Louisiana football faced another trap-like test against Appalachian State for its second Sun Belt Conference game of the 2024 college football season.

The Ragin' Cajuns were on a positive upswing after opening up conference play with a victory over Southern Miss. The Mountaineers were in a different situation. They lost in a shootout last week against Marshall, their second conference loss.

These familiar foes went head to head in a battle to see whose defense could cause the most havoc. The Cajuns proved to be the better defense, snagging five total takeaways to beat the Mountaineers 34-24. Fifth-year quarterback Ben Wooldridge led the Cajuns' offense with three total touchdowns.

"This means we're one step closer to where we want to be in the end," UL football head coach Michael Desormeaux said. "We talked about this week and earlier in the year, about perseverance and what that means. It's not one long race, it's a bunch of little races that you have to run each week, each day."

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Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football vs Appalachian State score by quarters

First quarter

Solid opening drive

The Cajuns' (5-1, 2-0 SBC) first drive of the game looked promising as they mixed in run and pass plays to move down the field with ease. Wooldridge threw for 43 yards on 50% completion while redshirt sophomore running back Zyaln Perry got things done on the ground. He broke out for a 19-yard run to pick up one of 4 UL first downs in the drive. The Cajuns would stall out in the red zone and settle for a 32-yard field goal from Kenneth Almendares.

Second quarter

Running it down the Cajuns' throat

To end the first quarter the Mountaineers (2-4, 0-3 SBC) were having their best drive yet and it continued into the second quarter. The key to their success was finding running lanes all throughout the Cajuns' defense with redshirt Kanye Roberts leading the charge.

"I think they came out and decided they were going to play a little bit different ball against us," Desormeuax said. "They huddled, they ran the ball a lot more than typically, what they have been. I think their back's really good, he did a good job and he was a tough out to get."

He racked up 74 rushing yards by the end of the possession and got his team in scoring position. Senior quarterback Joey Aguliar capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver David Larkin to give App State a 7-0 lead.

Throwing for Gold

Wooldridge wasted no time in snatching the lead back from App State to answer back to the Mountaineers' touchdown. The slinger went deep to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Terrance Carter for a 74-yard house call, the first Cajun touchdown of the night. The pass marks the longest throw and catch for Wooldridge and Carter. It's also the longest play for the Cajuns this season.

"I didn't expect to score," Cater said. "They made their adjustments bringing the bandit safety down, being checked to play and it was supposed to be a run play so once I got the ball my thing was to protect the ball. Don't lose the ball and I bounced out looked up and was like 'Let's go get in there.'"

Carter would end the game with 107 receiving yards on four catches with his longest being the touchdown catch.

Two picks for Tyree Skipper

For the second time this season, UL's redshirt junior safety Tyree Skipper found himself in the right place at the right time. He snagged his second interception of the season killing the Mountaineer's drive and putting his team on the 33-yard line.

"All week our defensive coordinator been saying that when you get one turnover they'll come in bunches," Skipper said. "He was like, he knew this quarterback was gonna test our ball skills and just throw us 50/50, balls so he had us at practice working on jump balls, preparing to make that catch. So it's a dream come true."

The Cajuns took the ball down to the eight-yard line looking to build on their lead before halftime. Wooldridge cashed in on the App State turnover with an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Harvey Broussard to give the Cajuns a 10-point lead.

App State steals points before halftime

Despite having less than two minutes to go in the half, Mountaineers had no quit in them. They drove down the field with Aguliar's accurate arm getting them there. By the end of the drive, he was up to 92 passing yards with his biggest targets being Roberts and junior Makai Johnson. He ended the two-minute drill with an eight-yard pass to Roberts to slice into the Cajun's lead.

Third quarter

App State ties it up

In their first drive of the second half, the Mountaineers made it look easy. Whether it was a run play for Roberts or a dart from Aguliar, they moved the chains with ease against a UL defense that didn't look like it had an answer. The Cajuns would eventually get a stop and force App State to settle for a 44-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Jackson Moore to tie the game up.

Career long for Almendares

The Cajuns were looking for an answer to the Mountaineers' game-tying field goal and no one better than Almendares to give them that answer. He launched it from 53 yards and split the uprights to not only give his team back the led but set a career-long field goal.

Fourth quarter

UL's Justin Agu makes a big play

Just when you thought the Mountaineers were going to score UL's defense had a different idea in mind. Roberts fumbled the ball and redshirt senior cornerback Justin Agu scooped it up and took it for 68 yards. This turnover on downs marks the second forced turnover for the Cajuns and puts them in a perfect scoring position.

