MOBILE, Ala. — How Louisiana’s offense started Wednesday night ultimately dictated how it finished.
The Ragin’ Cajuns dropped a 20-13 decision to Delaware in the 68 Ventures Bowl, undone by a sluggish first half that left little margin for error late. Louisiana managed just three points before halftime and didn’t find the end zone until 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Early possessions told the story for the Cajuns: a missed field goal, an interception, a made field goal, a three-and-out and a run to drain the clock to end the half. By the time Louisiana began to generate sustained offense, the Blue Hens had built enough separation to hold on.
With two seconds left, the Cajuns had one final chance to make a play, but the comeback bid fell short, prompting questions about how different the outcome might have been with an early spark.
“You know, whether it was the play calling or it was the execution of it,” head coach Michael Desormeaux said when asked what stalled the offense early. “They’re playing really hard. I thought Delaware played extremely hard. We had some chances where I thought we were close to popping some, we didn’t.”
Louisiana’s lone touchdown came late, but the deficit proved too much to overcome against a Delaware defense that consistently disrupted rhythm and limited explosive plays.
“We’ve been in this situation before,” quarterback Lunch Winfield said. “The Marshall game. Everybody had the same belief, the same vision, and the same goals that we were gonna win that game. We had big plays that were there. It just was getting missed a little bit.”
The loss closes the season for Louisiana at 6-7, ending an up-and-down year with a narrow bowl defeat. As the Cajuns leave Mobile, attention now turns to the offseason and what lies ahead in 2026 as the program looks to regroup and rebuild.
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