Arkansas State struggled to overcome an early deficit on Saturday night at Cajun Field, ultimately falling 55-19 to Louisiana.

The Red Wolves (5-4, 3-2 SBC) amassed 401 yards of offense, including 209 on the ground, but were unable to match the Ragin’ Cajuns’ (8-1, 5-0) balanced attack of 301 yards passing and 278 rushing.

Ja’Quez Cross led the ground game with 81 yards, while Zak Wallace and Timmy McClain each recorded rushing touchdowns.

Jaylen Raynor threw for 167 yards and a touchdown to Adam Jones, completing 23 of 35 pass attempts.

Corey Rucker led the receiving corps with six catches for 73 yards. On defense, Dontay Joyner made a team-high seven tackles, including a career-high six solo tackles.

Louisiana jumped to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, with a 20-yard pass from Ben Wooldridge to Harvey Broussard and a 44-yard field goal by Kenny Almendares. The Cajuns’ ground game added three touchdowns in the second quarter from Dre’lyn Washington, Zylan Perry, and Bill Davis, extending the lead to 31-0.

Just before halftime, Raynor connected with Jones for a 16-yard touchdown pass, but the two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 31-6 at the break.In the second half, Almendares hit a 45-yard field goal, but A-State responded with a 13-yard rushing touchdown by Wallace, narrowing the gap to 34-12. Louisiana then scored 21 unanswered points with touchdowns from Davis, Washington, and Chandler Fields. McClain added a 10-yard rushing touchdown for Arkansas State to close out the scoring.

Arkansas State will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 16, traveling to Georgia State for a game against the Panthers, scheduled for 4 p.m. CT at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium on ESPN+.