The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl begins the college football post season on Saturday when the Nevada Wolfpack take on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. The game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have the game listed as a toss up.
The Ragin' Cajuns are pretty much playing a home game in this bowl as it's taking place inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdowe in New Orleans, home of the Saints. Lafayette has won this bowl game three straight seasons and this year they've claimed eight wins on the season.
Nevada comes in having won seven games and will really be playing an early start time by their standards, with kickoff slated for 8 a.m. Nevada time. The Wolfpack stumbled to the finish line this season by losing two of their final three contests.
This should be a good game featuring senior starting quarterbacks. Cody Fajardo leads the Wolfpack by having thrown 18 touchdowns on the season. He's a dual-threat guy that also lead Nevada in the rushing department, finishing the regular year just three yards short of 1,000 while running for 13 scores. Terrance Broadway leads the Ragin' Cajuns, having thrown for 12 scores and better than 2,000 yards.
The Ragin' Cajun run game is also going to have a big impact on this one. Lafayette has several players that can carry the football with Eli McGuire rushing for 1,100 yards, Alonzo Harris running for nearly 740 and Broadway posting almost 650 yards on the ground this season. On the year Lafayette has rushed for 229 yards per game. Nevada can also run the football, led by Fajardo, but they also have a pair of backs (much like Lafayette) that has helped them post better than 215 yards on the ground per game this season.
Neither defense is very good, though, ranking 78th and 79th nationally. Both offenses can put up good amounts of points, which means this has the makings of a high-scoring affair. Lafayette should get some advantages here with the crowd being they are playing close to home, and they are playing much better overall than Nevada.
But why then is the line the way it is? Look for Nevada to find a way to win.
Free Pick: Nevada 34, Louisiana-Lafayette 31
How The Wiseguys Attack Bowl Season
Teddy Covers from Pregame.com and Pauly Howard give handicapping tips and insight on how the wiseguys attack the bowl season.
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