By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke
On Saturday, December 28, TCU football will play in its 13th game of 2024 and its 36th-ever bowl game.
The Horned Frogs will take on the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in the 19th Annual Isleta New Mexico Bowl, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Kickoff for the game, which will be played at University Stadium, on the campus of the University of New Mexico, is scheduled for 1:30 pm (Central). ESPN will broadcast the game nationally.
Official New Mexico Bowl website: here
This will be TCU’s first appearance in the New Mexico Bowl.
The Horned Frogs are 18-16-1 in their previous 35 bowl games. Eleven of TCU’s last 12 bowl games and 13 of the past 15 have been decided by eight points or less.
TCU, Miami (Florida) and Tennessee are the only three teams that have played in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision “New Year's Six” bowl games that occur around New Year's Day: the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
Georgia’s 65 points were the most scored by a team in a College Football Playoff (CFP)/ Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game.
The Bulldogs’ 65 points are tied for the most points scored against a team ranked in the Associated Press top four.
Georgia’s 58-point win is the biggest margin of victory in any national championship game dating back to the start of the BCS era in 1998, eclipsing USC’s 55-19 win over Oklahoma in January of 2005.
The 58-point margin of victory by Georgia was the largest ever against a team ranked in the Associated Press top four (10 more than Army 48, Notre Dame 0 in 1945).
The Bulldogs’ 58-point win was the largest margin of victory in a postseason FBS game. Not just a national championship game – the worst loss of every bowl and every other postseason FBS game that has been played.
The New Mexico Bowl presents the first opportunity for the TCU football program to redeem itself from that record-setting loss, since with a 5-7 record the 2023 Horned Frogs did not qualify for a bowl game.
TCU qualified for the 2024 bowl season with an 8-4 overall record (6-3 Big 12), which included the Frogs ending the season with three wins in a row and five wins in their last six games.
The Horned Frogs won eight games in a season for the third time since 2015, with head football coach Sonny Dykes on staff for all three occasions. He was an analyst on the 11-win 2017 team and head coach of the 2022 13-victory College Football Playoff squad and this year's team.
The Frogs tied for second in the conference with Baylor and Texas Tech.
TCU’s eight wins this season included a victory over a lower-level Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team and only one victory over a team with a winning record.
The combined overall regular-season record of the eight teams TCU beat was 35-58.
The combined Big 12 regular-season record of the six conference teams the Frogs beat was 17-37.
TCU’s eight wins:
- Stanford: 3-9
- Long Island University (FCS team): 4-8
- Kansas: 5-7; 4-5 Big 12
- Utah: 5-7; 2-7 Big 12
- Texas Tech: 8-4; 6-3 Big 12
- Oklahoma State: 3-9; 0-9 Big 12
- Arizona: 2-7; 2-7 Big 12
- Cincinnati: 5-7; 3-6 Big 12
Also included in TCU's 2024 regular-season journey were:
- A blowout loss (66-42) on the road to arch-rival SMU
- Four blown leads and a last-second loss (37-34) on the road to arch-rival Baylor
- A blown 21-point second-half lead and a last-second loss (35-34) at home to UCF
- An embarrassing loss (30-19) at home to Houston, in a game the Frogs never led
TCU and the Ragin' Cajuns (10-3), of Lafayette, Louisiana, will be meeting for the first time on the gridiron.
TCU ranked 41st and Louisiana ranked 51st in the USA TODAY Sports Week 16
Ranking of 134 Division 1 Football Teams. See the rankings: here
Louisiana (10-3 overall) is making its seventh straight bowl trip, its first appearance in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl and its 14th overall bowl appearance.
With a 7-1 Sun Belt Conference record, the Ragin’ Cajuns qualified for the 2024 Hercules Tire Sun Belt Conference Football Championship, which was played on Saturday, December 7, at Cajun Field, in Lafayette. Louisiana lost to Marshall, 31-3.
Marshall quarterback Braylon Braxton threw for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Marshall gained 217 yards on the ground to earn the victory over Louisiana.
The victory was Marshall’s first Sun Belt Conference Football Championship. Louisiana was in its fifth Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game, which the Ragin’ Cajuns won in 2021.
