The Last Time UL Football Met Miami (Ohio)

The last time the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns met the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks on the football field was a memorable one and the beginning of an era.

Louisiana, who will be taking on Miami in The LendingTree Bowl on Monday, January 6 in Mobile, Alabama, has played the Redhawks only twice in history.

The first time the two schools met, back in 1991, Miami walked away victorious, 27-14.

Two years later, in 1993, the two schools would meet for a second time, in Oxford, Ohio.

Heading into the 1993 season, Louisiana (then USL) had a question at quarterback.

Junior college transfer Jason Sanborn was the leading candidate, but the Cajuns also had Reggie Hayes, who had been with the team the previous two years, along with Danny DiPace on the roster.

In the season-opener against Utah St., the Cajuns didn't get good production at the quarterback position, didn't move the ball, especially in the first half, and suffered a 34-13 loss in their Big West Conference opener.

The following week, Saturday, September 11, against Miami, Nelson Stokley made the surprise decision to insert a true freshman from Teurlings Catholic High School at the quarterback position who many were expecting to redshirt.

That freshman was Jake Delhomme.

Delhomme actually played in the second half of the Utah St. game, but the Miami game was his first career start.

The Cajuns responded too, moving out to a 28-6 lead in the second half.

Unfortunately, the Cajuns' defense didn't hold up, and Miami came back to win the game, 29-28, dropping the Cajuns to 0-2.

The two programs haven't played since.

After that game, the quarterback position was Delhomme's however, and the Cajuns responded, winning 6-straight games, and 8 of their last 9, before going on to finish 8-3 and finish in a first-place tie with Utah St. atop the Big West Conference standings.

Unfortunately, Utah St. by virtue of their head-to-head win over the Cajuns, won the conference title and represented the league in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Delhomme had a splendid freshman campaign, throwing for 1,842 yards and 14 touchdowns, before going on to throw for 9,216 career yards and 64 touchdown passes over his collegiate career.

A native of Breaux Bridge, Delhomme went on to a 14-year NFL career, including stints with the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans.

A 2005 Pro Bowl honoree, Delhomme threw for 20,975 yards and 126 yards in his career.

The highlight of his career was guiding the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII following the 2003 season.

Few realized when Delhomme entered the game against Miami that all that was to come.

The last time Louisiana and Miami met; Saturday, September 11, 1993, was the beginning of the Jake Delhomme era.

We'll have to wait and see if the third meeting between the two schools brings about something just as memorable when they meet in the LendingTree Bowl.

Louisiana will be playing in its second-straight bowl game, and their 7th in the last 9 years.

After winning four-straight years in the New Orleans Bowl, the Cajuns have lost their past two bowl games, falling to Southern Miss, 28-21, in the 2016 New Orleans Bowl, before suffering a 41-24 setback to Tulane in the Cure Bowl last December.

The Cajuns, who won a school-record 10 games this season, will enter the match-up at 10-3 on the season, while Miami, champions of the Mid-American Conference, is currently 8-5.