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Louisiana-Lafayette beats Nevada 16-3 to win fourth straight New Orleans Bowl

Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns quarterback Terrance Broadway (8) against the Nevada Wolf Pack during the second quarter of the New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)
Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns quarterback Terrance Broadway (8) against the Nevada Wolf Pack during the second quarter of the New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

Louisiana-Lafayette’s offense got out to fast start and put up 10 points on its first two possessions. That was all ULL’s defense would need in a 16-3 win over Nevada.

The Ragin’ Cajuns held a Wolf Pack offense that averaged 413 yards and 31 points per game to just 214 yards and three points en route to a fourth straight New Orleans Bowl victory Saturday at the Superdome.

In his final game with the program, ULL senior quarterback Terrance Broadway completed 26-of-31 passes for 227 yards and a score while running backs Elijah McGuire and Alonzo Harris combined for 169 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Broadway completed his first 14 passes of the game and helped the Cajuns jump out to a 10-0 lead. ULL’s first drive was an effective mix of run and pass that culminated in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Broadway to C.J. Bates.

After forcing a Nevada three-and-out on the Wolf Pack’s first possession, ULL added on to its lead with a 46-yard field goal from Hunter Stover, the first of his three field goals on the day.

Nevada and senior quarterback Cody Fajardo (14/29, 124 yards passing; 49 yards rushing) looked to close the deficit in the second quarter, but a promising drive came to an end when freshman wide receiver Wyatt Demps fumbled deep in ULL territory.

Nevada’s next drive was another missed opportunity. A terrible ULL punt gave the Wolf Pack possession at the ULL 27-yard line. Four plays later, the Wolf Pack had a first-and-goal from the one-yard line, but a false start penalty pushed them back. Lafayette’s defense stiffened and the Wolf Pack settled for a 21-yard Brent Zuzo field goal, making it 10-3.

The second half was more of the same – a defensive struggle – and neither team scored in the third quarter.

ULL ate up the clock with its running game and Stover added field goals of 30 and 35 yards in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Cajuns’ defense forced the Wolf Pack to turn it over on downs twice to seal the win.

The win clinched a fourth straight 9-4 season for Lafayette, all under the direction of head coach Mark Hudspeth. Upon accepting the job in 2011, Hudspeth took over a program that had just four winning seasons since 1990. Now he has four in a row.

The loss dropped Nevada to 7-6 on the season. The Wolf Pack have not won a bowl game since 2010 and the program has lost seven of its last eight postseason games.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!