"They were getting close to our end zone so our defense as a whole really had to buckle down," Agu said. "So from what I saw, from my perspective, the receiver came and blocked me. It was a run play and K.C (Ossai) came and stripped the ball and I saw the ball pop up. I know the tight end chased me down but it won't happen again."

Fumbles can be a good thing

After the fumble recovery and horse collar call on the Mountaineers, the Cajuns were just eight yards away from a touchdown. On the handoff, the ball was fumbled and bounced off a UL player's foot and went into the endzone. Luckily for them, fifth-year offensive lineman Landon Burton was there to recover it for his first career touchdown.

UL's defense continued to be effective as the quarter rolled on causing another turnover on an Aguliar pass where Skipper went in the air and snatched it from the intended receiver. This marked his second interception of the game and third on the season.

Mountaineers respond in a hurry

All game long Aguliar has been picking the Cajuns' defense apart finding his receivers at will throughout the night. He did just that after throwing his second interception. The slinger ended the quick drive with a 26-yard touchdown to wide receiver Eli Wilson notching his third touchdown of the night.

App State's offense wasn't the Mountaineers' only response. Defensively they came up with their first forced turnover in the game on an interception. The Cajuns could've run more time off the clock at the six-minute mark but instead went for the home run ball and it was picked off by App State's Jordan Favors.

Interception Galore

If you thought three interceptions were enough for this game think again. As App State was trying to make something happen off of Favors' interception, Aguilar threw an interception of his own this time to the Cajuns' fifth-year senior safety Tyrone Lewis Jr. This marked his third interception of the game and the fourth overall between both teams.

Cajuns ice the game

The Cajuns ran the clock down after Lewis Jr.'s interception gave them a great field position. They ran the ball and mixed in a pass play to ensure the chains kept moving and the clock. As they ran the clock down and the Mountaineers used up all of their timeouts UL could practically smell the win.

Wooldridge made sure to put the nail in the coffin with a one-yard rushing touchdown, his third touchdown of the night. If a 10-point lead wasn't enough to lock this game up another Lewis Jr. interception would do the trick. This gave the Cajuns five total takeaways in the game.

"Ben's toughness is elite, there's no other word to describe it," Desormeuax said. "I mean, that guy just,wills things to happen. And I think when you have a quarterback that plays a game like he does, I think your whole team embodies that."

Pregame Notes:

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Appalachian State time, date

• Date: Saturday, Oct. 12

• Time: 6:30 p.m. CT

• Location: Cajun Field

What channel is Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Appalachian State game on today?

TV channel: ESPN+

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network

Louisiana vs. App State will be available live on ESPN+ in Week 7 of the 2024 college football season. Dan McDonald, Eric Mouton, and Ben Schafer will provide commentary from Cajun Field. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Appalachian State history

Series record: App State leads 8-3

In Lafayette: App State leads 3-2

In Boone: App State leads 5-1

Louisiana's last win: Dec. 4, 2021 (24-16)

App State's last win: Dec. 7, 2019 (45-38)

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Appalachian State weather update

Saturday's matchup will be played in mostly sunny and warm weather with clear skies. It'll be a high of 88 degrees and a low of 63 degrees.

REQUIRED READING: What channel is Louisiana- App State football game on? Time, TV, streaming info

REQUIRED READING: UL football bowl game projections: Where the Cajuns are projected to play at Week 7

Louisiana football 2024 schedule

• Aug. 31: Grambling State (40-10 W)

• Sept. 7: at Kennesaw State (34-10 W)

• Sept. 21: Tulane (41-33 L)

• Sept. 28: at Wake Forest (41-38 W)

• Oct. 5: at Southern Miss (23-13 W)

• Oct. 12: Appalachian State

• Oct. 19: at Coastal Carolina

• Oct. 29: at Texas State

• Nov. 9: Arkansas State

• Nov. 16: South Alabama

• Nov. 23: Troy

• Nov. 30: at ULM

• Record: (4-1)

Appalachian State schedule 2024

• Aug. 31: Eastern Tennessee State (38-10 W)

• Sept. 7: at Clemson (66-20 L)

• Sept. 14: at East Carolina (21-19 W)

• Sept. 19: South Alabama (48-14 L)

• Sept. 28: Liberty (Canceled)

• Oct. 5: at Marshall (52-37 L)

• Oct. 12: at Louisiana

• Oct. 26: Georgia State

• Nov. 2: Old Dominion

• Nov. 7: at Coastal Carolina

• Nov. 23: James Madison

• Record: (2-3)

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Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana vs App State: Here's the final score and highlights