The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns take on the Delaware Blue Hens in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Louisiana is favored by 3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -155. Delaware, meanwhile, enters as a +3 underdog and is +130 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 61.5 total points.
Here’s my Louisiana vs. Delaware prediction and college football picks for Wednesday, December 17.
Louisiana vs Delaware Prediction
- Louisiana vs. Delaware Pick: Delaware +3 · Delaware ML +130
My Delaware vs. Louisiana best bet is on the Blue Hens to cover the spread. I'll sprinkle the moneyline for an outright win by Delaware as well. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Louisiana vs Delaware Odds
| Louisiana Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 61.5 -112o / -108u | -155 |
| Delaware Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 61.5 -112o / -108u | +130 |
- Louisiana vs Delaware Spread: Louisiana -3, Delaware +3
- Louisiana vs Delaware Over/Under: 61.5 Points
- Louisiana vs Delaware Moneyline: Louisiana -155, Delaware +130
Louisiana vs Delaware 68 Ventures Bowl Preview
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Betting Preview: Living on Borrowed Time
After starting 2-6, it appeared Louisiana was going to sit out bowl season just a year after winning 10 games. But the Ragin’ Cajuns rattled off four straight wins to close the season — zero over teams inside the top 75 nationally and just one over a top-100 opponent (a wild win over Texas State).
A grand total of one FBS win for Louisiana came by more than one score: a 31-22 victory over South Alabama in Mobile to start November. Two wins this year came in overtime.
The team runs through athletic quarterback Lunch Winfield. He rushed for 100-plus yards three times this season since taking over for Walker Howard, but did sit out some snaps late in the ULM season finale with an injury.
With multiple weeks to recover, Winfield should be fine.
Winfield’s dynamics are necessary thanks to a Louisiana defense that ranks 99th in points per drive and 127th in success rate. It allowed at least 27 points in each of its last three games and 33.8 points per game in wins over FBS teams.
Louisiana either outruns its opponents or loses.
It does get a big injection of talent back, though, with the reinstatement of safety Tyree Skipper, who sat out the last two games following his involvement in a postgame brawl with Texas State.
To be blunt, this just isn’t a very good bowl team.
Louisiana ranks 128th in net Success Rate, net EPA Per Drive and 90th in net Points Per Drive. The Cajuns have been outgained (significantly) in four of their five FBS wins, including each of the last three. They also allowed 500-plus yards in three of those wins.
It’s an unsustainable model.
In terms of bowl success, head coach Michael Desormeaux is 1-3 outright in bowl appearances, although all three losses came as an underdog. Last year, a shorthanded Louisiana team was blasted by TCU in the New Mexico Bowl, 31-3.
This year’s team has more bodies at quarterback and a real athlete at the position. But the defense is too porous, and Winfield is fairly inconsistent. If you’re looking for a trustworthy team to back this bowl season, Louisiana isn’t it.
Delaware Fightin Blue Hens Betting Preview: First-Year Motivation
Thanks to a shortage of six-win teams, Delaware finds itself in a bowl in its first year at the FBS level. As a newcomer, you can count on maximum participation and effort from this Blue Hens team.
A hot 3-1 start was followed by a valiant 27-24 effort in a loss to Western Kentucky at home — a game Delaware had every chance to win.
But a 3-4 run down the stretch was marred by a 59-30 drubbing by 4-8 Liberty, a 26-23 stinker against two-win Sam Houston and a 52-14 uninteresting blowout loss to Wake Forest. At times, it looked like the focus and execution weren’t there.
Defensive coordinator Manny Rojas’ unique take on the 3-3-5 is wearing thin among Delaware faithful, especially against run-heavy teams like Liberty and Jacksonville State, who combined for 97 points.
Even in wins, the defense looked shaky. UTEP found 31 points (tied for its second-best mark of the year), and Middle Tennessee scored 28 (tied for its best mark at that point).
In this version of the defense, safeties can easily be spread thin out of the box, and teams can easily run the ball up the middle.
Delaware finished the regular season as a bottom-10 defense in explosive plays and explosive runs allowed.
Offensively, there’s concern surrounding lead running back Jo Silver. He returned for Week 14 but played just 23 snaps (granted, he wasn’t needed much).
Silver is the engine of the run game, and without him, Delaware’s offense suffers; the Hens scored just 23 points against Sam Houston in his absence.
Overall, Delaware is a well-coached team with solid players at every level. Inconsistency — especially on defense — is a real concern against teams that can effectively run the ball.
But with a program of this size, caliber and newness to the FBS, winning a bowl game in Year 1 is clearly a priority in the locker room. I expect a top effort and performance from this group in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
Louisiana vs Delaware Pick, Betting Analysis
Handicapping motivation during bowl season is a difficult task, and one that modelers scoff at. After all, it’s immeasurable, so trying to weigh it could be a fool’s errand.
But motivation in bowl games is a real factor in the outcome and fairly predictable.
Delaware is seeking a bowl win in its first year at the FBS level. While bowl trophies for programs like Clemson and Michigan sit in cupboards collecting dust, programs of a certain level really value these wins. (Buffalo displays its Myrtle Beach Bowl trophy right next to the main door of their football center reception desk, for instance.)
Louisiana is coming off a season where it won 10 games and the Sun Belt Championship. Now, the Ragin' Cajuns are lucky to be 6-6 and playing in a bowl that resides in a city they visit every other season for a conference game.
Mobile might be a destination for teams in the MAC, but it’s not that for in-league Louisiana.
The other factor here is the fact that Louisiana is a team fortunate to be playing in a bowl game and is operating on margins unsustainable for long periods of time.
Going 4-0 down the stretch while getting outgained three times and giving up 500-plus yards in two of those games is an unlikely and unrepeatable outcome.
Offensively, Louisiana has little to speak of in explosiveness. Explosive plays are what hurt Delaware. On a down-to-down basis, the defense is quite solid.
The underlying metrics for Louisiana are alarming. This is a team significantly worse than its 6-6 record suggests.
Delaware has the size up front to compete with a Sun Belt roster like Louisiana. If Silver goes, this is a dangerous offense capable of scoring crooked numbers all night.
I’m picking Delaware to win this game outright.
Louisiana is represented in 84% of bowl confidence pools despite having just a 60% expected win rate. The Blue Hens are a strong confidence pick and one worthy of a moneyline bet along with the points. They’re simply the better team.
Pick: Delaware +3 · Delaware ML +130
Louisiana vs Delaware Betting Trends
