LA LAFAYETTE vs UTSA
When: 12/26/2020 3:30 PM
Where:

TV: 3:30 PM
LINE: 14
PREDICTION: UTSA , LA LAFAYETTE

Oddsmakers currently have the UTSA listed as 14 point favorites versus the LA LAFAYETTE, while the game’s total is sitting at 56.

Louisiana didn’t get a chance to play for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

The No. 19 Ragin’ Cajuns are trying to prevent that disappointment from adversely affecting their performance against UTSA in the First Responder Bowl on Saturday on the SMU campus in Dallas.

Louisiana (9-1) flew to South Carolina last Thursday to play Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt title but returned home the next day after the game was canceled due to COVID issues within the Chanticleers’ program.

Both teams were declared co-champions.

“We’ve got to take that anger and frustration and disappointment and move forward and use those things as fuel on the fire to get ready to play,” Cajuns coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got a very competitive culture here. We’ve got a very competitive group of people.”

The Cajuns opened the season with a 31-14 road victory against No. 10 Iowa State and have the best 10-game record in school history.

They have won the Sun Belt West division and played in a bowl game in each of Napier’s three seasons as head coach. That success led to Napier being a candidate for coaching vacancies at South Carolina and Auburn, but Louisiana announced this week that Napier is staying put.

Louisiana’s defense has forced at least two turnovers in each victory this season. The only time it failed to do that was in a 30-27 home loss to Coastal Carolina on Oct. 14.

The Roadrunners are 7-4 in coach Jeff Traylor’s first season. A victory over the Cajuns would be the first bowl victory for a school that is making just its second appearance in a bowl and it would tie the school-record for wins in a season.

UTSA was originally scheduled to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but the Dec. 19 game was canceled due to COVID issues in the Mustangs’ program.

The First Responder Bowl stepped in and invited the Roadrunners, who gladly accepted but had to wait five days to learn that Louisiana would be their opponent.

“What an awesome opportunity,” Traylor said. “I’m just so thrilled for our players, coaches, and staff to be playing in a bowl game.”

The UTSA program is in just its 10th season. The school tied an NCAA modern startup program record by reaching a bowl game in just its sixth season, losing to New Mexico 23-20 in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl.

The Roadrunners finished second in the Conference USA West Division with a 5-2 conference record.

“We’re building something special here,” quarterback Frank Harris said. “Coach Traylor is doing a great job of instilling a culture. We are following it now and seeing the results.”

UTSA set school records for total offense (624 yards) and rushing yards (443) in their last game – a 49-17 victory against North Texas on Nov. 28. It was the second consecutive game that the total offense record was broken.

“I think we finished the (regular) season out in the right way,” said running back Sincere McCormick, who had a record 251 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The post LA LAFAYETTE vs. UTSA 12/26/2020 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

COASTAL CAROLINA vs LA LAFAYETTE
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 22, 2018
Where: Cajun Field, Lafayette, Louisiana

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: -3.5
PREDICTION: LA LAFAYETTE , COASTAL CAROLINA

Oddsmakers currently have the LA LAFAYETTE listed as -3.5 point favorites versus the COASTAL CAROLINA, while the game’s total is sitting at 62.5.

Overall Team Offense

• The UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns are ranked 62 on offense, averaging 433.0 yards per game. The Ragin’ Cajuns are averaging 190.0 yards rushing and 243.0 yards passing so far this season.
• The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are ranked 64 on offense, averaging 426.7 yards per game. The Chanticleers are averaging 253.3 yards rushing and 173.3 yards passing so far this season.

Home and Away

• The UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns are 1-0 at home this season, 0-0 against conference opponents and 5483-5483 against non-conference opponents.
• At home the Ragin’ Cajuns are averaging 49.0 scoring, and holding teams to 17.0 points scored on defense.
• The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are 1-1 while on the road this season, 0-0 against conference opponents and 5483-5483 against non-conference opponents.
• On the road, the Chanticleers are averaging 36.5 scoring, and holding teams to 35.0 points scored on defense.

The post COASTAL CAROLINA vs. LA LAFAYETTE 9/22/2018 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN.
LINE: Southern Miss -3.5
PREDICTION: Southern Miss 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 24

Oddsmakers currently have the Golden Eagles listed as 6-point favorites versus the Ragin` Cajuns, while the game’s total is sitting at 58.

NEW ORLEANS — That Southern Miss and the University of Louisiana have had up-and-down football seasons is obvious.

Both teams are 6-6 and barely bowl eligible, but the two interstate neighbors will face each other moving in the right direction in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Saturday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Southern Miss, which finished 4-4 in Conference USA, has quarterback Nick Mullens back at full strength after the talented gunslinger dislocated a bone in his right (throwing) thumb in a 55-32 loss at Texas-San Antonio on Oct. 8 and then suffered a concussion later in the season.

Louisiana-Lafayette, which had an inconsistent offense led by LSU transfer quarterback Anthony Jennings, won four of its last six games and its last three Sun Belt Conference games to finish 5-3 in league play.

Southern Miss coach Jay Hopson said the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Mullens showed remarkable toughness in the game against Texas-San Antonio, telling the USM medical staff to push the bone in his right thumb back into place and tape it up. He returned to the game and threw a touchdown pass to close the gap to 48-32 midway through the fourth quarter.

“It’s the most amazing thing from a quarterback that I’ve seen,” Hopson said. “He was throwing some balloon balls out there, but the bottom line is that’s the competitor in him. He’s a young man who kept fighting and battling. … (Now) he’s 100 percent.”

Mullens then suffered a concussion in a 38-27 loss to Charlotte on Nov. 5 and sat out the next two games. Despite missing three games, Mullens completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 2,926 yards, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The Rajin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette played consistently on defense all season — led by linebackers Otha Peters and Tre’maine Lightfoot — but the offense has finally shown signs of life, said coach Mark Hudspeth. Running back Elijah McGuire has had three consecutive seasons of rushing for at least 1,000 yards (215 carries, 1,028 yards this season), and Jennings, the LSU transfer, finally seems to be settling in.

“This is an exciting time for our team, especially since we feel we’re peaking and playing our best ball of the year,” Hudspeth said. “Anthony Jennings has been up and down, but I like the way he’s kept working and kept a good attitude and the way he’s progressed. You’ve certainly seen the last four or five weeks what it would have looked like if he had a spring or a summer with our guys.”

Although the bowl game is flying below the radar, both teams’ fans bases are within 130 miles of New Orleans and should travel well. Hudspeth said his fans have been forgiving for a viral internet video in November in which four Rajin’ Cajun players were seen chanting lyrics from a song expressing a strong distaste for Donald Trump.

“There were some things said that (we) didn’t mean, and we apologized,” Hudspeth said. “Those were hard times, but so many fans reached out to us. One person told me, ‘Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.’ Our team has been tough in overcoming adversity.”

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