CURE BOWL -- These are two of the weaker bowl-eligible teams in the country, which in part explains why they are tagged with kicking off bowl season Saturday. Even so, Tulane has the decidedly better resume and finished strong with four wins in the final five down the stretch. Lafayette's win over Arkansas State remains its only FBS victory over an opponent with a winning record. The Cajuns don't have the comfortable home-field advantage they enjoy when selected for the New Orleans Bowl, and the Green Wave should have the edge on a neutral field.

CURE BOWL - Two Louisiana teams with similar profiles face off in Orlando. I like the Ragin Cajuns to pull off the upset due to their defense being better at limiting big plays than Tulane's, while both have explosive offenses. Furthermore, Louisiana has been the more consistent team through the course of the season, and has played a much tougher schedule than the Green Wave.

AUTONATION CURE BOWL -- Coordinators customarily do not get fired before bowl games, but that is the case at Tulane with OC Will Hall replacing Doug Ruse. Hall intends to go more up-tempo, so the Green Wave offense faces an adjustment. The team is on a 2-5 ATS slide. The Ragin’ Cajuns weathered a challenging schedule, with one loss apiece to Alabama and Mississippi State and a pair to Appalachian State, which was ranked this season. Tulane poses less of a test than those opponents.

AUTO NATION CURE BOWL -- A rematch of the 2013 New Orleans Bowl, the Cajuns and Green Wave meet again in the postseason. That particular game was all about the offense. This time around, the Cajuns are coming in with an improved defense that seems to be particularly strong on the back end. Tulane's offense has gotten better over the course of the season, but I don't think it'll be enough to put pressure on the Ragin Cajuns.