Over 54,000 people showed up at the Superdome to look UL-Lafayette beat Tulane 24-21 in the 2013 New Orleans Bowl. UL-Lafayette held a 21-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter before giving all the entire lead away. It was an excellent job of picking the correct teams by the New Orleans Bowl Committee. Despite suffering an injury late in the season, UL-Lafayette quarterback Terrance Broadway was the starter and gave the Ragin' Cajuns a big boost.
UL-Lafayette opened the scoring 4 minutes into the game with an Elijah McGuire touchdown run from 27 yards out. Later in the 1st quarter, Tulane moved the ball to midfield a few drives later, but were intercepted on a halfback pass thrown by Wide Receiver Ryan Grant. UL-Lafayette's Sean Thomas returned the ball to their own 27. The Ragin' Cajuns made the most of it, going 73 yards in 6 plays with Alonzo Harris capping off the drive with a 15 yard touchdown run. UL-Lafayette led 14-0 with 2:10 left in the 1st quarter.
At the end of the 1st quarter and into the start of the 2nd, Tulane drove to the UL-Lafayette 18 yard line. On 3rd and 2, Nick Montana received a poor snap and looked down his receiver, but the pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Corey Trim as UL-Lafayette extended their lead to 21-0. Needing some type of response, Tulane got the score they needed 2 drives later with under 4 minutes remaining in the 1st half. On 4th and 2 from their own 48, Tulane's Devin Powell threw a bomb to Devon Breaux for 41 yards to the UL-Lafayette 11 yrad line. 3 plays later, Orleans Darkwa punched the ball in on the ground from a yard out and the lead was down to 21-7. Tulane continued the momentum in their favor thanks to a Jordan Sullen interception of Terrance Broadway. On the next play after the interception, Devin Powell threw a deep 50 yard pass to Ryan Grant for another red zone opportunity at the UL-Lafayette 15 yard line. Two plays later, Orleans Darkwa found the end zone again on the ground, this time from 7 yards out. Within 1 minute and 57 seconds, the lead went from 21-0 to 21-14 in favor of UL-Lafayette.
The 3rd quarter was lifeless until under 3 minutes left. Terrance Broadway was intercepted for the second time, this interception was by Derrick Strozier and Tulane got the ball at the UL-Lafayette 17 yard line. It was a horrendous attempt to throw the ball away by Broadway that just fluttered in bounds and was easily picked off by Strozier. After a false start backed up Tulane 5 yards, Orleans Darkwa got his 3rd rushing touchdown of the night and the game was tied at 21. That is how the 3rd quarter ended, with the game at 21-21 and all the momentum with Tulane.
With just over 11 minutes remaining in the game, Tulane's Devon Powell threw up a desperation throw from deep in his end zone and was picked off by Sean Thomas of UL-Lafayette. It was Thomas' 2nd interception of the game. UL-Lafayette was only able to get a field goal out of the turnover, but they still reclaimed the lead at 24-21 with 9:56 left in the game. On that drive, Terrance Broadway suffered a leg cramp and had to walk off the field.
Tulane moved the ball to the UL-Lafayette 39 yard line, but decided to punt the ball on 4th and 10 instead of trying the field goal or trying to pick up the 1st down. The Ragin' Cajuns were at their own 9 yard line and Jalen Nixon came in for Broadway. On 3rd and 10 from his own 37, Nixon ripped a pass to Jamal Robinson for 11 yards and take more time off the clock. Tulane got the ball back on their own 5 yard line with 1:35 and needed a field goal to send the game to overtime. On 3rd and 10 Powell managed to find Justyn Shackleford for a 34 yard gain out to the Tulane 39 yard line. Two plays later, Powell hit Ryan Grant to the UL-Lafayette 34 yard line. Tulane's kicker Cairo Santos came on and attempted a 48 yard field to send the game into overtime. However, the kick sailed wide left and UL-Lafayette hung on for a 24-21 lead after blowing a 21 point lead.
Tulane's Orleans Darkwa finished with 84 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night, while Ryan Grant caught 7 passes for 113 yards in the loss. UL-Lafayette's Alonso Harris ran for 74 yards and a touchdown. HIs fellow running back, Elijah McGuire, ran for 48 yards and a touchdown as well as catching 6 passes for 91 yards (139 all purpose yards). UL-Lafayette won their 3rd straight New Orleans Bowl. Meanwhile, Tulane played in their first bowl game since 2002. They might have lost, but things look bright for the Tulane Green Wave down the road.