The 2014 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The fourteenth annual New Orleans Bowl, it pitted the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference. The game began at 10:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was the first of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Louisiana–Lafayette beat Nevada by a score of 16–3.
Team selection
The game featured the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference, marking the second meeting between these two teams. The last and only meeting was in 1995; Nevada defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 38–14 in Reno, Nevada.
Nevada Wolf Pack
After the Wolf Pack finished the regular season with a 7–5 record, they accepted an invitation to play in their first New Orleans Bowl. They finished third in the Mountain West Conference's west division after concluding their season with a win against UNLV in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. The Wolf Pack entered the game with a reputation as an outstanding fourth-quarter team, insofar as they ranked second in the FBS in fourth-quarter scoring margin.
Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
After the Ragin' Cajuns finished the regular season with an 8–4 record, they accepted an invitation to play in the game. The game marked Louisiana–Lafayette's fourth consecutive New Orleans Bowl, tying them with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the North Texas Mean Green for the most appearances in the game, the only bowl game the Ragin' Cajuns have known at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. They are the three-time defending New Orleans Bowl champions, winning the 2011 game over the San Diego State Aztecs by a score of 32–30, then the 2012 game over the East Carolina Pirates by a score of 43–34, and finally the 2013 game over the Tulane Green Wave by a score of 24–21.
Pre-game buildup
In a matchup that play-by-play announcer Bob Wischusen and others commented on the extent to which the two teams' "mirrored" each other, Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL) enjoyed an effective home field advantage at the Super Dome in New Orleans. Nevada opened as one-point favorites, and the game was expected to be close, yet high-scoring due to two ostensibly superior offenses. Controlling time of possession was crucial for both teams with two good offenses in play.
Louisiana-Lafayette
Offense
Dual-threat quarterback Terrance Broadway and running backs Elijah McGuire – an elusive sophomore named the conference's offensive player of the year – and Alonzo Harris – a bruising senior – each had over 600 yards rushing and combined for 29 touchdowns to help lead the Ragin' Cajuns' rushing attack, the fifth-best in the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, the offense averaged 30.6 points per game, 55th in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), 228.4 rushing yards per game, 26th in the FBS, and 188.9 passing yards per game, 102nd in the FBS. A trio comprised the Ragin' Cajuns' upper-echelon of receivers – senior James Butler, whose 417 yards led the team, McGuire, whose 40 receptions were best on the team, and Al Riles, a converted defensive back. Larry Pettis was the team's predominant tight end, a second team all-conference honoree The offensive line was anchored by the Quave brothers – senior Daniel, a first team all-conference honoree, and junior Mykhael Quave, a second team all-conference recipient – along with center Terry Johnson, a second team honoree. Continuity was prevalent on the line; the same five players started every game during the season, a rare feat.