The Michael Desormeaux era at Louisiana begins on Saturday when the No. 16 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns take on the Marshall Thundering Herd in the 2021 New Orleans Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The 36-year-old Desormeaux makes his head coaching debut after being hired on Dec. 5 to replace Billy Napier as Louisiana's next coach. On Saturday the Ragin' Cajuns (12-1), who won the Sun Belt, take on a 7-5 Marshall team that finished second in the East division of Conference USA. 

Kickoff is 9:15 p.m. ET. The Ragin' Cajuns are four-point favorites in the latest Louisiana vs. Marshall odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over/Under for total points scored is 55.5. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before you make any Marshall vs. Louisiana picks and New Orleans Bowl predictions, see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,700 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters the 2021-22 college football bowl season on a 43-29 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model knows that Louisiana has one of the top defenses in the country. The Ragin' Cajuns give up just 18.3 points per game, which leads the Sun Belt and ranks 11th in the nation. Over its last three games, Louisiana has been even better, allowing just 15.3 points a game.

The model also knows that Marshall has a potent offensive attack. Led by quarterback Grant Wells, the Thundering Herd rank 10th in the country in total offense (471.0 yards per game) and 12th in passing offense (310.7). They also have 22 plays of 40-plus yards, which is the fifth most in the nation.

Now the model has simulated Louisiana vs. Marshall and the New Orleans Bowl 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under the total, and it says one side of the spread covers well over 50 percent of the time. You absolutely need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins the New Orleans Bowl between Marshall and Louisiana? And which side of the spread covers well over 50 percent of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Louisiana vs. Marshall spread you need to jump on Saturday, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks!