UL Lafayette vs. Tulane, 2013 New Orleans Bowl: Cajuns rule Superdome (again)

Record attendance at Saturday night’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Local matters in minor bowls, and two local teams, Tulane and UL Lafayette, filled quite a bit of the Superdome. Those on hand saw an intense, dramatic, not very well-played game -- a 24-21 win for the Cajuns of Lafayette, their third straight New Orleans Bowl win -- but the latter doesn’t necessarily matter if you have enough of the former.

Percentage of San Diego State’s drives that finished in Buffalo territory during a 49-24 Aztec win. SDSU went three-and-out once, in the second quarter. Otherwise, the Aztecs’ 13 drives finished on the other side of the 50.

After jumping out to a 21-0 lead, Louisiana-Lafayette appeared to be well on its way to its third straight win in the New Orleans Bowl. The Ragin’ Canjuns did indeed come away with a 24-21 win, but not without plenty of drama.

The game went back and forth with both teams going on 21-point runs. ULL looked dominant in the early going before Tulane made a run of its own to get back in the game. The scoring settled down in the second half, but there was still plenty of action. Tulane looked down and out before Devin Powell completed a desperation heave to keep the final drive alive.

Sullen, a senior, has 44 tackles and 12 passes defensed this season.

Sullen slumped and remained motionless for several minutes as trainers surrounded him. He was eventually loaded onto a cart, where he was visibly alert and gesturing to his teammates.

A regional rivalry is the final game of the first day of bowls, as Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette will square off in New Orleans.

The Ragin’ Cajuns started the year with non-conference losses to Arkansas and Kansas State -- both by decisive margins -- before eight straight wins put them on top of the Sun Belt conference. Even with losses to Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama to end the season, Louisiana-Lafayette took home a share of the conference title.

We all have our specific holiday traditions. For those who celebrate Christmas, perhaps it’s a trip to an aunt’s house on Christmas Eve or the grandparents’ on Christmas day. Perhaps there is a series of stops over three days. Perhaps there are no stops at all.

Meanwhile, the last time Tulane won a combined seven games in two seasons was 2009-10, when the Wave went 7-17. But in just his second year in charge, Curtis Johnson has engineered a 7-5 campaign, powered by a legitimately strong, top-40 defense.

The New Orleans Bowl has been played every year since 2001 in — you guessed it! — New Orleans, La. The game became officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl when the bowl’s partnership with the freight shipping company began in 2005. The New Orleans Bowl traditionally pits a C-USA team against the champion of the Sun Belt conference.

Date and time, ET: Dec. 21, 8:00 PM ET