ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the first time, two teams who have never played in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl will take the field Saturday afternoon.

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns will take on TCU’s Horned Frogs at the Isleta New Mexico Bowl. It’s a game they’ve been working for all season. 

TCU is a Big 12 team, they’ve won five of their last six game. Louisiana are 10 and 3, they’re also the first Sun Belt team to ever play in the New Mexico Bowl.

On Friday, both coaches talked about Saturday’s match up. 

“Everybody wants to win a conference championship, everybody wants to play in the playoff, everybody wants to play in a bowl game, and do these things. And, you know, everybody starts with the same plan, but it’s about the work that you’re willing to do. And this team has worked relentlessly, you know, to get us back,” said Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana’s head coach. 

“A mature football team handles it the way that we handled it. Had this been an immature team, or a team that really was a selfish group or wasn’t committed to each other, I’m not sure that we would have been able to turn around the season the way that they have done it,” said Sonny Dykes, TCU’s head coach. 

The game kicks off Saturday afternoon at 12:30 at the University Stadium, but organizers do advise you arrive early.

In 2023, there were over 30,000 people in the stands. For more ticket information, click here.