2012 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Preview

Date: December 22, 2012 12:00 PM ET
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Payout: $500,000 per team
Played: 2001-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway
Sideline Reporter: Quint Kessenich

East Carolina: East Carolina is led by quarterback Shane Carden, who threw for 2,838 yards and 21 touchdowns. His top target in the passing game is Justin Hardy who hauled in 83 catches for 1,046 yards and 10 touchdowns. East Carolina is on a 3-game winning streak, but currently riding 3-game losing streak in bowl games.

Louisiana-Lafayette: The Ragin' Cajuns finished 8-4 again and will return to New Orleans for its bowl game like last season. Louisiana-Lafayette hopes for an ending much like last season, when the school dialed up a 32-30 victory over San Diego State in the final 35 seconds of the 2011 edition of New Orleans Bowl. The Ragin' Cajun fans will caravan down I-10 and make this a proxy home game.

	East Carolina			Louisiana-Lafayette
Overall Record	8-4		Overall Record	8-4
Conference Record	7-1		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	5-7		Bowl Record	1-0
Last Bowl Win	2007 Hawaii		Last Bowl Win	2011 New Orleans

All Time Series: 6-4 Louisiana-Lafayette
Line: Louisiana-Lafayette by 5

2011 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Preview

Date: December 17, 2011 9:00 ET

Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Payout: $500,000

Played: 2001-present

Former Names: N/A

Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard

Sideline Reporter: Shelley Smith

All Time Series: 0-0

Line: San Diego State by 5

	San Diego State			Louisiana-Lafayette
Overall Record	8-4		Overall Record	8-4
Conference Record	4-3		Conference Record	6-2
Bowl Record	5-4		Bowl Record	1-1
Last Bowl Win	2010 Poinsettia		Last Bowl Win	1944 Oil

Helmet Stickers: Week 10

ACC—NC State beat in-state rival North Carolina for the fifth straight time. The last time NC State beat North Carolina five straight times was 1988-1992.  The Wolfpack defense held the Tarheels to just 3 yards rushing and posted four sacks. North Carolina’s featured back Giovani Bernard back was held to 47 yards on 18 carries. The Wolfpack defense also knocked North Carolina starting quarterback Bryn Renner out of the game. The 13-0 game was the first time NC State has shutout North Carolina since 1960 and North Carolina State’s first shutout of an ACC opponent in a decade.

Big 10—Northwestern upset No. 10 Nebraska 28-25 on Saturday. The Wildcats were 17-point underdogs in Lincoln. Dan Persa left the game early due to a shoulder injury, leaving Kain Colter to play quarterback. Colter rushed for two touchdowns and threw a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Kain Colter connected with Jeremy Ebert on an 81-yard touchdown pass, the second longest passing play in Northwestern history. The Wildcat defense held Nebraska to a season-low 122 yards rushing. Northwestern got its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 8 Iowa on the road on November 7, 2009.

Big 12—No. 3 Oklahoma State got by No. 14 Kansas State in Boone Pickens Stadium by a score of 52-45. Brandon Weeden threw for 502 yards in the game, a school passing record. Kansas State had three opportunities to tie the game from the Cowpokes’ 5-yard line in the final 12 seconds of the game, but came up short. Wide receivers Justin Blackmon and Tracy Moore had 205 yards and 146 yards receiving, respectively. Cowboys kicker Quinn Sharp was 3 for 3 on field goal, 5 for 5 on extra points, and averaged 51 yards per punt. Oklahoma State is now 9-0 and off to its best start since 1945 when it went undefeated. Oklahoma keeps its national title hopes alive.

Big East—Louisville went into Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers 38 to 35, ending a four-game losing streak in the series. The Mountaineers outgained the Cardinals 533 to 351 yards, but still lost the game. Louisville cornerback Adrian Bushnell blocked a West Virginia field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter, and cornerback Andrew Johnson returned the ball 82 yards for a Cardinals touchdown. Freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made his sixth start and had his best performance of the season, completing 21 of 27 passes for 246 yards. Louisville is on a three-game winning streak. The Big 12 may have chosen West Virginia over Louisville in conference expansion, but the Cardinals got the last laugh.

C-USA—The Golden Hurricane defeated Central Florida 24-17 in Orlando. The Knights lost at home for the first time this season. The Golden Hurricane rushed for 251 yards on a UCF defense that was only allowing 87 yards on the ground per game. Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne completed 15 of 28 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown. Kinne also led Tulsa’s rushing attack with 92 yards. Tulsa did not have a single penalty in the game. Tulsa remains undefeated in C-USA play at 5-0.

