Cure Bowl 2018: 3 reasons to watch Tulane vs. Louisiana

This year’s edition of the Cure Bowl features two in-state foes of the Pelican State, Tulane and Louisiana, who have played each other 26 times since 1893.

Although Tulane (6-6) has an overall 22-4 edge against its in-state rival Louisiana (7-6), recent history has been kinder to the Ragin’ Cajuns — winners of two of the last three contests since 2012.

Louisiana, formerly known in athletics as Louisiana-Lafayette, is the premier public university of Acadiana and the pride of French Louisiana. Its total enrollment is nearly 18,000 students, and its football program joined top-level Division I FBS in 1996.

Tulane, on the other hand, is the collegiate pride of the Big Easy and enchants visitors with its beautiful Uptown campus on St. Charles Ave. The Green Wave once competed in the SEC, winning three conference titles in the 1930s and 40s. In its undefeated 12-0 1998 season, the Green Wave trounced the Ragin’ Cajuns by a score of 72-20.

The Ragin’s Cajuns will be traveling outside of its home state to play a bowl game for the first time in school history. From 2011 to 2016, they appeared five times in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, winning four times (although the NCAA has vacated two of those wins, if you care). The Lafayette-based squad fell to Appalachian State last week in the inaugural Sun Belt title game.

Here are three reasons to watch the 2018 Cure Bowl.