first halftime lead of the year, 21-17.
Louisiana cornerback Courtline Flowers briefly swung momentum in the third quarter with a pick-six that put UL ahead 24-21, but turnovers plagued the Cajuns late. Freshman quarterback Daniel Beale complete 20 of his 33 pass attempts, for 222 yards, but tossed two interceptions in the fourth quarter, both the first takeaways of the year for EMU’s defense.
Perry capped a 110-yard rushing performance with his second touchdown in the final minutes to tie the game at 31, but Kim connected with Joshua Lewis on a key first down reception to set up Kessinger’s game-winning kick.
Bill Davis also rushed for 78 yards and a score as the Cajuns ran for 214 yards, but 10 penalties for 85 yards stalled several drives.
Eastern Michigan finished with 183 yards on the ground, its best rushing output of the season.
The Cajuns open Sun Belt play versus Marshall next week in a rematch of last year's conference championship game. The game will kick at 7:00 p.m.
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