Three things to watch for in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl

Dec. 27—Bowl season is back in Albuquerque.

TCU and Louisiana-Lafayette will square off in the 19th Isleta New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. MT, the first-ever clash between the teams at University Stadium.

The Horned Frogs (8-4) and Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3) both arrived on Christmas Day and have been preparing for the New Mexico Bowl — and, of course, enjoying Albuquerque — since.

“We’ve had a great experience up to this point,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said in a press conference Friday. “The hospitality’s been outstanding … We’re excited about the football game and we’ve talked about how important it is to our program. We have a lot of seniors and guys who’ll return next year and I told them, (Saturday) is the last time we’ll all be together.

“Enjoy this moment and cherish it.”

Three things to watch for in the New Mexico Bowl:

1. How will transfer defections affect both teams?

Not too long ago, December was devoted to bowl practice and high school recruiting. Now, with the rise of the transfer portal, the overwhelming majority of programs have to manage regular defections and recruit new players out of the portal in less than a month’s time — all while getting a team ready for a postseason appearance.

TCU and Louisiana-Lafayette are no different.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will notably be without first team All-Sun Belt tight end Terrance Carter, running back Dre’Lyn Washington, wide receiver Harvey Broussard and outside linebacker Carmychal Glass after all entered the portal earlier this month. Carter (48 catches, 689 yards, four touchdowns), who found a new home at Texas Tech, might be the biggest loss of the bunch.

“The really unfortunate thing about the portal is, it’s such a cool thing to get to play in a bowl game and it takes away that opportunity,” Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Michael Desoremeaux said…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/three-things-watch-isleta-mexico-040100058.html

Author : Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Publish date : 2024-12-28 04:01:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.