After quickly falling behind in the AutoNation Cure Bowl, Tulane has been too strong for Louisiana in the first bowl game of the season. Tulane scored 24 straight points to take a commanding 24-10 lead into halftime of the Cure Bowl in Orlando.
The game started off well for Louisiana when Raymond Calais capped the game’s opening possession with a 38-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead. But the Ragin Cajuns went three-and-out on their next three offensive possessions while the defense was unable to find an answer for the Tulane offense. Tulane answered the opening score with a touchdown drive on their first possession of the game. Darius Bradwell ran 15 yards for a game-tying score on a drive highlighted by a 33-yard run by Amare Jones. Terren Encalade would give the Green Wave a 14-7 lead when he raced down the left sideline uncontested after a gamble by a Louisiana defender left him on the ground after missing on breaking up the pass or picking the ball off. Encalade had nobody in front of him on the 38-yard touchdown pass. Jones added a one-yard touchdown on Tulane’s next offensive series and a 38-yard field goal by Merek Glover pushed the Tulane lead to 24-7 early in the second quarter.
Things were going so well for Tulane, fans of the Green Wave started chanting “We want Bama!”
Shortly after that chant, Tulane quarterback Justin McMillan was picked off by Louisiana’s Bralen Trahan, who returned the football 63 yards to the Tulane 37-yard line with 23 seconds left in the half. Louisiana settled for a late field goal to cut into the lead.
Tulane has rushed for 208 yards, accounting for the majority of its 294 yards of offense in the first half. Louisiana was held to just 101 yards of offense and 75 of those yards came on the game’s opening possession.
Tulane has not won a bowl game since the 2002 Hawaii Bowl.