Matchup: San Diego St. vs Louisiana-Lafayette – San Diego St. had trouble sustaining its momentum from last year's 9-win season without Brady Hoke (now head coach at Michigan) and its two stud wide receivers (both drafted and playing in the NFL), but they are making a second straight bowl appearance. Louisiana-Lafayette had its best year in school history, going 8-4 and finishing second in a top heavy Sun Belt.
Matchup Pedigree: Low. Louisiana-Lafayette claims this 8-win season as its best one ever. San Diego St. has had some great moments and teams (the Marshall Faulk and Air Coryell era come to mind) but had been bad recently until last season.
Locale: Great. A weekend in New Orleans and a game in a weather protected dome is more than most bad December bowl games have going for it.
Entertainment Value: Not a ton. San Diego St. should win this game. It has more talent, is strong in ULL weak areas and prefers to run the ball.
Corporate Nonsense: Dull. R+L Carriers was a weird sponsor a few years ago. Now its just there and nobody cares.
Bowl Pedigree: Low. This game has actually gone up in stature since the Sun Belt stopped forcing its champion to go to it. That said, its still tied to the Sun Belt, usually playing a middling mid-major.
Game Prediction: Ronnie Hillman of San Diego St. is going to run ULL over on his way to the pros. ULL won't be able to keep up.
San Diego St. 38, Louisiana-Lafayette 21
Should you watch: Nope. Shouldn't be all that entertaining and there's not much reason to get excited outside being a fan of one of these teams unless you're a fan of a Southern school looking for a coach next year. Then you watch to see how ULL coach Mark Hudspeth does here before he moves along to Conference USA or the SEC in two years.
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