WHEN: Today, 8:30 p.m. EDT.
WHERE: Hancock Whitney Stadium (25,450), Mobile, Ala.
RADIO: WDSD 94.7-FM (Scott Klatzkin, Fritz Stueber, Nick Alessandrini).
TV: ESPN (Clay Matvick, Max Browne, Alyssa Lang).
TWITTER: DSNSports.
COACHES: Delaware — Ryan Carty (32-17, 4th season); Louisiana — Michael Desormeaux (29-24, 4th season).
LAST GAME: Delaware beat UTEP, 61-31 on Nov. 29; Louisiana beat Louisiana-Monroe, 30-27, in OT.
SERIES: First meeting.
FBS BOWL RECORD: Delaware — 0-0; Louisiana — 5-4 (with wins in 2011 and ‘13 vacated because of sanctions).
ODDS: Louisiana is a three-point favorite.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It should be a fun game for us to play — a competitive one I hope. Hopefully we can go down there and put on a good showing. Our intention is to go down there and put the best product on the field, hopefully come out with a victory. Obviously it’s novel for us, it’s exciting for us as a university, as a program. For our first year in FBS football to be able to pull off this feat I think is pretty special. And I think it’s a nice reward for those guys.” — Delaware coach Ryan Carty.
KEYS TO THE GAME: • Without any history or common opponents between the two programs, there isn’t much to compare between the two. Louisiana does have the edge in most of the intangibles. The Cajuns should have more fans, they ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, they won in this stadium earlier in the season and they played in 11 bowl games since 2011 — including seven years in a row.
• At least among higher-profile programs, motivation can be an issue this time of year. But both the Hens and the Cajuns look like they have a lot to play for. Delaware is playing in the program’s first FBS bowl game while Louisiana has recovered from a 2-6 start to the season.
• If there’s a significant statistical difference between the two teams, its in their offensive approach. While Delaware was first in Conference USA in passing offense (302.2 yards), Louisiana was just 14th in the Sun Belt Conference at 156.2 yards. Both defenses give up around 30 points per game so that could make this a high-scoring contest.
NOTES: Of the last 18 programs to move up to FBS, the Hens are only the fourth to make a bowl game in their first season. ... With its extensive history in NCAA playoffs, Delaware is 21-15-2 in December games. ... Nine Hens — all transfers, of course — have played in a bowl game. ... UD’s assistant coaches are 10-5 coaching in bowl games with a 5-6 mark as players. ... The Hens went 3-3 this season vs. teams that are in bowl games. ... Delaware was one of only four FBS teams to throw 500 passes this season. The Hens are the only one of the four to make a bowl game. ... Louisiana has been an FBS program since 1978. ... The Cajuns have played in the New Orleans Bowl in seven of their 11 bowl appearances. ... Delaware and Louisiana have never met in any of the 12 sports that they have in common. ...
PREDICTION: Delaware, 38-35. The Hens’ offense has been more explosive this year. (Record 6-6).
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