MOBILE, Ala. – Louisiana came up just short in a late rally as Delaware held on for a 20-13 victory in the 68 Ventures Bowl on Wednesday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Lunch Winfield threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, finishing 21 of 36 through the air, and guided the Ragin’ Cajuns 86 yards in the final minute before Delaware broke up a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play. Louisiana (6-7) was undone by three turnovers and missed opportunities deep in Blue Hens territory.
Jo Silver rushed for 116 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run, and Nick Minicucci completed 19 of 30 passes for 176 yards and a score as Delaware (7-6) earned a win in its FBS postseason debut.
Louisiana missed a field goal on its opening possession and later had a drive end with an interception in the end zone. Silver capped the Blue Hens’ first-quarter takeaway by racing untouched up the middle for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Ragin’ Cajuns answered with a 22-yard field goal by Tony Sterner after driving to the Delaware 5, but the Blue Hens carried a 10-3 advantage into halftime. Minicucci connected with Sean Wilson for a 35-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, and Nate Reed added a pair of field goals to extend the lead to 20-6.
Louisiana found life in the fourth quarter when Jordan Lawson blocked a 52-yard field goal attempt, setting up a drive that ended with Winfield’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Shelton Sampson Jr. on fourth down. The Cajuns later forced a turnover on downs but gave the ball back on a fumbled snap near midfield.
Pinned at its own 7 with no timeouts, Louisiana moved into scoring position behind completions to Zylan Perry, Caden Jensen and Landon Strother before a pass interference penalty set up first-and-goal at the 8.
After a 1-yard gain and spike to stop the clock with two seconds left, Delaware’s Blake Matthews broke up a pass in the end zone to seal the win.
Jaden Dugger led Louisiana with seven tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Maurion Eleam added six tackles, while Lawson recorded five stops and three tackles for loss as the Ragin’ Cajuns saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.
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