Louisiana-Lafayette beats Texas State 23-17 to remain the only undefeated team in Sun Belt play

SAN MARCOS, Texas -- — Ben Wooldridge threw for 252 yards and a touchdown, Dre’lyn Washington rushed for 94 yards and another score, and Louisiana-Lafayette beat Texas State 23-17 on Tuesday night.

Louisiana-Lafayette (7-1, 4-0) is the only undefeated team in Sun Belt play.

Washington broke free for a 64-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the first quarter to take a 7-6 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns extended it to 14-6 with 1:07 left in the first half when Wooldridge found TE Caden Jensen wide open in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard score.

Kenneth Almendares drilled a 42-yard field goal with 4:59 remaining in the third to give ULL the lead for good at 17-14. Then Louisiana-Lafayette LB Jaden Dugger forced a fumble that teammate Amir McDaniel recovered near midfield at 3:38.

Almendares added makes of 24 and 44 yards in the fourth.

Tyrone Lewis Jr. sealed it with 3:29 remaining by intercepting a tipped pass.

Texas State (4-4, 2-2) was seeking its first 3-1 start in Sun Belt play for the first time since 2014.

RJ Martinez was 11 of 14 for 113 yards with an interception for Texas State. Jordan McCloud went 12 of 18 for 88 yards. Ismail Mahdi had 82 yards on the ground with a touchdown.

ULL has claimed all 12 games against the Bobcats in the all-time series dating to 2013, including a 34-30 come-from-behind victory last year at Cajun Field.

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