New Orleans Bowl: Marshall vs Louisiana-Lafayette 12/18/21 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Marshall Thundering Herd and Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns square off Saturday night in the college football New Orleans Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns look to build on their 12-game winning streak. The Marshall Thundering Herd look for a win after winning five of their last seven games.

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have won five straight non-home games. Levin Lewis is completing 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,647 yards, 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Peter LeBlanc and Michael Jefferson have combined for 790 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, while Kyren Lacy has 21 receptions. The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns ground game is averaging 192 yards per contest, and Chris Smith leads the way with 855 yards and 8 touchdowns. Defensively, Louisiana-Lafayette is allowing 18.3 points and 345.1 yards per game. Lorenzo McCaskill leads the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns with 78 tackles, Chauncey Manac has 10.5 sacks and Eric Garror has 2 interceptions.

The Marshall Thundering Herd have won three straight non-home games. Grant Wells is completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 3,433 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Corey Gammage and Willie Johnson have combined for 1,453 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, while Xavier Gaines has 41 receptions. The Marshall Thundering Herd ground game is averaging 160.2 yards per contest, and Rasheen Ali leads the way with 1,241 yards and 20 touchdowns. Defensively, Marshall is allowing 22.8 points and 388.1 yards per game. Abraham Beauplan leads the Marshall Thundering Herd with 104 tackles, Eli Neal has 5.5 sacks and Steven Gilmore has 3 interceptions.

The Ragin’ Cajuns are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 bowl games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite. The Thundering Herd are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 bowl games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games in December. The under is 24-8-1 in Ragin’ Cajuns last 33 games overall. The under is 4-1 in Thundering Herd last 5 games overall.

Few teams are hotter than the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, and they bring in a quality defense that’s allowed no more than 21 points in each of their last six games. The Marshall Thundering Herd enters the bowl season in shaky form after losing two of their last three games, and their run defense is one of the worst in college football. This is also pretty much a home game for the Ragin’ Cajuns, as it’s just a two-hour car ride from New Orleans to Lafayette. I’ll take the Ragin’ Cajuns by a touchdown, as they’re too hot to bet against, and the location benefits them big time as well.