MAC—Northern Illinois edged Toledo 63-60 in the Glass Bowl Tuesday night. Northern Illinois’s first two touchdowns were on kickoff returns of 100 and 95 yards by freshman wide receiver Tommylee Lewis.  Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish threw six touchdown passes in the game. Northern Illinois’s offense was balanced with 265 yards passing and 267 yards rushing. Losing, 60-56 with 4:16 remaining, the Huskies put together a 66 yard touchdown drive and retook the lead with 19 seconds left in the game. The game had 123 total points, the most scored in a game since 2007 when North Texas and Navy combined for 136 points. The game was the second-highest scoring game in the history of the MAC.

MWC—Air Force retained the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy after beating Army 24-14 in Falcon Stadium Saturday afternoon. Air Force beat Navy in overtime in October. Air Force went into the half losing 14-0 to Army. The Falcons regrouped and scored 24 unanswered points in the second half on two touchdowns, one followed with a 2-point conversion, and three field goals. Air Force forced Army to turn the ball over five times and stopped the Black Knights from converting on fourth down three times, including a fourth-and-goal on Air Force’s 1-yard line.

Pac-12—UCLA beat No. 19 Arizona State 29-28 in Pasadena and took control of the Pac-12 South after Arizona State missed a 46-yard field goal on the final play of the game. After blowing a 9-point lead early in the third quarter, the Bruins were able to retake the lead with 49 seconds in the game on a Derrick Coleman 1-yard touchdown run. During the drive, the Bruins converted on third-and-29 with a 33-yard pass to senior wide receiver Nelson Rosario. Rosario had 151 yards off of five catches. Coleman has 119 yards on seventeen carries. The win was Rick Neuheisel’s biggest conference victory in his four years as the UCLA head coach.

SEC—No. 1 LSU defeated No. 2 Alabama 9-6 in overtime in a game billed as The Game of the Century. The defenses of both teams controlled the flow of the game. Neither team scored a touchdown. All points were from field goals. Alabama squandered its opportunities, missing four field goals in the game, including a 52-yarder in overtime, and allowing LSU to get a goal-line interception to prevent a touchdown. The game was 6-6 after regulation, and LSU kicker Drew Alleman only needed to connect on a 25-yard field goal to win the game after Alabama went scoreless in its overtime possession. Alleman was 3 for 3 on field goals, and LSU punter Brad Wing had a 73-yard punt in the game. LSU moves to 9-0 and is the frontrunner for the national championship game, where strangely enough, it could possibly face Alabama again.

Sun Belt—Louisiana-Lafayette got by rival Louisiana-Monroe 36-35 at Cajun Field Saturday. The Warhawks led 35-24 with 3:08 left. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored two touchdowns, separated by a successful onside kick, in the final two minutes to get a 1-point victory: a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darryl Surgent and a 3-yard run from running back Alonzo Harris. Two-point conversions on both touchdowns were unsuccessful. Quarterback Blaine Gautier had 355 yards passing and four touchdowns. The Ragin’ Cajuns were 50% on third down conversions. UL-Lafayette goes to 8-2 on the season. The last time the program had 8 wins in a season was 1993.

WAC—Utah State was losing to Hawaii 28-7 in Honolulu at halftime. The Aggies rallied in the second half, outscoring the Warriors 28-3, to get a huge 4-point road win on the islands. The Aggies took the lead for the first time in the game on a Robert Turbin 1-yard touchdown run with just 14 seconds left in the game. Running back Robert Turbin averaged 6.4 yards per carry and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of his last thirteen games. Utah State only made 15 first downs compared to Hawaii’s 28. The Aggies were 2 for 2 on fourth downs, while the Utah State defense stopped the Warriors on all 3 of their fourth down conversion attempts.

Helmet Stickers: Week 6

ACC—Wake Forest has started ACC play 3-0 for the first time ever. The Demon Deacons beat the Seminoles 35-30 at home, putting up 391 yards of offense on a stout Seminole defense that was only giving up 257 yards per game prior to Saturday. Wake Forest forced one fumble and got four interceptions while giving not a single turnover to Florida State. The Demon Deacons have beaten the Seminoles in four of the last six meetings. Wake Forest is in the race for the ACC title.

