Delaware competes in its first-ever bowl game. Louisiana is back in the postseason for the 8th-straight year.
Bowl Season resumes Wednesday night, featuring the second of five matchups between the Sun Belt and Conference USA.
The 2025 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, AL houses the first-ever meeting between the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. The matchup between 6-6 opponents fighting for a winning season kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Here are notes, storylines, and players to watch for when the Ragin’ and Fightin’ commences Wednesday night in Southern Alabama.
Welcome to Bowl Season, Blue Hens
Delaware is one of two programs that made the transition from the FCS to the FBS level this year. Typically, these programs are barred from bowl eligibility in year one, but Delaware — as well as Conference USA brethren Missouri State — was granted an exception due to a lack of eligible 6-win teams. The Fightin’ Blue Hens reached the 6-win threshold in year one of FBS membership, earning signature victories over 9-3 UConn, 7-5 FIU, and 7-5 Louisiana Tech during a spectacular debut season.
As a reward, Delaware gets to compete in its first-ever bowl game, receiving a golden opportunity to bring hardware back to Newark, DE. There are only six FBS programs still searching for their first-ever bowl win, and those are newcomers Delaware and Missouri State, second-year FBS member Kennesaw State, and ULM, UMass, and Charlotte.
Louisiana aims to snap bowl skid
Louisiana is a staple in bowl season. The Ragin’ Cajuns are competing in a Sun Belt-best 8th-straight bowl — all four years of the Billy Napier era and all four years of the Michael Desormeaux era. Things looked rocky to start the 2025 campaign when Louisiana was 2-6 entering November, but the Cajuns rattled off four-consecutive victories to return to their usual December schedule.
Louisiana previously earned a reputation for postseason success, winning seven of nine bowl games in the 2011-21 timeframe, but lately, the Cajuns have fallen on hard times. The team is 0-3 in bowl games in the three full seasons under Desormeaux. Louisiana dropped the 2022 Independence Bowl to Houston on a last-minute touchdown, the 2023 New Orleans Bowl to Jacksonville State on a last-second field goal, and was routed by TCU in a 2024 New Mexico Bowl mismatch. Wednesday night presents an opportunity to cast those woes aside, earn a fifth-straight victory on the year, and produce a winning season — complete with a trophy.
Dual-threat QB showdown
The quarterback matchup in this one can certainly be described as electrifying. Both Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci and Louisiana quarterback Lunch Winfield offer diverse skillsets, capable of lighting up the stat sheet in a multitude of ways. Neither player was the Week 1 starter, but both molded into QB1 roles in September and maintained them for the rest of the season.
Minicucci earned Second Team All-CUSA for the Fightin’ Blue Hens, and he’s fifth in the FBS with 3,505 passing yards — collecting 300+ yards in seven games, including four of his last five. The all-conference quarterback is also tied for fourth in the CUSA (and first among QBs) with 10 rushing touchdowns, as Delaware often employs his legs on zone reads and QB draws near the end zone. Winfield may not have the passing numbers of Minicucci, but Louisiana quarterback presents a stronger degree of mobility, rushing for 627 yards and nine touchdowns — famously totaling 129 and three in the highest-scoring game of the year, a 54-51 double-overtime win over Marshall. Winfield can still sling it, and he produced multiple passing touchdowns in four games this year, guiding the Cajuns to four-straight 30+ point showings to conclude the regular season.
Linebacker leaders
The quarterbacks draw plenty of attention in this matchup, but don’t forget the defenses. Both units feature a star linebacker that accrued north of 100 tackles in the regular season — and they’re both Pittsburgh area natives. On the Louisiana side, middle linebacker Jaden Dugger earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors behind 118 tackles (currently 13th in FBS), along with 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. No Sun Belt defender made more solo stops than the 6’5”, 239 pound senior who will be playing his final collegiate game Wednesday night.
For Delaware, junior middle linebacker Gavin Moul was snubbed from the all-conference teams, but Delaware and Delaware opponents both understand the level of talent of No. 35. Moul is one of three CUSA players to exceed 100 tackles in the regular season, and he added 6.5 tackles for loss and a scoop-and-score to an impressive defensive résumé. Given the mobility of the quarterbacks in this matchup, both tackling machine linebackers will be put to the test Wednesday night in Mobile.
Category: General Sports
