Christmas is almost upon us, and with that, it means bowl season is in full swing. Tuesday’s slate features three games, with the one we’re focusing on happening in the middle. Featuring teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt, the New Orleans Bowl is a good one almost every year. This year should be no exception. Let’s introduce you to Western Kentucky and Southern Mississippi, give you some history, and make a prediction with our 2025 New Orleans Bowl Preview. But first, let’s look at the game through the years.
Good Matchup In The Big Easy
Bowl History
The first New Orleans Bowl happened back in 2001, making Tuesday’s contest the 25th. It’s been played every year in the Caesar’s Superdome except for 2005. That was the year of Hurricane Katrina, which forced the game to Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation sponsored the first game. From 2002-2004, Wyndham’s Hotel and Resorts was the title sponsor. Finally, R+L Carriers was the sponsor from 2006- 2024. However, this 2025 installment is one of a few games without sponsorship.
Colorado State beat North Texas 45-20 in the first game back in 2001. Louisiana has appeared in the most New Orleans Bowls at seven. They are 5-2 but had two wins vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
Now that we’ve given you some history, let’s look at the teams in our 2025 New Orleans Bowl Preview.
Scouting Western Kentucky
Under coach Tyson Helton, the Hilltoppers come into Tuesday with an 8-4 record. They were one of the top squads in Conference USA all season. However, they lost their last two games, including the season finale against Jacksonville State. As a result, that cost them a chance at the title game.
Maverick McIvor began the year at quarterback. He threw for 1,863 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, he suffered a shoulder injury in a win over Louisiana Tech.
McIvor was replaced by Rodney Tisdale Jr., who took over for the final six games. Tisdale Jr. completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,367 yards and nine touchdowns. As a result, he earned Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors. However, if there’s one thing to watch, he does have six interceptions. In fact, turnovers have been a big issue for Western in the latter part of the year.
Former Kentucky running back La’Vell Wright gained 480 yards this year and finished fourth in CUSA with 10 touchdowns. Freshman running back Marvis Parrish led the Toppers with 510 yards. The leading receiver is K.D Hutchinson, who has 61 catches for 619 yards and three scores. In addition, Matthew Henry has 48 receptions and leads the team with 762 yards and six touchdowns.
That’s a look at Western Kentucky. As we continue on with our 2025 New Orleans Bowl Preview, let’s move to the Golden Eagles.
A Bounce Back Year
First-year coach Charles Huff led Southern Mississippi to one of the biggest turnarounds in college football. They went from 1-11 in 2024 to 7-5 this year. Unfortunately, what happens when you turn around a program is that bigger schools come calling. In fact, Huff left Hattiesburg to take the coaching job at Memphis. Blake Anderson takes over as head coach. He was previously the offensive coordinator.
Much like Western Kentucky, the Golden Eagles also struggled down the stretch. At one point, their record was 7-2. However, they dropped their last three to finish 7-5.
Quarterback Braylon Braxton leads the offense. So far in 2025, he’s thrown for 2,796 yards and a Sun Belt-leading 23 touchdowns. Jeffrey Pittman, a junior running back, has 640 yards and eight touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Elijah Metcalf hauled in 52 receptions for 677 yards and two scores.
Now that we’ve looked at both teams, let’s give you some postseason history as we continue our 2025 New Orleans Bowl preview.
Bowl And Series History
Saturday marks the fifth time the Golden Eagles and Hilltoppers have met, with Western winning the previous four. The last meeting was in 2020.
Since moving to FBS in 2009, Western Kentucky is 7-4 all-time in bowl games. Helton is 4-2 and had a three-game winning streak snapped in last year’s Boca Raton Bowl, where they lost to James Madison. Their lone appearance in the New Orleans Bowl came in 2022, where they beat South Alabama 44-23.
Southern Mississippi is appearing in its 26th bowl game all-time. Currently, their record sits at 12-13. Their last bowl and win came in the 2022 Lending Tree Bowl when they beat Rice 38-24. Tuesday marks their sixth time playing in New Orleans, that’s second all-time. They are 4-1 in their previous games.
It’s prediction time as we wrap up our 2025 New Orleans Bowl Preview.
Who Wins On Tuesday?
On paper, this sets up as a really good match-up. Western does well when they score lots of points. In fact, they are 8-1 when they get more than 27. However, they do have a problem with turnovers. That seems to play right into Southern Mississippi’s hands.
During the first nine games, they forced 25 turnovers. In the three-game losing streak, they only forced one. Furthermore, they are 7-0 when they cause at least two turnovers.
Looking for a back-and-forth entertaining game that goes to the wire. In the en,d the Hilltoppers pull out the win.
Western Kentucky 31-28
How To Watch
2025 New Orleans Bowl
Date and time: Tuesday, December 23rd, 5:30 pm
Location: Caesar’s Superdome- New Orleans, Louisiana (Capacity 83,000)
Television: ESPN
Spread: Western Kentucky is a 2.5-point favorite with the over/under at 57.5
