| Game Name: | New Orleans Bowl |
| Game Link: | New Orleans Bowl |
| Subheader: | 16th New Orleans Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | R+L Carriers |
| Date Game Played: | December 17 |
| Year Game Played: | 2016 |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Stadium: | Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
| City: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Visitor Name Short: | Southern Miss |
| Visitor Nickname: | Golden Eagles |
| Visitor Record: | 6–6 |
| Visitor Conference: | C-USA |
| Visitor Coach: | Jay Hopson |
| Visitor 1Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home Name Short: | Louisiana–Lafayette |
| Home Nickname: | Ragin' Cajuns |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Home Coach: | Mark Hudspeth |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Odds: | Southern Mississippi by 3.5[1] |
| Mvp: | Southern Miss WR Allenzae Staggers[2] |
| Referee: | Tom Stapleton (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 35,061 |
| Payout: | 500,000[3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Jason Benetti, Rod Gilmore, Quint Kessenich (ESPN) Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio) |
The 2016 New Orleans Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 17, 2016 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 16th annual edition of the New Orleans Bowl was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that conclude the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Southern Miss won the game by a score of 28–21.
The game featured the Southern Miss Golden Eagles against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns.
This was the 51st meeting between the schools, with Southern Miss leading the all-time series 38–11–1. The previous meeting of the two teams was on August 30, 2008, where the Golden Eagles defeated the Ragin' Cajuns by a score of 51–21.[4]
See also: 2016 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team and 2016 Conference USA football season.
See also: 2016 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team and 2016 Sun Belt Conference football season.
Source: [5]
| Statistics | USM | LA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 74–481 | 69–252 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–135 (4.2) | 47–157 (3.3) |
| Passing yards | 346 | 95 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 25–42–1 | 8–22–1 |
| Time of possession | 30:34 | 29:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| USM | Passing | Nick Mullens | 25/40, 346 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Ito Smith | 26 car, 138 yds | |
| Receiving | Allenzae Staggers | 11 rec, 230 yds, 1 TD | |
| LA | Passing | Anthony Jennings | 8/20, 95 yds, 1 INT |
| Rushing | 17 car, 99 yds | ||
| Receiving | Al Riles | 5 rec, 64 yds |