Marshall routs Louisiana 31-3 to capture Sun Belt Championship

By RealWV Staff,

LAFAYETTE, La. – Although Louisiana took a 3-0 lead halfway through the first quarter, it would prove to be their only lead and their only score of the day, as the Ragin’ Cajuns fell to Marshall in the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Championship, by the final score of 31-3.

Quarterback Braylon Braxton completed 18 of 26 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Louisiana went 14 for 33 between two passers, with one interception. The Thundering Herd’s Tychaun Chapman led all receivers with 86 yards on 8 receptions, and one touchdown. Chuck Montgomery caught 4 for 50 yards, while Bralon Brown caught one pass for 20 yards and a touchdown.

Running Back Jordan Houston racked up 117 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Barylon Braxton added 66 rushing yards on 16 carries to his 193 passing yards, and Ethan Payne picked up 39 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries.

Marshall dominated defensively from start to finish, holding Louisiana to just 56 rushing yards, and 256 total yards to the Thundering Herd’s 410. Penalties were also an issue for Louisiana, losing 113 yards on 10 penalties. And time of possession also favored Marshall, as they controlled the ball for nearly 10 full minutes more than Louisiana – 28:11 to 18:26.

Linebacker Jaden Yates led the Herd with 6 total tackles, followed by TyQaze Leggs, Monroe Beard III, Mike Green, and J’Coryan Anderson – each with 5 tackles. Josh Moten had the only interception of the game.

Game Comparison

STAT	Marshall	Louisiana
Total Yds	410	256
Pass Yds	193	200
Rush Yds	217	56
Penalties	6-60	10-113
1st Downs	26	11
3rd Downs	8-15	2-16
4th Downs	1-1	4-6
Total Plays	70	61
Avg Yds/Play	5.9	4.2
Avg Yds/Completion	10.7	14.3
Avg Yds/Rush	4.9	2
Sack-Adj Rush Yd(Avg)	226 (5.3)	69 (2.7)
Red Zone	4-4	0-1
Time of Poss	28:11	18:26
Turnovers (Def Pts Off)	0 (0)	1 (0)
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	0-0
Sacks (Def Yds)	2 (13)	1 (9)
TFL (Def Yds)	6 (20)	2 (10)