2021 New Orleans Bowl Preview: Louisiana vs. Marshall

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will not have to travel very far for the New Orleans Bowl. They will remain in the state of Louisiana and will make the short trip to the Superdome to play the Marshall Thundering Herd. Bowl games often involve coaching changes and interim coaches. This is one such instance, with Louisiana head coach Billy Napier taking the head coaching job at the University of Florida to get started with the Gators. It is always a mystery to college football fans and analysts: Which coaching departures will have a negative effect on a team, and which coaching changes will inspire a team or, at the very least, not change the internal dynamic of a team.

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns vs. Marshall Thundering Herd
Date: Saturday, December 18th, 9:15 PM ET

Location: Superdome, New Orleans, LA

CFB Odds: Louisiana -5.5

Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns lost their season opener to Texas. Then they didn’t lose another game. Louisiana won 12 straight contests and captured the Sun Belt Conference championship, giving Billy Napier a grand send-off before he went to Gainesville to coach Florida in the SEC.

Louisiana was extremely successful this season, but the Cajuns were not dominant. They beat Nicholls State 27-24. They defeated Georgia Southern 28-20, South Alabama 20-18, Arkansas State 28-27, Georgia State 21-17. Louisiana is an example of a team which didn’t play its best ball most weeks of the season, but found a way to adjust in fourth quarters and make timely, game-deciding plays under enormous pressure. It’s true that Louisiana was taking its opponents’ best shots every week. That has to be noted. Yet, it’s not as though the margin for error was very large for this team. Louisiana managed to be great when it had to be, but there were long periods of struggle and strain over the course of the journey. The Sun Belt championship, won with a 24-16 triumph over Appalachian State, was actually one of the more comfortable wins of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ season when compared to their other results.

Marshall Thundering Herd

The Thundering Herd lost to a good East Carolina team and to Sun Belt runner-up Appalachian State. They lost to a good UAB team and to a potent Western Kentucky offense. The only loss Marshall will really regret from 2021 is a loss to 6-6 Middle Tennessee. Marshall is a team which won the games it was supposed to win and lost to superior opponents. Marshall notched a respectable 7-5 season by winning when it was the favorite, the only exception being the Middle Tennessee game.

One thing which needs to be said: Whereas Louisiana won a ton of close games, four of Marshall’s five losses in 2021 were by seven points or fewer. In many ways, these two teams performed at similar levels, but Louisiana won the close ones and Marshall generally did not.

Outlook

Louisiana played well for Billy Napier in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game even though it knew Napier was going to Florida. That suggests the Cajuns will be similarly focused even though they will have an interim coach in their bowl game.

Ragin’ Cajuns vs. Thundering Herd Prediction:

Ragin’ Cajuns 27, Thundering Herd 17