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Louisiana-Lafayette beats UL Monroe, clinches Sun Belt West
MONROE, La. (AP) — Andre Nunez passed for three touchdowns and Louisiana-Lafayette survived a missed field goal attempt as time expired to beat UL Monroe 31-28, clinching the Sun Belt Conference West Division title on Saturday.
The Ragin' Cajuns (7-5, 5-3) will travel to East Division champ Appalachian State (9-2, 7-1) for the Sun Belt Championship next Saturday.
Elijah Mitchell took a screen pass from Levi Lewis and went 40 yards to give ULL a 31-21 lead with 11:49 left.
Caleb Evans threw a 30-yard TD pass to Marcus Green to cut UL Monroe's deficit to 31-28 with 4:47 left in the game. The Warhawks (6-6, 4-4) forced a punt to take over at their 16 with 2:07 left and drove to the Cajuns 19, but Craig Ford missed the 36-yard field goal attempt.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored the first 14 points and led the entire way. Corey Straughter intercepted Nunez's pass and returned it 66 yards to bring UL Monroe within 24-21 before the end of the first half.
Trey Ragas ran 23 times for 115 yards and Ryheem Malone caught six passes for 91 yards and a score for the Cajuns.
Derrick Gore ran 11 times for 79 yards and Green caught six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown for the Warhawks.
