DALLAS -- Trey Ragas scored on a 1-yard plunge with 7:16 left and No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette beat Texas-San Antonio 31-24 in the First Responder Bowl on Saturday at SMU's Ford Stadium.
The Ragin' Cajuns (10-1) drove 72 yards in 12 plays for the winning score after UTSA (7-5) overcame a 24-7 second-half deficit to tie it.
"We made it entertaining again," Louisiana-Lafayette Coach Billy Napier said. "It's too late to have a rah-rah speech. At that point you've either got the ownership, the character to regroup and make adjustments to compete and play through the ups and downs of the game or you don't."
UTSA associate head coach/offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. (Fort Smith, Arkansas Razorbacks) directed the Roadrunners after first-year coach Jeff Traylor twice tested positive for covid-19 this week and didn't accompany the team. Lunney said the Roadrunners were missing 15-20 total team members, including other assistant coaches and players.
"It could have easily gotten out of hand," Lunney said. "Our guys came to life and turned the tide. We just couldn't finish the game. We did just enough in all three phases to lose the game, but we also did just enough in all three phases to be in the game."
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Levi Lewis had first-half touchdown passes of 15 and 10 yards for Louisiana-Lafayette. Elijah Mitchell added a 3-yard touchdown run, and Kenneth Almendares kicked a 31-yard field goal. The Ragin' Cajuns won their seventh consecutive game following a loss to Coastal Carolina in mid-October.
Frank Harris had touchdown passes of 29 yards and 10 yards and an 11-yard scoring run for the Roadrunners. Hunter Duplessis kicked a 20-yard field goal that tied the game with 13:32 left.
UTSA was originally scheduled to play in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 19 against SMU, but that game was canceled because of covid protocols in place within SMU's football program.
CURE BOWL
LIBERTY 37,
COASTAL CAROLINA 34, OT
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Elijah James blocked Massimo Biscardi's 42-yard field goal attempt in overtime to give Liberty a victory over No. 12 Coastal Carolina in a wild finish in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.
Liberty (10-1) took the lead on Alex Barbir's 44-yard field goal on the first extra possession.
Coastal Carolina (11-1) got a huge break in regulation when Liberty's Joshua Mack fumbled inside the 1 with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Safety Alex Spillum recovered the fumble to end the long drive.
Malik Willis ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns for Liberty. The Flames' only loss came to North Carolina State on a blocked field goal.
Coastal Carolina overcame an early 14-0 deficit, and drove 72 yards to tie it in the fourth quarter. Grayson McCall ran in a two-point conversion to make it 34-34 after throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Latushko with 3:01 remaining
Coastal Carolina had won 12 in a row.
It was the first time any ranked team had played in the six-year-old bowl, which was moved to prime time after being scheduled in the early afternoon. The teams were scheduled to meet Dec. 5, but that game was canceled because of covid-19.
Willis led touchdown drives of 64 and 66 yards on the Flames' first two possessions, running 7 yards for the first touchdown and 6 yards to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.
