Meet Delaware's 68 Ventures Bowl foe the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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Delaware will play a new foe in its first bowl game as an FBS-level program.
Certainly, the Blue Hens’ opponent’s nickname may ring a bell, though the schools have never met in football.
Delaware will face the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, on Dec. 17.
Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. EST at Hancock Whitney Stadium. ESPN will televise.
Here are several important facts to know about Delaware’s 68 Ventures Bowl rival:
What is the school Delaware is playing?
What had been the University of Southwest Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1999.
In a 2013 rebranding effort approved by the Sun Belt Conference, the school’s sports teams began going by just “Louisiana.” A mid-1980s attempt by the school to go by that name had been rejected by the state government.
Lafayette is really in south central Louisiana, an hour west of Baton Rouge, 35 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.
The university has roughly 20,000 students, including about 14,000 undergrads, making it slightly smaller than Delaware.
It is located roughly four hours from Mobile, meaning an easy trip for fans.
What is a Ragin’ Cajun?
The school’s nickname recognizes the Acadians, a group of French settlers in Canada and New England who were expelled by the British in the 1700s and ended up in what became the state of Louisiana.
The “Ragin’” is similar to the “Fightin’” adjective that modifies the Blue Hens and is met to embody a spirited competitiveness.
How good is the Louisiana football team?
Louisiana comes to the 68 Ventures Bowl with the same overall 6-6 record as the Blue Hens but has won four in a row.
The Ragin’ Cajuns did finish 5-3 in the Sun Belt Conference with wins over Marshall 54-51 in OT, South Alabama 31-22 at Hancock Whitney Stadium where the bowl game is being played, 42-39 over Texas State, 34-30 against Arkansas State and 30-27 in OT versus Louisiana-Monroe to clinch a bowl opportunity.
Their league losses were 24-14 to league champ James Madison, Delaware’s former CAA rival that made the College Football Playoff, Southern Mississippi 22-10 and Troy 35-23.
In nonconference games Louisiana lost to Rice 14-12, beat McNeese State 34-10 and lost to Missouri 52-10 and Eastern Michigan 34-31.
Who are the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns’ best players?
Louisiana had two first-team All-Sun Belt honorees in offensive tackle Jax Harrington and linebacker Jaden Dugger, a Pittsburgh native who played his first two college seasons at FCS Georgetown.
Defensive lineman Jordan Lawson was a second-team pick and running back Bill Davis a third-team choice.
Earning honorable mention were running back Zylan Perry, offensive tackle Bryant Williams, cornerback Brent Gordon and safety Tyree Skipper.
What’s the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns’ bowl history?
This is Louisiana’s eighth straight bowl bid, the longest streak in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 7-5 all-time in bowl games, though a couple of those wins were later vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
What’s a similarity between the Delaware and Louisiana teams?
Both are coached by alums. Delaware coach Ryan Carty was a UD quarterback from 2002-06.
Louisiana’s Michael Desmoreaux, as his last name implies, is from nearby New Iberia. He was a four-time All-Sun Belt selection from 2005-08 mainly playing quarterback his freshman, junior and senior years but also seeing duty as a wide receiver, defensive back and special teams player.
Desmoreaux was a Louisiana offensive assistant before being elevated to the head coaching position after Billy Napier’s move to Florida in early December of 2021, at the same time Carty was hired at Delaware.
What’s the biggest on-field challenge for the Blue Hens?
Delaware coaches are still early in their preparation, with Carty, who calls the plays on offense, only getting a glimpse of the Louisiana defense so far, he said Dec. 7.
Louisiana threw the football less than all but one of its Sun Belt foes but averaged 4.8 yards per carry on the ground, fourth best in the league.
“Probably too early for me to give a true read on who they are as far as strengths, weaknesses and talent,” Carty said. “But they’re long and athletic on defense. They run around and keep the ball inside and in front. They do a nice job with that. Make you drive it. We’ll have our work cut out for us for sure.”
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Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Meet Delaware’s 68 Ventures Bowl foe the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
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