By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
LAFAYETTE, La. – ULM's 2023 season concluded Saturday with a 52-21 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Warhawks (2-10, 0-8 Sun Belt) finished the year on a 10-game losing streak after winning their first two games over Army and Lamar. ULL (6-6, 3-5 Sun Belt) achieved bowl eligibility with the win.

"At the end of the day, Lafayette had more to play for and they played with a little more energy," ULM coach Terry Bowden said.

Running back Bennett Galloway was an offensive bright spot, rushing for 87 yards on 16 attempts. Adin Huntington was the defensive standout with eight solo tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup, while Dylan Howell scored a touchdown on a 24-yard fumble return.

Quarterbacks Blake Murphy and Jiya Wright were a combined 9-of-20 passing for 86 yards and two picks.  Of those passing yards, 39 came on a third-quarter pass from Wright to Tyrone Howell. Murphy started and completed 3-of-10 passes for 20 yards and a touchdown and an interception while Wright hit 6-of-10 passes for 66 yards and an interception.

ULL outgained ULM with 476 yards to 239. Chandler Fields completed 18-of-20 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Elijah Davis ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts.

"It just slipped away from us," Bowden said. "Our guys have fought so hard and that one looks like it just slipped away from us. It's one of those years where you played your heart out and it didn't happen this year. Now let's get ready tomorrow. We'll start building for next year and start adding some missing pieces to get this thing back on track."

The Cajuns claimed the early lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Fields. ULL took over at midfield after a short ULM punt and drove 50 yards in nine plays for a 7-0 lead with 9:36 left in the first quarter.

ULM tied the game at 7 with a 14-play, 77-yard drive that churned 7:44 off the clock and concluded with Wright scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run. The Warhawks ran 13 times for 73 yards on the march and collected five first downs. Galloway carried seven times for 47 yards to lead the charge.

The Cajuns jumped back ahead with 14:41 showing in the second quarter on Zylan Perry's 3-yard touchdown run. ULL drove 58 yards in seven plays to take a 14-7 lead.

ULL extended the lead to 17-7 on Kenneth Almendares' 24-yard field goal with 9:41 remaining before the half. The scoring drive covered 47 yards in six plays.

The ULM defense made a monster play as Huntington raked loose a fumble from Perry and Dylan Howell scooped and scored from 24 yards out, pulling ULM within 17-14 with 8:25 left in the second quarter.

The Cajuns answered their miscue with an 11-play, 86-yard touchdown drive. Jacob Kibodi's 3-yard run put ULL ahead 24-14 with 2:51 showing in the second quarter.

Murphy's interception with 2:30 remaining in the half allowed ULL the chance to pad their lead to 31-14 before the break. The Cajuns moved 50 yards in five plays to score on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Fields to Neal Johnson with 32 seconds left in the quarter.

ULL outgained ULM with 279 yards to 97 in the first half. The Warhawks passed for just four yards while collecting five first downs.

The Cajuns struck quickly in the third quarter to go ahead 38-14. After a short kickoff to start the half, ULL moved 49 yards in four plays to score on Fields' 28-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.

ULM saw a promising third-quarter drive end with an interception at the ULL 5. The Cajuns converted the turnover into points when Davis scored on a 10-yard run to cap a seven-play, 85-yard drive with 4:06 left in the third.

On fourth-and-15, Murphy found Alred Luke for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 7:14 left in the game to finish a 13-play, 51-yard drive.

ULL's Davis punched in a final touchdown with 37 seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

Bowden offered a parting message for Warhawk fans as he signed off on the season.

"Stay faithful," ULM's third-year coach said. "We're going to get this thing turned around. At Akron, it took four years. The fourth year was the best year they ever had. I look at the coach at Tulane. Three years ago he was 2-10 and he's had two 10-win seasons. You don't want them to give up on that. We're going to keep driving on and we're going to get this thing over the top."

Tail feathers:  ULM game captains were Dariyan Wiley, Braxton Guilbeau and Adin Huntington. … Howell's fumble return for a touchdown was ULM's first since Sam Miller recovered fumble in the end zone at Southern Miss, Sept. 8, 2018. … The Warhawks finished 0-6 on the road this season. … The Cajuns were 6-for-6 scoring in the red zone. ULM scored on two of four trips.