R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Saturday December 22^nd, 11am CST (17:00 GMT)

Mercedes Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns vs. East Carolina Pirates

The New Orleans has been played annually at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2001. R+L Carriers replaced Wyndham as the sponsor in 2006, and thus it became officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

The game pits a team from Conference USA versus a team from the Sun Belt Conference, a real attractive matchup. If Conference USA does not have enough bowl eligible teams the bowl will choose an at-large team, which they did in 2011 when Mountain West Conference member San Diego State was picked to play.

For the first time this season, we have a school returning to defend their bowl title. (Quickly followed by a 2^nd in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl) The University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (ULL) won their first ever bowl title last season and they enjoyed it so much they’ve come back to try and win it again. They went 8-4 in the regular season and finished 2^nd to Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference. There isn’t much opposition in their conference, but they pushed a very good (7)Florida team close, going down 27-20 in Gainesville but were embarrassed by the Oklahoma State Cowboys 65-24 in their other big game during the regular season. They averaged an impressive 34.8 points (33^rd nationally) and 443.6 yards (also 33^rd nationally) and most of that success has come from the connection of double threat QB Terrance Broadway and WR Harry Peoples. Broadway finished with 16 TDs and over 2500 yards, with five of those TDs going to Peoples. They have Alonzo Harris (761 yards and 8 TDs) in the backfield who missed two games this season, and Broadway’s ability to move the chains with his feet adding another 661 yards and 8 TDs. That balanced offense has propelled the Ragin Cajuns back to the postseason something very important since their own pass defense has been anaemic at best, leaking 283 yards per game, ranking them 1­­14^th in the nation.

East Carolina compiled an equally modest 8-4 record but lost badly to South Carolina, UCF and Navy, all teams that run the ball well. Despite this, the Pirates only gave up 145 yards per game on the ground but suffered through the air, giving up 271 yards per game, only slightly better than ULL. QB Shane Carden has passed for 2838 yards (36^th in the nation) and 21 touchdowns. Carden's top target is fellow sophomore Justin Hardy, who has 83 catches for 1,046 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had a program-record 16 receptions against the Marshall Thundering Herd, and needs just 78 yards to surpass Dwayne Harris' single-season school mark from 2010. That works out nicely, as he’s averaged a tidy 87.2 yards per game this season. Junior running back Victorious Cooper has added over 1000 yards with 7 TDs to complement the passing game very nicely. They need this balance to turn over ULL and pick up the win.

FOR LOUISIANA-LAFAYATTE TO WIN

Set up the running game, and then punish the Pirates through the air. They have a solid rushing attack and with both Harris and Broadway threatening on the ground, the adjustment from the Pirates defense will open up plenty of opportunities for Peoples who has 312 yards in his last 3 games and Darryl Surgent who has quietly picked up 559 yards on the season. They have to concentrate on defense, despite their deficiencies and try to give the offense a chance to pile on the points and run down the clock. If they can do this, they will have an easier time in defending their title.

FOR EAST CAROLINA TO WIN

Try to bully the Ragin Cajun defensive line, they haven’t been great against the run, and as we’ve seen in this year’s opening Bowl games, running the ball better can win the game. At the very least, it keeps the ULL offense off the field and chews up the clock. As with every game, once you start running the ball successfully, the passing game becomes the killer for the defense. Carden has the ability to shred once of the worst passing defenses in the country and Hardy’s knack of making big plays on the outside could put this game out of reach quickly. The danger is if this game is close, East Carolina could blow this, they nearly bottled it against Marshall in the last game of the regular season, scraping by in double overtime 65-59.

VERDICT

Shootout, pure and simple, both defenses are awful, especially against the pass so expect plenty of yards in this one. Maybe not as much as the New Mexico Bowl, but that set records for almost every offensive category. This game probably won’t reach that standard, but it should be an excellent advertisement for the game and with the prime time-slot in the UK, tell your friends about this one, I promise they’ll enjoy it or your money back*. Louisiana-Lafayette’s bowl appearances are few and far between, and having tasted success last year they will be hungry to repeat. Along with East Carolina’s bowl struggles, the Ragin Cajuns should have enough to emulate their namesake James Carville and come up with something special.

ADVICE

Louisiana Lafayette -5.5

Over 65.5 points

*no actual financial compensation available.

One of the nice things about this game is ULL strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt his performance in last season's New Orleans bowl was damn manly and his back story is pretty inspiring