Marshall is playing Army in the Independence Bowl, in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 28.
Here is an overview of Louisiana’s 2024 record:
- Grambling, home, won, 40-10
- Kennesaw State, away, won, 34-10
- Tulane, home, lost, 41-33
- Wake Forest, away, won, 41-38
- Southern Miss, away, won, 23-13
- Appalachian State, home, won 34-24
- Coastal Carolina, away, won, 34-24
- Texas State, away, won 23-17
- Arkansas State, home, won, 55-19
- South Alabama, home, lost 24-22
- Troy, home, won, 51-30
- ULM (Louisiana-Monroe), away, won, 37-23
- Sun Belt Conference Championship Game: Marshall, home, lost, 31-3
Former University of Louisiana record-setting quarterback Michael Desormeaux is in his third season as the Ragin’ Cajuns’ head coach.
TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes also has connections to the state of Louisiana.
In 1998, Dykes served as the wide receivers coach at Northeast Louisiana, which eventually became Louisiana-Monroe.
On January 20, 2010, Dykes was hired to replace Derek Dooley as the head football coach of Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, Louisiana.
In Dykes' second season, LA Tech won its last seven consecutive games to cap off an 8-4 season and earn an appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl, which resulted in a 31–24 loss to TCU.
Over three seasons, Dykes compiled a 22-15 record with Louisiana Tech. He became head football coach at Cal in 2013.
Dykes also has some history with Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico. When Sonny was a child, his father, Spike, was an assistant football coach at New Mexico, in 1977 and 1978.
Louisiana-Lafayette began playing football in 1901, when the school was known as Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute. The school's sports teams were known as the Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs from 1921 until 1973.
The school's fight name was changed to Ragin' Cajuns in 1974, which had been in use since the 1960s. In 1999, the university took on its current name, at which point its sports teams were referred to as Louisiana–Lafayette. A rebranding in 2017 dropped "Lafayette" from the Cajuns' name.
Between 2011 and 2014, the Cajuns won four consecutive New Orleans Bowls, representing the most successful stretch in the program's history at the time, but later had to vacate two of the victories (2011 and 2013) due to NCAA violations. A former assistant coach falsified ACT scores for five prospective student-athletes. The fraudulent scores made the prospects eligible for admission, athletics aid and competition.
The university vacated 22 wins from 2011–2014 (eight from 2011, four from 2012, eight from 2013 and two from 2014), plus the 2011 and 2013 New Orleans Bowl victories and the 2013 Sun Belt Conference title.
This year’s Louisiana football team has been strong offensively, averaging 33.08 points per game. Other offensive stats for the Ragin’ Cajuns:
- 431.6 total yards of offense per game
- 171.1 rushing yards per game
- 26 rushing touchdowns
- 260.54 passing yards per game
- 22 passing touchdowns
- Scored 54 of 58 times in the red zone, with 36 touchdowns
- Seven interceptions
- Gave up 22 sacks
- Lost two fumbles
Louisiana’s offense has been led by two quarterbacks. Both now are injured and questionable for the bowl game.
Redshirt senior quarterback Ben Wooldridge (#10), who is 6-3, 216 pounds and a transfer from Fresno State has completed 185-of-271 passes for 2,392 yards. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. He has a long completion of 74 yards.
Wooldridge also is a runner. He has run 60 times for 200 yards and five touchdowns. He has a long run of 18 yards.
Redshirt senior quarterback Chandler Fields (#18) has completed 63-of-87 passes. He has thrown five touchdown passes and one interception. He has a long completion of 66 yards.
The third-string quarterback is freshman Daniel Beale. He has completed nine-of-24 passes for 95 yards. He has been intercepted once and he has not thrown a touchdown pass.
The Ragin’ Cajuns during the season had three quality running backs, but one of then, Dre’lyn Washington has entered the transfer portal and is not on the roster going into the bowl game.
Louisiana’s leading rusher is Elijah Davis (#7), a freshman running back that has produced 775 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Davis has two 100-yard games this season and is averaging five yards per carry. He has scored nine rushing touchdowns and has a long run of 73 yards.
