2011 Games of the Year: Louisiana versus San Diego State

Louisiana-Lafayette 32, San Diego State 30

Behind a career game from quarterback Blaine Gautier, Louisiana beat San Diego 32-30 in the New Orleans Bowl to bring closure to a magical season for the Ragin' Cajuns.

San Diego State received the opening kickoff and went on an 11-play, 53-yard drive that was stopped at the UL 10-yard line. Kicker Abelardo Perez drilled a 27-yard kick to give the Aztecs a 3-0 lead with 5:25 played in the game. Both teams then struggled punting back and forth ending with Louisiana taking control of the ball on their own 20-yard line with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

UL mixed the run and pass to perfection in moving the ball 80 yards in 10 plays capped by Gautier finding Javone Lawson for an 18-yard pass that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 6-3 lead with :25 left in the first quarter. Baer's extra point attempt was blocked keeping the score at 6-3 in favor of UL.

San Diego State got the ball back but struggled to move the ball with a punt coming from the Aztec 37-yard line. Brian Stahovich punted the ball 50 yard to the UL 13-yard line followed by Darryl Surgent taking the punt 87 yards for a touchdown. Baer's extra point was good and extended the UL lead to 13-3 with 13:54 left in the half.

The Aztecs responded to the UL touchdown with a 16-play, 71-yard drive to the UL 6-yard line. In a bold move, the Aztecs went for it on a 4th-and-1 at the UL 6-yard line but were stuffed giving the ball back to the Ragin' Cajuns inside their own 10-yard line. The Ragin' Cajuns then went 93 yards to the San Diego State 1-yard line but Dey Juan Hemmings intercepted Gaultier giving the ball back to the Aztecs on their own 4-yard line.

Neither team was able to do anything of substance ending with Alonzo Harris' 3-yard rush to end the half at 13-3 in favor of the Ragin' Cajuns.

Louisiana got the ball to start the second half and went 73 yards including a 52-yard and 20-yard pass that suddenly put the Ragin' Cajuns in complete control at 19-3. Baer missed the extra point attempt leaving the lead at 16 points for UL.

The Aztecs returned the ensuing punt to the UL 41-yard line and fumbled but came up with the recovery giving themselves great field position to get back into the game. Two plays later, the Aztecs were back in the game only down 19-10 with 12:54 left in the 3rd quarter. Both teams traded punts with San Diego State ending up pinned at their own 1-yard line with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

Behind the arm of Ryan Lindley, the Aztecs went 99 yard in 7 plays with Lindley finding Colin Lockettfor a 16-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 19-17 following Perez's extra point. The Ragin' Cajuns responded with a 14-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Gaultier finding Lawson for an 11-yard pass to extend the lead to 26-17 with 12:48 left in the game.

San Diego State moved the ball down to the Louisiana 19-yard line before being stuck with a 4th-and-6 attempt. Perez missed the 36-yard attempt keeping the lead at 9 points in favor of UL. The Ragin' Cajuns failed to move the ball and then saw Baer struggle with a 35-yard punt giving the ball back to San Diego State at their own 45-yard line.

The Aztecs used the good field position and moved 55 yards capped by Adam Muema's 5-yard touchdown rush that again cut the Ragin' Cajun lead to 2 points with 5:40 left in the game. UL got the kickoff and proceeded to go on a 10-play 72-yard drive that got to the San Diego State 3-yard line. The Aztec defense bowed up and held the Ragin' Cajuns to a 22-yard field goal that only put UL up 29-24 with 2:09 left in the game.

Behind the arm of Lindley, the Aztecs moved down field and converted a 4th-and-2 from their own 39-yard line and found the end zone with :35 left in the game putting them up 30-29 pending the extra point conversion. The Aztecs made the smart call and decided to go for 2 but coming up short with an incomplete pass. The Aztecs had their first lead since the 1st quarter at 30-29 with only :35 seconds left on the clock.

The Ragin' Cajuns had to start at their own 18-yard line following a great kickoff coverage by San Diego State but went 39 yards on two plays to get to the SDSU 43-yard line with :07 left in the game. Gaultier connected on a 5-yard pass followed by a 5-yard San Diego State penalty that left the Ragin' Cajuns with a one-shot 50-yard field goal attempt to end the game. Baer atoned for his previous miss with a perfect kick that split the uprights and gave the buzzer beating win to the Ragin' Cajuns at 32-30 in the New Orleans Bowl.