Louisiana football traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for its second road game of the season against Wake Forest.

The nonconference matchup would be a tug-of-war for momentum between two explosive offenses and unproven defenses. Every touchdown, lead change and quick possession kept fans guessing on which team would come away with the victory.

It came down to who had a better kicker and the Cajuns' redshirt senior kicker Kenneth Almendares came through, making a 31-yard field goal to win the game 41-38. The Cajuns' (3-1) victory over the Demon Deacons marks their first win over an ACC opponent in program history.

“For the last two years it just seems like nothing bounced our way, just seemed like everything just flipped around the other way,” UL football head coach Michael Desormeaux said. “I believe when things don't go your way, the only thing you do is work harder, and this team just did it. It was so rewarding to see their work pay off.”

Ben Wooldridge have yourself a game

After struggling to establish the passing game against Tulane last week, UL’s fifth-year quarterback Ben Wooldridge was looking to redeem himself this game. In the opening drive, he completed all of his passes including a 2-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Tavion Smith to give UL a 7-0 lead.

That methodical drive set the tone for Wooldridge’s outing as he meant business every time he was on the field. Whether it was connecting with his long list of receivers or scrambling for first downs, he kept the Cajuns offense on track, which was crucial in this back-and-forth matchup.

“Coach Des says this all the time, ‘We don’t feel pressure as an offense we apply the pressure to teams,’” Wooldridge said. “So we go out there, execute one play at a time with great focus, great attention to detail, and get results like tonight.”

Wooldridge’s go-to target was fifth-year wide receiver Lance LeGendre, who had his breakout game in Vermilion and White. He caught for a career-high 123 yards on six catches and two touchdowns. With LeGendre and a host of other weapons on offense, they were able to rack up 466 total yards and sneak away with the win.

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“It’s a humbling experience,” LeGendre said. “I got the opportunity to rejoin the team, and figure out where I can help this team, and it was just an awesome day for the whole team. Me and Ben spent hours on the field just building that chemistry and it carried over to the field.”

Missing defensive leaders

Clawing away with this win was no easy feat for the Cajuns' who were hit with penalty after penalty in this game. Before, they were ranked in the top three in the nation for the least penalties, and that all changed in Winston-Salem. They ended the game with eight penalties for 83 yards compared to Wake Forest’s four penalties.

Making mistakes didn’t just cost them yardage but four key starters in linebackers K.C. Ossai and Kailep Edwards, cornerback Justin Agu and safety Tyrone Lewis. All four players were ejected from the game due to targeting sucking the heart and soul out of UL’s defense.

“Some of those calls were hard to swallow but those are the rules,” Desormeaux said. “Some of it was a little frustrating with the lack of calls maybe. I mean they had four penalties for 23 yards; that’s absurd. We'll send our plays in, and they'll say what they say, and we just got to move on.”

This gave Wake Forest all it needed to move down the field with ease with fifth year senior Hank Bachmeier leading the charge. He ended the game throwing for 254 yards on 30 out of 36 completions and a touchdown. On the ground, he was pretty effective as well, rushing for 65 yards on eight carries.

Bachmeier wasn’t perfect, though, throwing an interception to UL’s safety Tyree Skipper. That was his first interception of the season and the team’s second overall.

“Once I saw that ball go up, man, I just pictured my niece was falling so I made sure I made the catch,” Skipper said. “Shoutout to the D-line because they get in the quarterback's face, making it tough on him to throw and the linebacker dropped in the right spot so the receiver has some pressure on him.”

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Hard work pays off: UL football survives against Wake Forest in Week 5