College Football Bowl Projections – Week 15
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are on their way to a third-consecutive bowl game, including their 8th in the last 10 years; but which one?
Louisiana, currently sporting an impressive 9-1 record, has guaranteed itself a winning record, as well as a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game for the third consecutive year.
But how do you project the 2020-2021 bowl season, after this crazy year?
So far, ten bowl games, including the Bahamas Bowl, Fenway Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Quick Lane Bowl, Redbox Bowl, the LA Bowl, and Sun Bowl have all been canceled, with maybe more to be added to that list.
Really, because of the uncertainty, the cancellations, the uneven games, and just all the craziness, it's incredibly difficult to project bowl games.
That being said, the bowl season is now right around the corner, so let's run down where numerous media outlets project the Cajuns to play in.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports projects UL to play Buffalo in the Camelia Bowl, which is scheduled for Christmas Day in Montgomery, Alabama.
Carter Hill of fifthquarter.net both project Louisiana to take on Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl, which is slated for Wednesday, December 23, just four days after the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game.
Jeff Hanisch of College Football News projects the Cajuns to play in the Cure Bowl, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 26 in Orlando, Florida, against UCF.
We know that won't happen, at least the opponent, as UCF accepted an invitation to the Boca Raton Bowl in Monday night.
Finally, ESPN has a split projection for Louisiana, with Kyle Bonagura projecting them to face UAB in the New Orleans Bowl, while Mark Schlabach projects a UL/UTSA match-up in the Cure Bowl.
Louisiana is currently ranked number 17 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll while also sitting at number 17 in the Coaches Poll.
UL, who has won six consecutive games, is currently 9-1, overall, and 7-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Cajuns return to action on Saturday, December 19 when they travel to Conway, South Carolina to take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship.
Louisiana went 7-7 in 2018, their first under head coach Billy Napier, including a spot in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, a 30-19 setback to Appalachian St., as well as a 41-24 loss to Tulane in the Cure Bowl.
Last season, UL won a school-record 11 games, finishing 11-3 on the year. They did lose to Appalachian St. in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, 45-38, but captured a 27-17 win over Miami (Ohio) in the LendingTree Bowl.
Also of note; ESPN has a split-projection for the LSU Tigers, with Schalbach projecting the Tigers to play the Oklahoma St. Cowboys in the Texas Bowl while Bonagura projects an LSU/Iowa match-up in the Outback Bowl.
The projected 4-team College Football Playoff Field by ESPN includes Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio St., and Clemson.