Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
7-6
Louisiana
13-1
Thundering Herd Drops New Orleans Bowl, 36-21
12/19/2021 4:51:00 AM | Football
Ali goes for 160 on the ground with three touchdowns
NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's Football team racked up 20 fourth-quarter points to register a 36-21 comeback win over Marshall in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl Saturday evening at the Superdome.
The Ragin' Cajuns' Emani Bailey rushed for 94 yards and two scores, while quarterback Levi Lewis threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and piled up 74 more on the ground.
Marshall was led by running back Rasheen Ali, who had 20 carries for a Marshall bowl-record 160 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive end Owen Porter also tied the Thundering Herd's top bowl mark with four tackles for loss.
The Thundering Herd finished the season at 7-6, while Louisiana, ranked as high as 16th by the Associated Press, completed its campaign at 13-1.
The Cajuns built an early 10-0 lead before Ali ripped off a scintillating 63-yard touchdown run up the middle to pull the Thundering Herd within three with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Cleveland, Ohio native added another touchdown, this time a 14-yard scamper around right end, to give Marshall its first lead at 14-10 at the 10:32 mark of the second quarter.
Louisiana kicker Nate Snyder knocked in field goals of 25 and 24 yards, respectively, to give the Sun Belt Champions a two-point (16-14) advantage at halftime.
Ali added a nine-yard touchdown as the deftly eluded defenders and leaped into the end zone for his third score at the 1:01 mark of the third quarter. That gave the Thundering Herd a 21-16 lead after Shane Ciucci knocked through his third extra point of the contest.
Bailey's four-yard score put the Cajuns back in front 22-21 but it held there after a two-point passing attempt went awry with 8:20 left in the game.
The Herd went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and Louisiana's Lewis hit Michael Jefferson on a 54-yard pass to set up the Cajuns' second touchdown of the quarter, a four-yard run by Montre Johnson at the 6:28 mark. That gave UL a 29-21 lead.
Marshall had a chance to tie the game on the next drive but suffered another three-and-out. The Cajuns then tacked on the final touchdown of the game, a two-yard Bailey score with 1:41 left.
Thundering Herd quarterback Grant Wells finished 15-for-26 with 99 yards and one interception. Wide receiver Corey Gammage was his top target with nine grabs for 50 yards.
Louisiana finished with 498 yards of total offense, while Marshall had 286.
Safety Brandon Drayton had a game-high 10 tackles and defensive back Micah Abraham added three pass breakups.
Notes
-Marshall's previous bowl rushing record was 152 yards by Doug Chapman on December 26, 1997 in the Motor City Bowl.
-Porter's 4.0 tackles for loss tied a mark held by Alex Bazzie in the 2013 Military Bowl (December 27, 2013) and B.J. Cohen in the 1997 Motor City Bowl (December 26, 1997).
Team Stats
LA 7, MAR 0
LA - Lacy, Kyren 9 yd pass from Lewis, Levi (Snyder, Nate kick) 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 5:34
LA 10, MAR 0
LA - Snyder, Nate 42 yd field goal 13 plays, 40 yards, TOP 6:35
LA 10, MAR 7
MAR - Ali, Rasheen 63 yd run (Ciucci, Shane kick), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:39
LA 10, MAR 14
MAR - Ali, Rasheen 14 yd run (Ciucci, Shane kick), 3 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:10
LA 13, MAR 14
LA - Snyder, Nate 25 yd field goal 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:27
LA 16, MAR 14
LA - Snyder, Nate 24 yd field goal 5 plays, 39 yards, TOP 0:43
LA 16, MAR 21
MAR - Ali, Rasheen 9 yd run (Ciucci, Shane kick), 13 plays, 63 yards, TOP 4:20
LA 22, MAR 21
LA - Bailey, Emani 4 yd run (Lewis, Levi passfailed), 8 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:34
LA 29, MAR 21
LA - Johnson, Montre 3 yd run (Snyder, Nate kick), 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:34
LA 36, MAR 21
LA - Bailey, Emani 2 yd run (Snyder, Nate kick), 6 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:45
