2023 New Orleans Bowl

The 2023 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2023, at Caesars Superdome located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 23rd annual New Orleans Bowl game featured the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks of Conference USA. The game began at approximately 2:15 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN. The New Orleans Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers and officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Jacksonville State defeated Louisiana in overtime, 34–31, on a game-winning field goal, to claim their first bowl win in program history.

Teams
The game featured the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns from the Sun Belt Conference and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks from Conference USA. This was the first time that Louisiana and Jacksonville State have played at the FBS level, with the Gamecocks having defeated the Ragin' Cajuns as an FCS school in 2000, 28–14.

Louisiana
The Ragin' Cajuns started the year 4-2, scoring at least 24 points in each of their first six games, including a 35–24 loss to Big Ten foe Minnesota. After defeating South Alabama 33–20 to improve to 5-3, starting quarterback Zeon Chriss suffered a broken fibula in the middle of their ninth game, which was followed by a three-game losing streak as the team fell to 5-6. Needing a win in the Battle on the Bayou to clinch bowl eligibility, backup quarterback Chandler Fields led the Ragin' Cajuns to a rout of rival Louisiana–Monroe, 52–21, securing Louisiana a spot in the New Orleans Bowl.

This was Louisiana's seventh New Orleans Bowl, extending their record for most appearances in the game. The Ragin' Cajuns' overall New Orleans Bowl record entering the 2023 game was 3–1 (excluding two wins vacated by the NCAA).

Jacksonville State
Due to NCAA transition rules for teams moving from FCS to FBS, Jacksonville State would be ineligible to play in a bowl unless not enough six-win teams were available to fill all of the season's bowl games. The Gamecocks won five of their first six games competing as an FBS school, with the sole loss coming in Week 3 to Coastal Carolina. They reached the six-win threshold on October 17 by defeating Western Kentucky, 20–17, on a walk-off field goal. The Gamecocks finished their season with an 8–4 record and secured bowl eligibility when not enough teams reached six wins to fill all available bowl games.