Dan Hinxman

RGJ

If the Nevada football team does one thing well against Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday, it will have a good shot at winning its first bowl game since the 2010-11 season and just its second in the last six bowls, dating back to 2006.

That one thing won't be easy, though.

Christian Ringo, a 6-foot-1, 277-pound senior defensive tackle for the Ragin' Cajuns, enters the bowl game with 19 tackles for loss and 101/ 2 sacks, highly impressive numbers especially for a tackle.

And he might even not be the Ragin' Cajuns' best defensive lineman.

Senior nose tackle Justin Hamilton (6-2, 310) is arguably more disruptive as part of Louisiana's 3-4 defense, the style of defense that tends to handle Nevada's Pistol offense better than a 4-3. Hamilton's numbers aren't nearly as impressive as Ringo's (8.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks), but that might be an indication of how much attention he gets, similar to the double-teams that Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking has seen this season.

How well the Wolf Pack neutralizes these veterans will go a long way in determining who hoists the New Orleans Bowl trophy — something the Ragin' Cajuns have done for three straight years.

"On defense, they've got the two best defensive linemen, in collection, that we'll see the whole year," said Nevada coach Brian Polian, whose team left Tuesday afternoon and was to take part in a welcoming ceremony in New Orleans on Tuesday night. "... These are two intimidating defensive linemen."

Wolf Pack quarterback Cody Fajardo had not seen a lot of tape of UL when Nevada held its news conference last week, but he surely has taken notice of No. 6 (Hamilton) and No. 9 (Ringo) since poring over game tape.

"I know that they do run around and their defensive line is pretty good," Fajardo said. "Our offensive line is going to have to work out some things."

And that is an offensive line that is without two starting guards (Jeremy Macauley and Joey Anglemire) and is razor thin. Hamilton and Ringo must be licking their chops at the notion of going up against two redshirt freshmen (left tackle Austin Corbett and guard Adam Khouri).

Ringo, from Jackson, Miss., is one sack away from matching the UL record of 20.0 in a career and half a sack from matching the season record, set in 1993. He's fourth in school history in career tackles for loss (34.5) and 11/ 2 shy of the season record.

Hamilton, from Natchez, Miss., has 14.0 career sacks and can move into the top five in school history with 21/ 2 sacks against Nevada. He has 28.0 career tackles for loss and would need five more to break the top five.

"Their two defensive tackles are really impactful players, and when they're going hard, they're a handful," Polian said. "I've seen that kid, No. 6, just wreck plays because people can't handle him one on one."

WOLF PACK FOOTBALL

WHAT: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

WHO: Nevada (7-5, 4-4) vs. Louisiana (8-4, 7-1)

WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Superdome (capacity, 72,003)

WHEN: Saturday, 8 a.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPN/94.5 FM (6:30 a.m.)

TICKETS: $49.30-$69.75, NewOrleansBowl.com

BETTING LINE: Nevada is favored by 1; the total is 60

ALL-TIME SERIES: Nevada leads 1-0