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New Orleans Bowl 2006 Game Details
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Date: 22 December 2006, 8:00 PM EST
Teams: Rice vs. Troy
Televised on: ESPN2
New Orleans Bowl Betting Matchup
Because of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, last year's New Orleans Bowl was forced to relocate to Cajun Field in Lafayette, La. And it was the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles defending their New Orleans Bowl title, handling Arkansas State 31-19.
Despite fumbling on their first two possessions and settling for a 10-10 halftime deadlock, they pulled away from the Sun Belt champs.
Further New Orleans Bowl betting matchup information: Matchup.
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About the New Orleans Bowl 2006
The New Orleans Bowl is a post-season college football game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually in New Orleans since 2001. The 5th annual New Orleans Bowl was played at Cajun Field on the campus of the University of Louisiana Lafayette, due to damages suffered by the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
The team designations will follow the traditional New Orleans Bowl bench assignments, with the Sun Belt champion (TBA) designated as the home team (on the west sideline), and the Conference USA team designated as the visitor team (on the east sideline).
New Orleans Bowl Prior Results
| Date | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec. 2005 | Southern Mississippi | 31 | Arkansas State | 19 |
| 14 Dec. 2004 | Southern Mississippi | 31 | North Texas | 10 |
| 16 Dec. 2003 | Memphis | 27 | North Texas | 17 |
| 17 Dec. 2002 | North Texas | 25 | Cincinnati | 19 |
| 18 Dec. 2001 | Colorado State | 45 | North Texas | 20 |
History of the New Orleans Bowl
The New Orleans Bowl was originally envisioned as a NCAA football matchup between the Sun Belt champions versus an at-large opponent. This was the format of the first New Orleans Bowl in 2001, when North Texas took on Colorado State from the Mountain West conference. Colorado prevailed 45-20 in what was the third-most watched bowl game on ESPN2 since the network started broadcasting bowl games in 1997.
In 2002, however, Conference USA signed a multi-year agreement with the New Orleans Bowl to send a mutually acceptable team from Conference USA. In 2002 this opponent was the Cincinnati Bearcats, which lead in the first quarter but allowed two touchdowns in the second quarter, and eventually fell to North Texas with a score of 25 to 19.
2003 saw North Texas in the game again, this time against Memphis. North Texas' eight-game winning streak was brought to an end, in part due to the extraordinary effort of Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine. Wimprine, named MVP for the game, completed 17 of 23 passes for a total of 254 yards, and a touchdown. He also ran the ball for 17 yards, picking up a score in the process. The victory for Memphis snapped the Tigers' 30-year college bowl losing streak.
The Mean Green were back in 2004, this time against the Southern Miss Eagles. The tempo of the game was set in the first quarter, when Southern Miss scored 14 unanswered points against Texas. The Golden Eagles ended up thrashing North Texas 31-10.
In 2005, the Golden Eagles were back, getting two second-half TDs from Shawn Nelson and 161 yards along the ground from Cody Hull to pull away for a 31-19 victory. The Sun Belt champion Arkansas State Indians were outclassed in this match, despite holding Southern Miss to 10-10 at the half. Nelson was named New Orleans Bowl MVP.
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