New Mexico
TCU Horned Frogs New Mexico Bowl Lookahead: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
For the TCU Horned Frogs, it’s again the most wonderful time of the year – College Football Bowl Season! On Sunday, TCU was selected to play in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3). The New Mexico Bowl kicks off Saturday, Dec. 28, at 1:15 p.m. CT from University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. Catch the game on ESPN.
What can TCU fans expect from the Frogs’ final foe of the 2024 season? Let’s dive in.
Despite sitting in neighboring states, TCU hasn’t faced Louisiana on the gridiron before. Don’t call them “ULL” or “Louisiana-Lafayette” – that moniker was dumped very publicly a few years back. To be official, the university’s official name is the Univerty of Louisiana at Lafayette, but that isn’t used for athletics.
This season, Louisiana went 10-3 and finished as Sun Belt Conference runners up. Despite a lame duck head coach, Marshall upended them, 31-3, in the title game played in Lafayette.
This year marks the seventh-straight bowl game from a program that recently has been excellent. Head coach Michael Desormeaux took over the program after Billy Napier left for Florida and accrued a 23-17 record over three years. This year may have saved Desormeaux from finding a new position, as he led Louisiana to consecutive 6-7 seasons. He was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year last week.
Starting quarterback and Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Ben Wooldridge unfortunately suffered a broken collarbone in Week 13 and won’t play in this game. His backup, Chandler Fields, is a sixth-year senior with 35 games of experience. Fields exited the Sun Belt Championship with an injury and true freshman Daniel Beale stepped in relief.
Fields’ status for the bowl game isn’t certain. However, this would be his last opportunity to play for Louisiana, as his eligibility expires after this bowl game. Barring serious injury–which it didn’t appear to be–Fields likely starts the New Mexico Bowl.
Six Ragin’ Cajuns were named First Team All-Sun Belt: Wooldridge, tight end Terrance Carter (of Killeen, TX), offensive linemen A.J. Gillie and Landon Burton, linebacker K.C. Ossai, and kicker Kenneth Almendares. Five others earned second and third team honors.
Nola Bowl Cajuns Vs Marshall V4 1554 / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
What makes Louisiana so difficult to defend is how multiple the team is. Two players, WR Lance LeGendre and TE Terrance Carter, combine for over 1,700 yards and 10 touchdowns. Three players rushed at least 65 times for over 450 yards, with two–Bill Davis and Zylan Perry–rushing for over 600 yards and 13 combined touchdowns.
Through the air, Wooldridge was an excellent distributor, leading to the success of multiple pass catchers. His absence certainly hurts the Louisiana passing attack. Though undersized (5′ 10″), Fields is experienced and seasoned in the system. He completed about 65% of his career passes with 23 touchdowns and just eight interceptions (compare to Wooldridge’s 61%, 38 TDs, 11 INTs). Either player is capable of running the offense.
Another key to the successful passing game–and run game–is a strong offensive line led by two all-conference selections. That line gave up sacks on fewer than 4.5% of dropbacks, good for the 34th-best number nationally and fourth-best in the Sun Belt.
As efficient as the offense is, the defense lacks. Louisiana surrendered 30 points four times this year, including most recently in the Sun Belt Championship. While the points per game measure is solid (24.5 ppg allowed is 55th), teams move the ball better against this defense than most. Louisiana ranks 108th in rushing efficiency allowed.
The weakness to the defense is in the front seven, meaning TCU may have to lean more into the ground game to find offensive success. The Louisiana secondary is the strength of the unit, but the Ragin’ Cajuns rank just 64th in passing efficiency allowed.
Per ESPN’s strength of record metric, Louisiana ranks 48th, behind 7-5 Boston College and 6-6 Washington.