Big 10—No. 14 Nebraska came back to beat Ohio State in the second half in what would become the biggest comeback in Cornhusker history. Down 21 points in the third quarter, the Huskers rallied to score 28 points and win their first Big 10 conference home game by a score of 34-27. Quarterback Taylor Martinez had his best passing percentage of the year, going 16 for 22. He also rushed for 102 yards. Running back Rex Burkhead was clutch, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown as well as making five catches, one of which was a touchdown.

Big 12—No. 3 Oklahoma embarrassed No. 11 Texas 55-17 in the Red River Rivalry. The 38-point victory was the most lopsided since 2003, when the Sooners won by a series-record 52 points. Oklahoma had a school record eight sacks. The Sooners also had a school record with three defensive touchdowns in the game: cornerback Demontre Hurst returned an interception for 55 yards, defensive end David King returned a sack-fumble for 19 yards, and cornerback Jamell Fleming stripped a receiver and returned the ball 56 yards to the end zone.

Big East—The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 in the Big East for the second time in 21 years in the Big East. The Rutgers defense got four interceptions and picked up six sacks against Pittsburgh. Freshman Gary Nova got his first start at quarterback for the Scarlet Knights, replacing Chas Dodd. The freshman went 11 for 24, but did have two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Rutgers won the game 34-10 and is now a respectable 4-1.

C-USA—Houston dominated East Carolina by a score of 56-3 on Saturday night. Case Keenum completed 30 of 37 passes for 304 yards. Of eleven receivers catching passes, Patrick Edwards led with 133 yards and two touchdowns. Case Keenum is second in NCAA all-time passing yards with 15,895 yards. He is also second in NCAA all-time touchdowns with 124. Houston’s defense was just as dominant as its offense. The Cougars had four interceptions and nine sacks against the Pirates. The Cougar defense also held ECU to just 21 yards on the ground.

MAC—Miami (OH) defeated Army 35-28 to get their first win of the 2011 season. The RedHawks racked up 501 yards of offense on Army’s young defense. RedHawks quarterback Zac Dysert had 342 passing yards, while wide receiver Nick Harwell had ten catches for 186 yards. Dysert threw four touchdowns, two of which were caught by Harwell, and ran 1 yard for another. Don Treadwell picked up his first win as a head coach.

MWC—No. 5 Boise State blasted former conference rival Fresno State in its own stadium on national television Friday night by a score of 57-7. Boise State had scored 30 points before it allowed the Bulldogs offense to cross midfield. Kellen Moore threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Boise State wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn returned from suspension and caught two touchdowns in the second quarter. Freshman wide receiver Matt Miller had a touchdown catch in the first quarter. The Broncos’ running game accounted for another five scores. Boise State had a +4 turnover margin.

Pac-12—Oregon State picked up its first win of the season by beating Arizona 37-27 in Corvallis. The Beavers snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to last season. After a scoreless first quarter, Oregon State scored 27 of their 37 points in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, the Beavers had a 30-6 lead that they nearly squandered. The Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points before Oregon State scored again with 5:22 left. Oregon State won the turnover battle 4-2.

SEC—South Carolina smashed Kentucky 54-3 Saturday in Columbia, their biggest margin of victory in a SEC game since joining the conference in 1992. The Wildcats scored a field goal on their first possession of the game, but after that the game was all Gamecocks.  The Gamecocks tallied 639 yards of offense. Connor Shaw got his first start of the season at quarterback. Shaw threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns. The Gamecocks defense was just as good, holding the Wildcats to just 96 yards of offense. The South Carolina defense only allowed four completions and made four interceptions.

Sun Belt—UL-Lafayette took down perennial Sun Belt favorite Troy Saturday night at Cajun Field. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended Troy’s four-game winning streak over UL-Lafayette and are now 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. Wide Receiver Javone Lawson had eight grabs for 131 yards. Senior cornerback Melvin White intercepted a pass from Troy’s Corey Robinson and ran it 89-yards for a pick-six. UL-Lafayette commands first place in the Sun Belt standings.

WAC—Utah State beat Wyoming Saturday night in Logan with a 63-19 landslide. The Aggies amassed their highest point total since 1963! Surprisingly, the game started with Wyoming winning 12-0. Freshman quarterback Chuckie Keeton threw five touchdowns. Running back Robert Turbin ran for 109 yards and a touchdown; he also caught a 19-yard touchdown pass. Turbin has rushed for 100-plus yards in each of the Aggies’ last four games. Utah State went 8 for 11 on third downs.

