2021 Mid-American Conference Football Week 3 Game Recap: Louisiana 49, Ohio 14

After a slow start the first two weeks of the season, Louisiana (2-1) got back on track versus Ohio with a resounding victory Thursday night, defending their home turf with a 49-14 victory over the visiting Ohio Bobcats (0-3).

Although the game was ultimately a rout, it was fairly competitive in the first half.

Louisiana took an early 14-0 lead with a two-yard pass from QB Levi Lewis to WR John Stephens Jr. followed by a six-yard run by freshman Montrell Johnson, who finished with 83 yards and four rushing TDs on the evening.

The Bobcats got some three defensive stops after Louisiana’s early success and Ohio’s offense came to life in the second quarter, scoring on a five-play, 61-yard drive, capped by a 25-yard pass from QB Kurtis Rourke to RB O’Shaan Allison on a wild, SportsCenter-worthy double QB pass play to bring the score to 14-7.

The Ragin’ Cajuns took a 21-7 halftime lead by scoring a TD on the final play of the first half on a one-yard run, with an extended replay review concluding Montrell Johnson inched the ball over the goal line plain as time expired.

Louisiana largely dominated play in the second half, rushing the ball with ease, finishing the night with 312 yards rushing in route to 562 yards of total offense.

The Bobcats showed a few signs of life on offense early in the second half, with their opening drive being a ten-play march into Louisiana territory. They managed to make it inside the Ragin’ Cajuns ten-yard line, when an option pitch from Rourke to De’Montre Tuggle was off the mark and would be recovered by Louisiana about 10 yards behind the Ohio offense.

Later in the third quarter, Ohio turned an Alvin Floyd interception into a TD on a three-play, 39-yard drive capped by Kurtis Rourke finding Ty Walton in the corner of the endzone on a 21-yard teardrop pass to bring the score to 28-14 at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter.

The Floyd interception was the only time in the second half that the Bobcats stopped Louisiana’s offense, as the Rajun’ Cajuns otherwise had four TD drives and a missed 49-yard FG attempt.

The Bobcats were unable to move the ball with any consistency throughout the contest, finishing with 250 yards of total offense on the night with seven punts, and were a sieve on defense to boot, allowing Louisiana to hold the ball for over 33 minutes and pick up 562 total yards of offense. The ‘Cats allowed an incredible five rushing touchdowns on the day, including four touchdowns for RB Montrell Johnson alone.

The Bobcats get a much-needed eight day break before heading to Northwestern on Saturday, Sept. 25 to take on the Wildcats.