Redshirt sophomore running back Zylan Perry (#21) has rushed 101 times for 646 yards, for an average of 6.4 yards per carry. He has scored four rushing touchdowns and has a long run of 30 yards.
Louisiana’s receiving corps also has been hit by the transfer portal.
Tight end Terrance Carter, who has been one of the better tight ends in the country, and wide receiver Harvey Broussard, who had nearly 500 receiving yards, have entered the transfer portal and are not on the roster going into the bowl game.
Against the Horned Frogs, the Ragin’ Cajuns probably will lean on redshirt senior wide receiver Lance LeGendre (#9), who is 6-2, 218 pounds and a transfer from Maryland.
The former quarterback has caught 48 passes this season, for 814 yards, for an average of 16.96 yards per catch. He has six touchdown receptions and a long reception of 48 yards.
Senior wide receiver Tavion Smith (#80), who is 6-3, 213 pounds and a transfer from Jones College, has caught four touchdown passes and has a long catch of 56 yards.
Louisiana finished this season with the third-best scoring defense in the Sun Belt Conference. Here are defensive statistics for the Ragin’ Cajuns:
- Allowed 23.38 points per game
- Allowed 347 total offense yards per game
- Allowed 157.6 rushing yards per game
- Allowed 20 rushing touchdowns
- Allowed 189.38 passing yards per game
- Allowed 15 passing touchdowns
- Intercepted 15 passes
- Recorded 15 sacks
- Forced 10 fumbles, recovered five of them
- Allowed 41-of-41 red zone attempt scores, including 29 touchdowns
Louisiana’s defense is led by senior linebacker K.C. Ossai (#8). He has 110 tackles, including 56 solo tackles. He has 25 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. He has an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Carmycah Glass (#25), who is a transfer from the University of Missouri, has 75 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
Redshirt junior linebacker Cameron Whitfield (#19) has 40 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Jordan Lawson (#0) has 38 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Senior defensive lineman Mason Narcisse (#9) has five tackles for loss and 3.5 sack.
In its quality secondary, Louisiana has two all-Sun Belt conference selections – redshirt senior safety Tyrone Lewis (#3) and redshirt junior safety Tyree Skipper (#4).
Tyrone Lewis, a transfer from Kansas State, has 70 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. He also has four interceptions, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
Skipper also has four interceptions.
Redshirt senior cornerback Amir McDaniel (#13) has 53 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery.
Senior cornerback Keyon Martin (#21), a transfer from Youngstown State, has
50 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups and one
forced fumble.
Redshirt freshman safety Kody Jackson (#28) has three interceptions.
Louisiana’s punter is junior Nathan Torney (#92), who is a transfer from Southern Illinois. He has punted 30 times for an average of 39.5 yards per punt. He has a long punt of 54 yards. He has not had a punt blocked this season.
Redshirt senior kicker Kenneth Almendares (#45), who is a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, annually given to the country’s best kicker, has made 27-of-29 field goal attempts. Both of his misses were on field-goal attempts of at least 50 yards. He has a long field goal of 53 yards. He has not had a field goal attempt blocked this season. He has converted 46-of-47 extra-point attempts.
Like Louisiana, TCU will not have players available for the New Mexico Bowl, and the Frogs may not have one of its coaches available for the game.
These Horned Frogs reportedly have entered the transfer portal and would not play in the New Mexico Bowl:
Offense:
Offensive lineman Marcus Williams
Wide receiver Joe Laterza
Defense:
Linebacker Shadrach Banks, Jr.
Linebacker Terrence Cooks, Jr.
Safety Jamel Johnson
Safety Richard Toney, Jr.
Cornerback Cole Confessore
Special Teams:
Kicker Caleb Sempebwa
Long-snapper Jax Thompson
In addition, TCU senior wide receiver TCU receiver Jack Bech, who graduated from St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, and who transferred from LSU to TCU two years ago, may miss the bowl game. He injured a knee in TCU’s last regular-season game, against the University of Cincinnati.
Between now and the bowl game, other TCU players may enter the transfer portal or decide for another reason not to participate in the game against Louisiana.