Firings and Resignations Critique, Part 2

Bill Lynch   19-30 (6-26)
Indiana
Fired 11/28/10

Indiana is probably the hardest place to build a winning program at in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have to recruit against Purdue, Notre Dame, and Louisville locally and also hold the stigma of being a “basketball school”. Lynch had a .388 winning percentage, the third best winning percentage of the last 12 Indiana head coaches. Only Terry Hoeppner (.391) and Bill Mallory (.463) had better winning percentages than since 1947, and both of those coaches were short of breaking even. Lynch’s players bought into his program and achieved the late Terry Hoeppner’s dream of getting Indiana to a bowl for the first time since 1993. The Hoosiers did seem to be improving as a team, but not winning enough conference games (.188) was Lynch’s downfall. Indiana also had a few games decided by bad officiating, in particular, against Michigan and Iowa during the 2009 season. The icing on the cake was losing to Wisconsin by 63 points on November 13^th. Indiana’s defense appeared inept. In the end, it is time for Indiana to move on and give defensive guru Kevin Wilson a try. Unless Wilson can pull off some upsets, he will be out of a job after four seasons as well.


Rickey Bustle   38-56 (28-31)

UL-Lafayette

Fired 11/29/10

After nine seasons in Lafayette with no bowl appearance and one conference title in 2005, Rickey Bustle needed to be cut loose. Bustle was able to compile 6-6 records in 2008 and 2009, but the team regressed to 3-9 in 2010, finishing sixth in the Sun Belt. Bustle had four six-win seasons, but he was never able to exceed six W’s. In the Sun Belt conference, it is not uncommon to go 0-4 in the nonconference season when playing ragdoll to BCS conference schools. However, the conference standing of a team should indicate how well the program can compete with teams at the same level of talent. During Bustle’s tenure, the Ragin’ Cajuns were below .500 in conference winning percentage.  New energy is needed to reinvigorate Louisiana-Lafayette to a breakthrough season.

Steve Roberts   37-47 (25-22)

Arkansas State
Resigned 11/29/10

After nine seasons in Jonesboro, the athletic department at Arkansas State had decided the football program had become stagnant and needed change. The administration forced Steve Roberts to resign with one year left on his contract. Under Roberts, Arkansas State won the Sun Belt title in 2005 and led the Red Wolves to their first and only bowl appearance, the 2005 New Orleans Bowl. The Red Wolves were bowl-eligible in four of Roberts’ nine seasons. Under Steve Roberts’ tutelage, the program had notable non-conference wins over Tulsa, Army, SMU, Memphis, and Texas A&M. The 2008 win over the Aggies is the Red Wolves first and only win over a BCS automatic qualifying conference opponent since ASU joined the FBS. Roberts last two seasons ended with disappointing 4-8 records. Arkansas State is not an easy place to coach. Losses and injuries build up playing against teams from the big conferences during the nonconference schedule, and the Sun Belt is more competitive than ever. Interestingly, offensive coordinator High Freeze was promoted to take over as head coach of the Red Wolves. I am not so sure they Freeze will be able to do any better at this assignment.

Dave Wannstedt   42-31 (24-18)

Pittsburgh

Resigned 12/7/10

Dave Wannstedt was pressured by the University of Pittsburgh to step down after failing to meet expectations. Wannstedt failed to win the conference outright and get to a BCS bowl game during his six years. The Panthers went 7-5, after the Big East Media Poll predicted them to be the strong favorite to win the Big East Championship during the preseason. Wanny got the Panthers to bowl games in his final three seasons, 2008-2010. In 2009, Wannstedt led Pitt to its first 10-win season since 1981. Wannstedt was popular among his players, most of whom wanted him to remain the head coach. Surely, Pitt saw talent leave early for the NFL with the ouster of Wanny and recruits change their commitments. The University of Pittsburgh needs to realize, that despite a few untimely losses, Dave Wannstedt did far more good than bad for Panther football. It is not the 1980’s anymore. The program could very well bottom out in the coming years.

Ralph Friedgen   75-50 (43-37)

Maryland

Fired 12/20/10

I do not see the point in firing Ralph Friedgen. The Fridge went 9-4 with a Military Bowl victory over East Carolina and has performed admirably over the last ten football seasons at a school that was a doormat in the decade before Friedgen arrived. Friedgen was 5-2 in bowl games and won the ACC title in his first season. He holds is the first Terp head coach to have a winning record since Bobby Ross (1982-1986). Friedgen, a former offensive guard at Maryland, was passionate about his alma mater’s football program; it was his destination job. There is no way Randy Edsall will have the same passion for Terrapin football, and that may become evident to boosters when a better job becomes available. Other than a down season in 2009 (2-10), the Fridge did a great deal with little at a program that is not a national powerhouse in football.

