Dec. 27—Bowl season is back in Albuquerque.
TCU and Louisiana-Lafayette will square off in the 19th Isleta New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. MT, the first-ever clash between the teams at University Stadium.
The Horned Frogs (8-4) and Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3) both arrived on Christmas Day and have been preparing for the New Mexico Bowl — and, of course, enjoying Albuquerque — since.
“We’ve had a great experience up to this point,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said in a press conference Friday. “The hospitality’s been outstanding … We’re excited about the football game and we’ve talked about how important it is to our program. We have a lot of seniors and guys who’ll return next year and I told them, (Saturday) is the last time we’ll all be together.
“Enjoy this moment and cherish it.”
Three things to watch for in the New Mexico Bowl:
1. How will transfer defections affect both teams?
Not too long ago, December was devoted to bowl practice and high school recruiting. Now, with the rise of the transfer portal, the overwhelming majority of programs have to manage regular defections and recruit new players out of the portal in less than a month’s time — all while getting a team ready for a postseason appearance.
TCU and Louisiana-Lafayette are no different.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will notably be without first team All-Sun Belt tight end Terrance Carter, running back Dre’Lyn Washington, wide receiver Harvey Broussard and outside linebacker Carmychal Glass after all entered the portal earlier this month. Carter (48 catches, 689 yards, four touchdowns), who found a new home at Texas Tech, might be the biggest loss of the bunch.
“The really unfortunate thing about the portal is, it’s such a cool thing to get to play in a bowl game and it takes away that opportunity,” Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Michael Desoremeaux said Friday. “It doesn’t really change the way we approach offensive or defensive preparation for this game, though.”
TCU is set to miss leading rusher Cam Cook and center James Brockermeyer in the team’s second bowl appearance under Dykes. Leading receiver Jack Bech did not enter the portal but won’t be available after suffering an injury in the regular season finale, a win over Cincinnati.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can come in and play and we expect those guys to play well,” Dykes said. “It’s the same situation for (Louisiana) and I’m sure their guys will step up.”
2. Milestones on the line
Both teams agreed: Getting to a bowl is an achievement in and of itself.
“A bowl game feels like a playoff-type game for us,” Desormeaux said. “Games 13 and 14 on the schedule are games you have to earn and guys are excited to play these games. Our guys love each other, they work really hard and they’ve earned this opportunity.”
“The opportunity to play postseason football is a big deal,” TCU quarterback Josh Hoover said. “It’s an opportunity to go out with a big win.”
But beyond that achievement, a few milestones will be on the line:
— If Louisiana-Lafayette wins, the Ragin’ Cajuns will have won 11 or more games for just the third time in program history.
— If Hoover passes for at least 205 yards, he’ll break Trevone Boykins’ single season program record of 3,901 passing yards. Hoover, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound sophomore, threw for 3,697 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during the regular season. — If Lou Groza Award winner and consensus All-American kicker Kenneth Almendares makes a field goal, he’ll be the first Louisiana-Lafayette kicker to make 28 field goals in a season.
3. Postseason domination
Over the last 20 years, TCU is 11-4 in bowl games, including a thrilling 51-45 upset win over Michigan in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl.
After closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak, can the Horned Frogs add to that mark?
“Our guys enjoy coming to work every day,” Hoover said when asked what it means to be in a bowl game. “They enjoy going to meetings, enjoy going to practice. I’m not surprised at all to see guys fired up to prepare and play in this game.”
