La-Lafayette beats Nevada in New Orleans Bowl 16-3
NEW ORLEANS — They'd been here three times in the last three years for the New Orleans Bowl, and each time felt satisfied afterward.
Leaving the land of the French Quarter without feeling good after the fourth quarter would have been silly.
"We won three bowl games," senior running back Alonzo Harris said. "Why not go out with a fourth one?"
So UL did just that Saturday, beating Nevada 16-3 in front of 34,014 at the Superdome to become the first team in NCAA history to win the same bowl game in four consecutive years.
The Wolf Pack (7-6) joins of list of Cajun bowl victims that includes San Diego State in 2011, East Carolina in 2012 and Tulane in 2013.
The Ragin' Cajuns did it behind a stout defense, the play of quarterback Terrance Broadway and the running of Harris and Elijah McGuire to finish 9-4 for a fourth consecutive season as well.
"I just felt our kids played hard," UL coach Mark Hudspeth said. "They played sound. I thought they made plays. I thought we showed that toughness we love, we talk about, we practice, we work on being about."
Harris ran for 70 yards and McGuire 99.
Broadway finished 26-of-31 for 227 yards, including a career-high eight catches by James Butler, six by Gabe Fuselier, three each by McGuire, Larry Pettis and Al Riles and one very key one — for a 17-yard touchdown — by wideout C.J. Bates.
The Cajuns' senior quarterback took bowl MVP honors, becoming the first player to claim the New Orleans Bowl award twice after having also won it against East Carolina in 2012.
"Terrance was spot on," Hudspeth said of Broadway, who set an all-time national bowl record by completing each of his first 14 passes.
"All I want to do is be consistent," Broadway added. "That's how our offense rolls."
UL's defense, meanwhile, allowed the fewest points in New Orleans Bowl history — seven fewer than the 10 Southern Mississippi held North Texas to in 2004.
Its work helped limited Nevada's possession time to just 23:06 while UL controlled the ball for 36:54, limiting — as planned — Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo's chances to do damage.
"You hold a team that's scored that many points to three points, that's pretty solid defense," Hudspeth said of a Nevada club that came in averaging 31.3 per game.
"What sparked us was our defense playing lights out, you know?" Harris added. "They shut the (Nevada) run game down instantly, and we built off that."
UL led Nevada 10-3 at halftime, and after a scoreless third quarter, it remained that way until Hunter Stover's 30-yard field goal made it 13-3 with just under 12 minutes to go.
Stover added a 35-yarder with 4:46 left to tie the New Orleans Bowl record for most field goals in a game, three.
Broadway capped the Cajuns' opening drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bates, whose catch in the end zone marked his first TD of the season.
After Dominique Tovell recovered a Sean Thomas-forced fumble, Stover's career-long 46-yard field goal put UL up 10-0 with 2:55 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Brent Zuzo's 21-yard field goal for Nevada, forced after linebacker T.J. Posey pressured Fajardo on second down and safety Tracy Walker broke up a pass at the goalline on third down, made it 10-3 Cajuns with 2:42 left before the break.
With Nevada's offense struggling, UL controlled the second half.
The Wolf Pack managed just 124 yards passing, a bowl-low record, and only 213 total, one shy of the fewest in New Orleans Bowl history.
"I thought they had a good defensive scheme," Fajardo said of the Cajuns. "Our offensive line held up the best they could, and I'm proud of those guys. They were fighting with some big guys and future NFL players.
"But the way there were playing was to get those two big d-tackles (Christian Ringo and Justin Hamilton) rushing upfield and then send the ends up field, so I didn't have much scrambling ability, because I couldn't step up into the pocket."
Fajardo wound up 14-of-29.
The Cajuns produced four sacks, including two by Darzil Washington and one by Ringo, who in the waning seconds set a UL season record for sacks and tied the school's all-time mark.
UL had seven tackles-for-loss in all, including one by cornerback Corey Trim, who had a team-high eight tackles.
"They're better players than I thought, quite frankly," Nevada coach Brian Polian said of seniors Ringo and Hamilton. "I mean, those two big bodies are athletic and powerful, and they're good players."
Hudspeth seemed to be thinking all of his Cajuns were pretty good Saturday.
That's especially the case for a senior class that goes out as the most successful in UL history with 36 wins in four seasons.
"This group of guys," said Hudspeth, who has been on board for all four, "has achieved a lot the last four years."
Tim Buckley writes for The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, La.)