LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) Ben Wooldridge threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to power Louisiana to a 38-13 season-opening win over Northwestern State on Saturday night.

The Ragin' Cajuns got on the board first when Dre'lyn Washington broke off a 62-yard touchdown runs barely three minutes into the game. Wooldridge added a 24-yard scoring run early in the second quarter and a 32-yard scoring pass to Robert Williams three minutes later. Wooldridge opened the second-half scoring with a 50-yard strike to Peter LeBlanc and capped his day by hitting Tavion Smith from 21 yards out with five minutes left.

Wooldridge finished 14-of-32 passing for 223 yards with an interception. Washington had eight carries for 88 yards and LeBlanc caught a pair of passes for 58 yards.

Tyler Vander Waal completed 12 of 28 pass attempts for a modest 110 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern State. The Demons were held to just 77 yards rushing on 40 carries by a stout Louisiana defense.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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