The Nevada Wolf Pack (7-5) and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (8-4) get together for the opportunity to win the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday. Louisiana-Lafayette comes into this game looking to continue their recent success, having won four of their last five. The game will begin Saturday at 11:00 a.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
In its last game, Louisiana-Lafayette beat Troy 42-23. Elijah McGuire had a big game on the ground in the win, carrying it 14 times for 169 yards and two TDs. Alonzo Harris also had a big game with 86 yards and three TDs on 17 carries. Nevada won easily over UNLV 49-27 in its last game before the bye. Jerico Richardson had a quality performance for the Wolf Pack, hauling in one pass for 12 yards and one TD.
The Ragin Cajuns are slim underdogs with Nevada favored by one in the game. For this contest, the Over/Under (O/U) is 61 points. Heading into Week 17 of the college football season, the Ragin Cajuns are 8-4 Straight Up (SU) and 6-5-1 Against The Spread (ATS). In the past five games, Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 SU and 3-1-1 ATS. Louisiana-Lafayette has kept their running game going like a well oiled machine lately, averaging 233.0 rushing yards during its last five matchups. Scoring against the Ragin Cajuns has also been harder than usual as of late. While they’ve given up an average of 27.9 points for the season, they have stepped it up in the last five games, only allowing 22. The Louisiana-Lafayette run defense has played at another level during those games as well. Its given up only 96.8 rush yards per game during that span. The Wolf Pack should put Louisiana-Lafayette away early because the Ragin Cajuns are one of the top teams at putting points on the board during the fourth quarter of home games. So far this year, they’ve averaged 10.7 fourth-quarter points at home.
On the other side, the Wolf Pack have 7-5 SU and ATS records this season. In the previous five games, Nevada has a record of 3-2 both SU and ATS. They sport the 22nd-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 34 points per game. Odds are Nevada will continue to rely on its run game, where its 225.3 rushing yards per road game ranks 24th in the nation. Switching gears to the Nevada defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of. The Ragin Cajuns are matching up with Nevada’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Nevada’s opponents have only averaged 201.0 yards through the air. Louisiana-Lafayette needs to keep its intensity through the fourth quarter against the Wolf Pack, who average 12.4 points in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Don’t be surprised to see a lot of Nevada’s offense on game day. The team has an average time of possession of 32:28 per home game, ranking 23rd in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – NEV, ATS Winner – NEV, O/U – Over
Notes
Nevada is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Nevada’s last 18 games.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games.
Nevada is 3-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Louisiana-Lafayette is 5-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Nevada is 4-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Louisiana-Lafayette is 6-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Nevada is only 1-4 SU this season when turning the ball over more than its opponent.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 2-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 3-3 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
Among all FBS teams, the Louisiana-Lafayette offensive passing game is ranked 102nd in the country, while the Nevada pass defense is only ranked 115th. The Wolf Pack passing attack is ranked 94th, compared to the 120th-ranked pass defense of the Ragin Cajuns.
The Louisiana-Lafayette rushing attack is ranked 26th in the nation, while the Nevada run defense is only ranked 81st. The Wolf Pack running game is ranked 32nd, compared to the 44th-ranked rush defense of the Ragin Cajuns.
