Marshall opened a 17-3 lead at the half as the Ragin’ Cajuns had little success on offense and it played more than half the game with No. 3 quarterback Daniel Beale after No. 2 Chandler Beavers got hurt. The host team had to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Kenneth Almendares for its only lead at 3-0.

Kenneth Almendares kicked a 40-yard field goal for Louisiana (10-3) to open the scoring with 6:42 left in the first quarter. The Thundering Herd immediately answered with a seven-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead for good when Braxton hit a wide-open Tychaun Chapman in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown.

Louisiana-Lafayette is trying to win its second outright Sun Belt football title and first since the departure of current Florida coach Billy Napier when the Ragin' Cajuns host the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Marshall, which joined the Sun Belt in 2022 after 17 seasons in Conference USA, has double-digit wins for the first time since the 2015 campaign.

Georgia moved up to No. 2 behind Oregon in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, Texas and Penn State remained in the top five after losing conference championship games and Arizona State appeared in the top 10 for the first time in a decade.