The University of Louisiana at LafayetteRagin’Cajuns won their fourth straight R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday, beating the Nevada Wolf Pack 16-3.
Winning in the New Orleans Bowl has become an annual tradition for the Cajuns, who inspire tens of thousands of their fans to come along, making it essentially a home game for UL.
Lafayette is now the first team ever to win the same bowl game in four straight seasons. Eight other teams have three consecutive wins in the same bowl.
Quarterback Terrence Broadway, the game MVP, completed his first 14 passes, the longest streak to start a game in NCAA bowl history. Broadway, who was also the MVP in 2012, finished the game with 26 completions on 31 attempts for 227 yards and a touchdown.
Lafayette’s defense almost completely stifled the high-powered Nevada offense, which averaged 31.3 points a game this season. It was the lowest-scoring game of any New Orleans Bowl, and the fewest points in any bowl game since the Alabama shutout of LSU in the 2012 BCS Championship Game.
“This one hurts,” said Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking after the game. “Losing your last college game is never fun. It’s hard.”
“They had their crowd behind them,” said Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo (14-of-29 for 124 yards).
That crowd (34,014) was the fourth largest in New Orleans Bowl history, turning the lower tiers of the Superdome into a sea of red. Lafayette’s fans made the 3-ish hour trip down I-10 in droves, once again turning the bowl into a home game for Louisiana.
A handful of Nevada fans did make the trip, including Linda Brock, whose son Kendall is a sophomore backup wide receiver for the Wolf Pack.
“I’ve wanted to come to New Orleans my whole life,” said Brock, who did a rough calculation in her seat and came up with a $900 cost per person for the trip, including hotel, flight and car. “I’ve been trying to come to New Orleans for 30 years. I’m so excited to come here.”
But Brock’s tale was the exception rather than the rule at the Superdome on Saturday. There were scant few Nevada fans in the stands.
“I didn’t know what the New Orleans Bowl was until last week,” said Donte Bibbins, of Baton Rouge. “I’d heard of the Sugar Bowl, but not the New Orleans Bowl.”
Bibbins, who was already coming into New Orleans for the Saints-Falcons game on Sunday, says he was at the New Orleans Bowl helping a friend oversee a Little League team trip to the game, and was having a good time. “Any football game is a good football game,” he said.
Game Notes
ULL attained 26 first downs to Nevada’s 13, the third-most in N.O. Bowl history. UL closed out the first quarter with a 10-1 first down advantage over the visitors.
Lafayette kicker Hunter Stover tied the N.O. Bowl record with three made field goals (from 46, 38 and 35 yards). He missed a fourth late in the fourth quarter.
The Cajuns held the ball for 36:54 of the game. The Wolf Pack: 23:06.
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