Mike Haywood   0-0 (0-0)

Pittsburgh
Fired 1/1/11

Mike Haywood was rightfully fired from the head coach position at Pittsburgh after only sixteen days on the job. Haywood committed domestic battery on the mother of his child. Before X’s and O’s, a college football coach needs to be a good role model for young men. Felons need not apply. Haywood only had two years of head coach experience at a mid-major, so his hiring as a head coach at a BCS school with little experience was controversial to begin with. The whole Haywood-Pitt episode makes athletic director Steve Pederson’s decision to force out Dave Wannstedt look stupid.


Rich Rodriguez   15-22 (6-18)

Michigan
Fired 1/5/11

Rich Rodriguez was rightfully dismissed from Michigan after taking a once-dominant football program to a new all time low. Rodriguez has the lowest winning percentage of any Wolverine head coach ever at .405. Michigan’s 2008 season (3-9) was its worst in the 131-year history of Michigan football. During his three seasons at Michigan, Rodriguez never beat either of the Wolverines’ chief rivals: Ohio State and Michigan State. A 52-14 massacre at the hands of Mississippi State in the 2011 Gator Bowl was the last straw. Rodriguez and his staff were criticized for offensive language and belittling players, resulting in players transferring out of Michigan and recruits not committing to the school. Michigan committed five major NCAA rule violations and many minor violations during the Rich Rodriguez-era. Prior to Rodriguez’s arrival, Michigan football had never in its history committed major NCAA rule violations. The Josh-Groban-reciting coach could not win on the field and all around lacked class. He had to go.

Sun Belt Home Attendance Figures

	Arkansas State			Florida Atlantic
ASU Stadium			Lockhart Stadium, Ford Field*
S18 UL-Monroe	23,176		S11 Michigan State*	36,124
O2 Louisville	25,219		S25 North Texas	15,143
O23 Florida Atlantic	13,159		O30 FIU	17,543
N2 Middle Tennessee	13,589		N13 UL-Lafayette	12,044
N13 Western Kentucky	11,826		D4 Troy	11,368
AVERAGE	17,394		AVERAGE	18,444
	Florida International			Louisiana-Lafayette
FIU Stadium			Cajun Field
S11 Rutgers	19,872		S11 Arkansas State	15,103
O9 Western Kentucky	14,335		S25 Middle Tennessee	17,249
N6 UL-Monroe	17,301		O8 Oklahoma State	25,881
N27 Arkansas State	14,588		O23 Western Kentucky	15,641
D4 Middle Tennessee	16,628		N20 FIU	13,041
AVERAGE	16,545		AVERAGE	17,383
	Louisiana-Monroe			Middle Tennessee
Malone Stadium, War Memorial Stadium*			Floyd Stadium
S11 Arkansas*	55,705		S2 Minnesota	25,908
S25 SE Louisiana	15,285		S11 Austin Peay	16,806
O9 Florida Atlantic	16,513		O5 Troy	28,010
O30 Troy	19,980		O23 UL-Monroe	19,052
N20 North Texas	8,905		N13 North Texas	14,227
N27 UL-Lafayette	9,215		N27 Florida Atlantic	10,140
AVERAGE	20,934		AVERAGE	19,024
	North Texas			Troy
Fouts Field			Veterans Memorial Stadium
S11 Rice	23,743		S4 Bowling Green	19886
O2 UL-Lafayette	17,015		S25 Arkansas State	16,320
O9 Arkansas State	14,589		O16 UL-Lafayette	22,283
O16 FIU	14,718		N13 FIU	20,243
N6 Troy	14,289		N27 Western Kentucky	16,004
N27 Kansas State	21,952
AVERAGE	17,718		AVERAGE	18,947
	Western Kentucky
Smith Stadium
S18 Indiana	20,772
O16 UL-Monroe	15,142
O30 North Texas	14,373
N6 Florida Atlantic	10,275
N20 Middle Tennessee	12,322
AVERAGE	14,577

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Louisiana-Monroe	20,934
Middle Tennessee	19,024
Troy	18,947
Florida Atlantic	18,444
North Texas	17,718
Arkansas State	17,394
Louisiana-Lafayette	17,383
Florida International	16,545
Western Kentucky	14,577