Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns hold off Tulane Green Wave for third straight New Orleans Bowl victory

The University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns raced out to a 21-0 advantage in the R+L
Carriers New Orleans Bowl Saturday night and then fought hard to hold off a feisty Tulane
Green Wave squad to earn a 24-21 victory. The 9-4 Ragin' Cajuns, the Sun Belt co-champions,
garnered their third consecutive, New Orleans Bowl victory before a record crowd of  54,728 in
the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Green Wave senior running back Orleans Darkwa closed out his
Tulane career being named the game's Most Valuable Player as he rushed for three touchdowns, gaining 83 yards on 16 carries. Darkwa averaged 5.2 yards per rush scoring on runs of 1, 7 and 22 yards. The Green Wave had an opportunity to tie the game late but Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal attempt sailed just wide left. Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Terrance Broadway, turned in a gutsy performance, making his first appearance since undergoing surgery last month for a broken forearm, went 12-of-19 for 143 yards. He was  picked off twice and sacked four times by an opportunistic, aggressive Green Wave defense, which kept Tulane in it after falling behind early. Junior receiver Jamal Robinson, a Salmen Spartan graduate, who was named All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team this season, made a significant impact catching five passes for  50 yards. Robinson was Broadway's favorite tatget during the year, finishing with 55 catches for 862 yards and eight touchdowns. Ragin' Cajuns' Elijah McGuire, the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, turned in a strong game with seven receptions for 94 yards and he rushed 11 times for an additional 45 yards including a 27-yard scoring jaunt early in the first quarter to put his team up 7-0 following the extra point. Alonzo Harris rushed for a team-high 74 yards with a 15-yard score. Corey Trim picked off Tulane starter Nick Montana and returned the ball 82-yards for a score, which gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 21-point advantage with 12:31 left in the first half. Tulane freshman Devin Powell replaced Montana and finished with 223 yards, completing 10-of-21 passes with an interception. Montana went 5-of-8 for 63 yards before being pulled. Tulane appearing in its first bowl game since 2002, finished at 7-6 under second-year coach Curtis Johnson, who did a masterful job turning the program around.