| Year Game Played: | 2005 |
| Game Name: | New Orleans Bowl |
| Subheader: | at Lafayette |
| Caption: | 2005 New Orleans Bowl logo |
| Football Season: | 2005 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Southern Miss |
| Visitor Nickname: | Golden Eagles |
| Visitor School: | University of Southern Mississippi |
| Home Name Short: | Arkansas State |
| Home Nickname: | Indians |
| Home School: | Arkansas State University |
| Visitor Record: | 6–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | C-USA |
| Home Record: | 6–5 |
| Home Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Visitor Coach: | Jeff Bower |
| Home Coach: | Steve Roberts |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 9 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | December 20 |
| Stadium: | Cajun Field |
| City: | Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Mvp: | Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson |
| Referee: | John Smith (Big East) [1] |
| Attendance: | 18,338[2] |
| Payout: | 750,000 per team[3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN[4] |
The 2005 New Orleans Bowl, dubbed the New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette featured the (now the Red Wolves) and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, the game was played at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, instead of at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
For Arkansas State, the game represented the Indians' first bowl game since the 1970 Pecan Bowl. The team had won the Sun Belt Conference with a 6–5 record. Meanwhile, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (representing Conference USA) also came in with a 6–5 record.
Darren McCaleb got Southern Miss on the board first with a 31-yard field goal to give USM an early 3–0 lead. Arkansas State's Eric Neihouse answered with a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 3–3. With 2:05 left in the first quarter, running back Cole Mason scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to give Southern Miss a 10–3 lead. Nick Noce answered with a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 10 at halftime.
Cody Hull scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, to give Southern Miss a 17–10 lead. Quarterback Nick Noce found wide receiver Manuel Burton in the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at 17–17. USM quarterback Dustin Almond connected with wide receiver Shawn Nelson for a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 24–17 lead. Arkansas State scored on a safety to get within 24–19. Dustin Almond threw a second touchdown pass to Shawn Nelson to make the final margin 31–19.