Louisiana and Marshall To Meet for Sun Belt Championship on Saturday night

December 6, 2024 by SunBeltSports.org and CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Louisiana is set to host Marshall at Cajun Field in Lafayette this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN for the 2024 Sun Belt Championship.

The game will feature the Sun Belt's player of the year, offensive player of the year, newcomer of the year and coach of the year. Additionally, the two championship combatants combined to put 11 players on the Sun Belt's 2024 All-Conference First Team.

The Ragin' Cajuns are favored by 5.5 at FanDuel.com while the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com give them a huge 9.16-point advantage. However, the computer trend line lowers that number to 2.72.

Marshall redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Mike Green was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Louisiana redshirt senior quarterback Ben Wooldridge was named the Offensive Player of the Year, Marshall redshirt junior quarterback Braylon Braxton was picked as the Newcomer of the Year, and Louisiana head coach Michael Desormeaux was honored as the Coach of the Year. 

Green leads the nation with 21.0 tackles for loss—tied for the most in the Sun Belt since 2010—and ranks second in the country with a Sun Belt single-season record 16.0 sacks. The Williamsburg, Va., native also leads the country with 150 tackle for loss yards and 139 sack yards. The redshirt sophomore defensive lineman registered a tackle for loss in 11-of-12 regular-season games this year and a sack in 9-of-12 contests.

Wooldridge ranks 11th in the country with a 159.42 passing efficiency and 12th with a .683 completion percentage. The Pleasanton, Calif., product threw for 2,392 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games, before suffering an injury against South Alabama and missing the final two games of the regular season. The redshirt senior quarterback ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 239.20 passing yards per game and fourth in the conference averaging 258.40 yards of total offense per game.

Braxton ranks 17th in the nation with a 154.61 passing efficiency and 21st with an average of 13.50 yards per completion. The Frisco, Texas, product threw for 1,431 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 544 yards and four scores in 10 games, including just seven as the Thundering Herd’s starting quarterback. The redshirt junior is the lone quarterback and 1-of-3 Sun Belt student-athletes with multiple 140-yard rushing outings this season.

Desormeaux led Louisiana to its fourth 10-win season in six years and its conference-leading fifth berth to the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship in the seven-year history of the event. The Ragin’ Cajuns ranked second in the country in red zone offense (.947), second in fumbles lost (2), third in turnovers lost (8), ninth in turnover margin (+1.00), 11th in team passing efficiency (161.98), 15th in scoring offense (35.6), 16th in 4th down conversion percentage (.684), 18th in 3rd down conversion percentage (.464) and 18th in total offense (445.7).

Louisiana placekicker Kenneth Almendares is a finalist for the Lou Groza Award and received CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove official vote to win the award over Ryan Fitzgerald of Florida State and Alex Raynor (Kentucky).

2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS

Player of the Year
Mike Green, Marshall (RS So., DL – Williamsburg, Va.)

Offensive Player of the Year
Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana (RS Sr., QB – Pleasanton, Calif.)

Defensive Player of the Year
Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., LB – Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Newcomer of the Year
Braylon Braxton, Marshall (RS Jr., QB – Frisco, Texas)

Freshman of the Year
Ahmad Hardy, ULM (Fr., RB – Monticello, Miss.)

Coach of the Year
Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana

All-Sun Belt First Team Offense 
QB – Ben Wooldridge, Louisiana (RS Sr., QB – Pleasanton, Calif.) 
RB – Ahmad Hardy, ULM (Fr., RB – Monticello, Miss.) 
RB – Ismail Mahdi, Texas State (Jr., RB – Murphy, Texas) 
OL – Pat McMurtrie, James Madison (RS Sr., OL – Verona, N.J.) 
OL – Cole Potts, James Madison (Sr., OL – Johnstown, Ohio) 
OL – Landon Burton, Louisiana (RS Sr., OL – Lafayette, La.) 
OL – AJ Gillie, Louisiana (RS Sr., OL – Natchitoches, La.) 
OL – Logan Osburn, Marshall (RS Sr., OL – Ona, W.Va.) 
TE – Terrance Carter, Louisiana (RS So., TE – Killeen, Texas) 
WR – Kaedin Robinson, App State (RS Sr., WR – Asheville, N.C.)
WR – Jamaal Pritchett, South Alabama (Sr., WR – Jackson, Ala.) 
WR – Devonte Ross, Troy (Jr., WR – Cartersville, Ga.)

All-Sun Belt First Team Defense 
DL – Santana Hopper, App State (RS So., DL – Shelby, N.C.) 
DL – Clev Lubin, Coastal Carolina (RS So., DL – Suffern, N.Y.) 
DL – Eric O’Neill, James Madison (RS Jr., DL – Staten Island, N.Y.) 
DL – Mike Green, Marshall (RS So., DL – Williamsburg, Va.) 
LB – Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., LB – Pittsburgh, Pa.) 
LB – K.C. Ossai, Louisiana (Sr., LB – Conroe, Texas) 
LB – Jaden Yates, Marshall (So., LB – Columbus, Ohio) 
DB – Trevian Thomas, Arkansas State (Sr., DB – Americus, Ga.) 
DB – Matthew McDoom, Coastal Carolina (Jr., DB – Winter Garden, Fla.)
DB – Terrence Spence, James Madison (Sr., DB – Ringwood, N.J.) 
DB – J.J. Roberts, Marshall (RS Sr., DB – Ona, W.Va.) 
DB – Jaden Voisin, South Alabama (RS Sr., DB – Crestview, Fla.)

All-Sun Belt First Team Special Teams
K – Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana (RS Sr., K – Clute, Texas)
P – Bryce Lofton, Southern Miss (Gr., P – Sand Hill, Miss.) 
RS – Ian Foster, Marshall (RS Fr., RS – Brundidge, Ala.) 
AP – Devonte Ross, Troy (Jr., AP – Cartersville, Ga.)