New Orleans Bowl Betting History

The city of New Orleans was already home to one college football bowl game, and the state of Louisiana to another. But they both added one more back in 2001 with the advent of the New Orleans Bowl, played every December at the Superdome.

The New Orleans Bowl now usually matches teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt, but exceptions have been made. Colorado State won the inaugural New Orleans Bowl, knocking off North Texas 45-20. The Mean Green went on to play in the first four New Orleans Bowls, although they only won one of them.

Southern Miss became the first team to win back-to-back New Orleans Bowls, beating North Texas 31-10 in 2004 and Arkansas State 31-19 in ’05.

That 2005 New Orleans Bowl took place at Cajun Field on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette campus because of damage done to the Superdome during hurricane Katrina.

In 2007 legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger led his Florida Atlantic Owls to a 44-27 New Orleans Bowl victory over Memphis.

More recently those Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette became the kings of the New Orleans Bowl, winning it four times in a row from 2011 to 2014. First they beat San Diego State 32-30 on a field goal at the buzzer. Then they defeated East Carolina 43-34. Next, UL-Lafayette tipped in-state rival Tulane 24-21 in front of a New Orleans Bowl-record crowd of almost 55,000. And finally the Cajuns beat Nevada 16-3. UL-Lafayette returned to the New Orleans Bowl in 2016, but lost to Southern Miss 28-21.

There must be something to that Cajun home cooking, considering teams from the host state went 5-1 both straight up and against the spread in the game from 2011 to 2016.

This year’s New Orleans Bowl features a matchup between the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Appalachian State Mountaineers. For odds, a free pick and handicapping information, check out our New Orleans Bowl Game Center.