STATESBORO – Levi Lewis threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, and the Louisiana defense stopped Georgia Southern on fourth down with under a minute to play as the Ragin' Cajuns topped the Eagles 28-20 in both teams' Sun Belt Conference opener Saturday evening in Paulson Stadium.

Eagles of the Game: 
Gerald Green rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and Logan Wright caught four passes for 86 yards. Eldrick Robinson II tallied nine tackles, and Benz Josue finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss. 

Key Moments:
The Eagles (1-3, 0-1) trailed 28-13 in the fourth quarter when Green bounced out to the left, made a couple of tacklers miss by the sideline and took off for a 76-yard touchdown run.

Trailing 28-20, Georgia Southern got the ball back on its own 27-yard line with 4:40 left in the contest after a big third-down stop by the defense. C.J. Wright and Dillon Springer pressured Lewis to throw the ball away on 3rd-and-4 from the Louisiana 46. 

J.D. King picked up two yards on 4th-and-1 for the Eagles, and Justin Tomlin found Wright for a 26-yard pass that moved the ball to the Ragin' Cajun 33-yard line with just over a minute to go. After a Green 3-yard run on first down, Tomlin was sacked for an 8-yard loss on second down. With 15 yards to go for a first down, the redshirt junior was pressured on each of his next two pass attempts, which wound up incomplete, giving the ball back to Louisiana. 

After leading 14-13 at halftime, Louisiana forced a punt on Georgia Southern's first possession of the second frame. Emani Bailey picked up an errant snap on a fortuitous bounce and scampered for a 35-yard pickup before Lewis hit Jonny Lumpkin for a 22-yard touchdown pass, extending the margin to 21-13.

Green had a 20-yard pickup for Georgia Southern as the Eagles moved the ball to the Louisiana 37-yard line, but Tomlin's long pass intended for Sam Kenerson was intercepted by Percy Butler. Lewis' pass to Dontae Fleming on 3rd-and-1 picked up 15 yards, and two plays later, Lewis threw a 46-yard bomb to Fleming for a touchdown and a 28-13 cushion.

Key Stats:
The Eagles outgained Louisiana 453-378 and outrushed the Ragin' Cajuns 278-129, but Louisiana scored seven points off of Georgia Southern's one turnover and blocked two Eagle kicks – one a PAT and one a 52-yard field goal try.

Notes: 
- This is the third straight year the Eagles have opened Sun Belt play against Louisiana. GS falls to 4-4 in Sun Belt openers.
- Louisiana improves to 3-0 in Statesboro.

Scoring Plays:
GS – 1st, 06:39 – Gerald Green 8 yd rush (PAT good), 7-0
LA – 2nd, 14:52 – Michael Jefferson 48 yd pass from Levi Lewis (PAT good), 7-7
LA – 2nd, 08:01 – Emani Bailey 3 yd run (PAT good), 7-14
GS – 2nd, 03:21 – Green 4 yd rush (PAT blocked), 13-14
LA – 3rd, 11:01 – Jonny Lumpkin 22 yd pass from Lewis (PAT good), 13-21
LA – 3rd, 06:52 – Dontae Fleming 46 yd pass from Lewis (PAT good), 13-28
GS – 4th, 13:26 – Green 76-yd run (PAT good), 20-28

Next Up:
The Eagles continue their mini homestand against Arkansas State next Saturday in Paulson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN+. It's Family Weekend and Celebrate Agriculture Day.