Horned Frogs inside wide receivers coach Doug Meacham may not be available for the bowl game.
Meacham has been hired as the next offensive coordinator for Oklahoma State.
Meacham has coached at TCU since 2020 and he also served as co-offensive coordinator in Fort Worth in 2014-16.
Before his stint with TCU, Meacham played at Oklahoma State, 1983-87, and also coached for the Cowboys twice, from 1989-91 and 2005-12.
It has not been announced whether Meacham will coach in the New Mexico Bowl.
TCU was made an early 8.5-point favorite over Louisiana. The early over-under total for most points to be scored in the game was 60.5.
TCU Bowl Games:
- 1936 Sugar Bowl; vs LSU, won 3-2
- 1937 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Marquette, won 16-6
- 1939 Sugar Bowl: vs Carnegie Tech, won 15-7
- 1942 Orange Bowl: vs Georgia, lost 40-26
- 1945 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Oklahoma A&M, lost 34-0
- 1948 Delta Bowl: vs Ole Miss, lost 13-9
- 1952 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Kentucky, lost 20-7
- 1956 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Ole Miss, lost 14-13
- 1957 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Syracuse, won 28-27
- 1959 Cotton Bowl Classic January): 1959 Cotton Bowl Classic: vs Air Force, tied 0-0
- 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl (December): 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl Classic: vs Clemson, lost 23-7
- 1965 Sun Bowl: vs Texas Western, lost 13-12
- 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl: vs West Virginia, lost 31-14
- 1994 Independence Bowl: vs Virginia, lost 20-10
- 1998 Sun Bowl: vs USC, won 28-19
- 1999 Mobile Alabama Bowl: vs East Carolina, won 28-14
- 2000 Mobile Alabama Bowl: vs Southern Miss, lost 28-21
- 2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl: vs Texas A&M, lost 28-9
- 2002 Liberty Bowl: vs Colorado State, won 17-3
- 2003 Fort Worth Bowl: vs Boise State, lost 34-31
- 2005 Houston Bowl: vs Iowa State, won 27-24
- 2006 Poinsettia Bowl: vs Northern Illinois, won 37-7
- 2007 Texas Bowl: vs Houston, won 20-13
- 2008 Poinsettia Bowl: vs Boise State, won 17-16
- 2010 Fiesta Bowl: vs Boise State, lost 17-10
- 2011 Rose Bowl (January): vs Wisconsin, won 21-19
- 2011 Poinsettia Bowl (December): vs Louisiana Tech, won 31-24
- 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: vs Michigan State, lost 17-16
- 2014 Peach Bowl: vs Ole Miss, won 42-3
- 2016 Alamo Bowl (January): vs Oregon, won 47-41 (3OT)
- 2016 Liberty Bowl (December): vs Georgia, lost 31-23
- 2017 Alamo Bowl: vs Stanford, won 39-37
- 2018 Cheez-It Bowl: vs California, won 10-7 (OT)
- 2022 Fiesta Bowl (December): vs Michigan, won 51-45
- 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game: vs Georgia, lost 65-7
- 2024 New Mexico Bowl: vs Louisiana
Louisiana bowl games:
- 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl as the Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs: vs Tennessee State, lost 26-25
- 2011 New Orleans Bowl: vs San Diego State, won 32-20
- 2012New Orleans Bowl: vs East Carolina, won 43-34
- 2013 New Orleans Bowl: vs Tulane, won 24-21
- 2014 New Orleans Bowl: vs Nevada, won 16-3
- 2016 New Orleans Bowl: vs Southern Miss, lost 28-21
- 2018 Cure Bowl: vs Tulane, lost, 41-24
- 2020 First Responder Bowl (December): vs Texas-San Antonio, won 31-24
- 2020 Lending Tree Bowl (January); vs Miami (Ohio), won 27-17
- 2021 New Orleans Bowl; vs Marshall, won 36-21
- 2022 Independence Bowl: vs Houston, lost 23-16
- 2023 New Orleans Bowl: vs Jacksonville State, lost 34-31
- 2024 New Mexico Bowl: vs TCU
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