Marshall Football Starts SBC Play At Louisiana

2025 Marshall Football Tickets | Coach Gibson Weekly Press Conference - Louisiana | Player Interviews – Marshall at Louisiana

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football starts Sun Belt Conference play on the road this Saturday as the Herd heads to Cajun Field to meet Louisiana in an 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT game that will be shown on ESPN+.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Live
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game notes: Marshall | Louisiana
Twitter: @HerdFB
Instagram: @Herd_FB

PRE-GAME NOTES

Saturday's contest between Marshall and Louisiana is the first Sun Belt Conference game for both teams. Both are coming off seasons in which they won their respective divisions and competed for an SBC title. The Herd won last year's SBC Championship, 31-3, at Cajun Field.

Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is coming off a performance against Middle Tennessee that landed him Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors, as well as national accolades as part of the Manning Award's "Stars of the Week" and the Davey O'Brien Award's "Great 8" for Week Four.

With a win, Marshall would win its seventh straight regular-season SBC contest and eighth straight SBC matchup overall (SBC Championship).

Louisiana head coach Michael Desormeaux earned his first head coaching win with the Ragin' Cajuns against Marshall in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl when he served as interim head coach. The 16^th-ranked Ragin' Cajuns earned a 36-21 come-from-behind win over the Herd.

The 8 p.m. ET contest between the teams is the only FBS game being played in that time slot on Saturday night.

Earlier this week, the Sun Belt Conference lost a member of its family when former App State head coach and current UCF offensive line coach Shawn Clark – a Charleston, W.Va., native - passed away. Marshall Athletics would like to extend condolences to App State, UCF and the entire Clark family.

ABOUT MARSHALL

Marshall enters this game having won each of its last two games with the offense averaging 40 points per game in the two victories.

Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson has been exceptionally efficient with the football, combining to go 25 of 31 through the air for 369 yards and six touchdowns. He has also rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns in those wins.

Wide receiver Demarcus Lacey also showcased his game-breaker abilities last week, catching five passes for 116 yards and a touchdown while adding two rushes for 42 yards. Lacey is also averaging 16.1 yards per punt return.

Defensively, Marshall safety Cam Smith has been everywhere on the field for the Herd. He leads the team in solo tackles (15), tackles for loss (4.5), pass breakups (3) and forced fumbles (1). Linebackers Cannon Lewis and Kerion Martin lead the defense with 24 and 23 tackles respectively.

For a more in-depth look at Marshall football, visit HERE.

ABOUT LOUISIANA

Louisiana is coached by Michael Desormeaux, who is in his fourth full season leading the program. Desormeaux, who debuted as a head coach against Marshall in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl, has a coaching record of 24-21.

The Ragin' Cajuns are currently 1-3 on the season, but two of their losses came by a combined five points – 14-12 to Rice and 34-31 to Eastern Michigan.

Louisiana's offense features a strong rushing attack with two of the SBC's top backs in Zylan Perry and Bill Davis. Perry has rushed for 336 yards and three scores this season while Davis has added 269 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Jaden Dugger leads a talented defense for the Ragin' Cajuns with 32 tackles. Terrence Williams is just behind with 28.

For more information surrounding the Louisiana football program, visit HERE.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs. Louisiana owns a 2-1 series advantage.

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---HerdZone.com---

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Players Mentioned

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson

Demarcus Lacey

Cannon Lewis

Kerion Martin

Cam Smith

Marshall University Athletics