2012 New Orleans Bowl
The 12th edition of the New Orleans Bowl began at 11:00 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN.It featured the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns from the Sun Belt Conference and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams.[3] The 77 combined points scored by both teams set a New Orleans Bowl record.After said Knights lost the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the 2012 Conference USA Football Championship Game, the conference's corresponding contingency plan for the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season put the Pirates in the 2012 New Orleans Bowl.Although the Sun Belt has a record five bowl-eligible teams this year, the Ragin' Cajuns stood out amidst the competition by compiling a 5-2 conference record, including victories over fellow bowl-eligible teams the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.