Tulane Survives 2nd-Half Surge, Rolls Past Louisiana in 2018 Cure Bowl

The Tulane Green Wave kicked off bowl season Saturday with a 41-24 win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in the Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The bowl win was Tulane's first since winning the Hawaii Bowl in 2002, and by going 7-6, it finished with a winning record for the first time since 2013.

While Louisiana fell to 7-7 with the loss, it still managed to finish .500 or better for the first time since 2014, which was the final year of a four-year streak that saw the Cajuns go 9-4 and win the New Orleans Bowl each season.

Tulane's running game led the way Saturday, as the Green Wave rushed for 337 yards collectively. They were led by junior running back Darius Bradwell, who finished with a career-high 150 rushing yards on 35 carries, as well as two rushing touchdowns, and was named MVP of the game.

The Green Wave defense was also dominant in holding the Ragin' Cajuns to just 258 total yards and 11 first downs.

Louisiana had an especially difficult time moving the ball through the air, and senior quarterback Andre Nunez finished 8-of-17 for 136 yards with one touchdown.

Overall, Tulane outgained Louisiana 482-258 and dominated the time of possession battle 40:31-19:29.

Although the Green Wave turned the ball over twice and allowed the Ragin' Cajuns to close the gap to just three points in the fourth quarter, they came through in the clutch and managed to pull away late for the win.

The Ragin' Cajuns did manage to strike first in the game when running back Raymond Calais rushed for a 38-yard touchdown on the opening drive:

Tulane quickly bounced back from the defensive breakdown on that play to answer with a touchdown of its own on the ensuing drive, with Bradwell scoring from 15 yards out:

That was just the start of Tulane's offensive deluge, as it found the end zone two more times in the opening quarter.

Senior quarterback Justin McMillan threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Terren Encalade to give the Green Wave a 14-7 lead:

Freshman running back Amare Jones then followed it up with a one-yard rushing touchdown to extend Tulane's advantage.

Tulane added a field goal in the second quarter and appeared poised to extend its lead even further entering halftime.

McMillan was intercepted at the Louisiana goal line, though, and Bralen Trahan returned it 63 yards to allow the Ragin' Cajuns to kick a field goal and cut the halftime deficit to just 14:

While the half ended on a low note for Tulane, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com pointed out it was a clean and well-played opening 30 minutes overall:

Tulane tried to get momentum back on its side by going for it on fourth down in Louisiana territory on its first possession of the second half, but the Ragin' Cajuns made the stop.

Louisiana then answered with a touchdown; running back Elijah Mitchell scored from three yards out to pull the Cajuns within seven.

Tim Buckley of the Daily Advertiser pointed out that Mitchell's touchdown suddenly made things interesting in a game that initially seemed to be trending toward a blowout:

Tulane was in desperate need of a sustained drive to stop the bleeding, and it got precisely that in the form of a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ate up nearly five minutes and resulted in a field goal for the Green Wave late in the third.

The Green Wave were unable to get anything going offensively early in the fourth, however, and Louisiana took advantage.

After Nunez hit Ryheem Malone for a big 47-yard gain, he threw a 13-yard touchdown to Jarrod Jackson on third down to shrink the Tulane lead to 27-24 with just over 10 minutes left in regulation.

Once again, the Green Wave were tasked with answering on offense, and they were up to the challenge.

Tulane drove 75 yards in 6:27 and converted a 4th-and-7 at one point before finishing the drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Bradwell to restore the 10-point lead and put Louisiana's back against the wall with 3:49 remaining:

As pointed out by Karen Loftus of WGNO, the Green Wave had to have the touchdown in order to prevent a potential comeback by the Ragin' Cajuns:

After a turnover on downs, Tulane officially put the game away for good measure with a 16-yard touchdown run by McMillan on 4th-and-7.

That score secured the victory for the Green Wave and gave them just the fifth bowl win in the history of their football program.