Team: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
Record: 10-3 (7-2 Sun Belt)
Coach: Michael Desormeaux (third season)
Scoring Offense: 32.5 points per game (28th)
Scoring Defense: 24.5 points allowed per game (55th)
|
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
|---|---|---|
|
Aug. 31 |
Grambling (FCS) |
W, 40-10 |
|
Sept. 7 |
Kennesaw State |
W, 34-10 |
|
Sept. 14 |
BYE |
|
|
Sept. 21 |
Tulane |
L, 41-33 |
|
Sept. 28 |
at Wake Forest |
W, 41-38 |
|
Oct. 5 |
at Southern Miss |
W, 23-13 |
|
Oct. 12 |
Appalachian State |
W, 34-24 |
|
Oct. 19 |
at Coastal Carolina |
W, 34-24 |
|
Oct. 26 |
BYE |
|
|
Oct. 29 (Tues.) |
at Texas State |
W, 23-17 |
|
Nov. 9 |
Arkansas State |
W, 55-19 |
|
Nov. 16 |
South Alabama |
L, 24-22 |
|
Nov. 23 |
Troy |
W, 51-30 |
|
Nov. 30 |
at ULM |
W, 37-23 |
|
Dec. 7 |
Marshall* |
L, 31-3 |
*Notes Sun Belt Championship game.
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Arizona State baseball will host a four-game homestand, beginning with New Mexico State on Wednesday, April 22.
The Sun Devils and Aggies faced each other in late March, with ASU winning 10-4. The two teams will meet for the final time at 6:35 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
ASU will then welcome Baylor on Friday, April 24, for a three-game series. The Sun Devils have yet to face the Bears this season, but ASU has been doing well so far and has been in the top 25 for four weeks.
Sophomore center fielder Landon Hairston earned Big 12 player of the week honors on April 13, after delivering five home runs in five games. His 10 runs in that stretch were tied for the second-most nationally and his 14 runs batted in were tied for third-most nationally. All nine of his hits went for extra bases, three more than any other player.
ASU’s series against Baylor will start at 6:35 p.m. for the first two games, followed by a 1:05 p.m. start on Sunday, April 26.
April 19
Softball at Houston, Cougar Softball Stadium, noon.
April 22
Baseball vs New Mexico State, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
April 23
Women’s golf at Big 12 Championship, Dallas Athletic Club, TBA.
Track and field at Penn Relays, Franklin Field, 1:22 p.m.
Beach volleyball at Big 12 Championship, Bear Down Beach, all day.
April 24
Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 7 p.m.
April 25
Lacrosse at Colorado, Prentup Field, 11 a.m.
Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 3 p.m.
Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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Josh’s Saturday Night Forecast
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Calmer weather has moved back into the state this afternoon. Temperatures are slightly warmer across northwestern New Mexico, while southeastern areas are cooler thanks to the backdoor cold fronts that moved in on Friday. Breezier winds will return Sunday and will help kick off a warming trend across the state, along with an elevated fire threat in eastern New Mexico.
Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground.
Good morning!
Heading out the door this morning? Bundle up! Cold air has settled into the Land of Enchantment after two cold fronts passed through New Mexico within the last 24 hours. Temperatures have fallen to the teens, 20s and 30s throughout northern New Mexico. The metro area is just as cold with Moriarty falling to the teens and several other cities bottoming out near the freezing point. The National Weather Service (NWS) has Freeze Warnings in place until 9 a.m. for several locations in northern and central New Mexico. However, one of the aforementioned cold fronts is still moving through eastern New Mexico this morning. That back door cold front has brought 30-45 mph wind gusts, or more, in southeastern New Mexico. The front will push west further west this morning bringing breezy winds to far south and southwestern New Mexico this afternoon. Otherwise, much calmer weather will be on tap for the state compared to the majority of this week.
The colder air this morning will bring cooler and seasonable weather to the Land of Enchantment later on Saturday. Afternoon highs will range from the high 50s, in sections of the northern mountains, to the 70s in southern New Mexico. Throughout the weekend into early next week a warming trend is expected as a ridge of high pressure builds on Sunday, which is forecasted to last through at least Tuesday. By next Tuesday, high temperatures will be 5 to 15 degrees above normal, and even warmer for some locations by next Wednesday with breezy conditions returning to the state.
Moisture does stream back into the state early next week across New Mexico. Tomorrow’s forecast is expected to have cloud coverage increase with warmer weather. On Monday sufficient moisture in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere will bring the chance for showers; however, moisture levels toward the surface will be lower. That will also bring the chance for dry showers and thunderstorms throughout the state. Have a great weekend and stay warm this morning!
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