On the first day of the 2011 bowl schedule, the San Diego State Aztecs will travel across the country to take on the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. Check out our college football picks for this game and the New Orleans Bowl keys to the game.

New Orleans Bowl: San Diego State Aztecs vs. Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
New Orleans Bowl Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, December 17th, 9:00 p.m. (ET)
New Orleans Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: San Diego State has to get used to playing across the country
This is as long of a road trip as the Aztecs have had in quite some time, and considering the fact that they are going to be playing in the Big East starting next season, they are going to have to get used to it. This year, in games that were played East of the Rocky Mountains, SDSU went just 1-1 SU and 0-2 ATS, and they haven’t won a game against a bowl eligible team in the Eastern or Central time zones since 1999. It is 0-9 SU and just 3-6 ATS in those games. Though this is a neutral site game, we know that there are going to be a heck of a lot more fans of the Cajuns in the Superdome considering the fact that the game is being played in the Bayou. It is going to be a tremendous task to beat ULL, even if it is a team that is playing out of the Sun Belt.

New Orleans Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
San Diego State Aztecs -4.5
Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns +4.5
Over/Under 58.5
Click Here to Bet The New Orleans Bowl Picks!

Key #2: The Aztecs are going to have to make sure this game doesn’t come down to special teams
Close games are often decided by special teams, and if that turns out to be the case, the Aztecs are in a heck of a lot of trouble. They only converted on 38.5 percent of their field goal tries this year, which ranks No. 118 in the country. There was only one field goal made from longer than 36 yards this entire season. K Abelardo Perez also missed a pair of extra points. Though the kick return game was solid with Colin Lockett and Brandon Davis both averaging over 21 yards per return, the punt return game was ugly at best. Leon McFadden and Larry Parker only managed a total of 115 return yards on 22 returns this year, and there wasn’t a single punt return of longer than 26 yards on the campaign. P Brian Stahovich took a step backwards this year as well, as he averaged 43.4 yards per punt, two yards less than what he was averaging a season ago.

Key #3: Javone Lawson and Darryl Surgent have to be a big part of the game plan for ULL
The Ragin’ Cajuns didn’t get all that many big time plays out of the rushing game this year. No one that had even 10 carries averaged more than 4.5 yards per tote on the campaign, and finding those 20+ yard plays were few and far between. That being said, QB Blaine Gautier made a living out of finding his receivers deep down the field, and that’s why Lawson and Surgent both averaged over 16 yards per catch on the season. Lawson is certainly the better receiving option, as he had 54 grabs for 899 yards and seven TDs on the year, but Surgent was better in terms of yards per catch at 17.0 after snaring 25 balls for 426 yards on the season. In San Diego State’s final game of the regular season, the team allowed TDs of 23, 88, and 59 yards just in the first 20 minutes of the game against the Fresno State Bulldogs, so we know that the potential is definitely there to allow some huge plays.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our New Orleans Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

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3. NCAA Football Predictions: 2011 Bowl Projections (As Of 12/4/11)
4. Michigan State vs. Wisconsin Predictions, Keys To The Game 12/3/11
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