NEW ORLEANS — He needs just one more, and he can get it in tonight’s New Orleans Bowl against San Diego State.

Just one, to leave a mark.

To break a record.

To pass a legend.

But if he doesn’t move ahead of longtime NFL quarterback Jake Delomme and alone into first place on UL’s single-season leaders list for touchdown passes thrown, Ragin’ Cajuns QB Blaine Gautier will be okay with it.

Because only one thing really matters to him.

"I want to win so bad," Gautier said.

And if he does happen to pass Delhomme along the way?

"It would be wonderful," he said. "Trust me; it definitely would, knowing the guy Jake Delhomme is and what he’s done for the university "»"

Delhomme, now with the Houston Texans, threw 20 touchdown passes twice for the Ragin’ Cajuns, in 1995 and ’96. Gautier threw his 20th TD pass in UL’s regular season-ending loss at Arizona.

Replacing Gibson

UL will face San Diego State tonight without usual starting outside linebacker Le’Marcus Gibson, who fractured a non-weight-bearing leg bone in the Cajuns’ Nov. 12 loss at Arkansas State.

Sophomore Justin Anderson started in Gibson’s spot for UL regular season-ending loss at Arizona. He’s expected to start again tonight, but likely will get some help.

Defensive coordinator Greg Stewart said senior defensive ends Bernard Smith and Chris Tucker both will see time at linebacker too. Tucker, according to Stewart, has been practicing at both outside and insider linebacker.

If Anderson does start, that would make two underclassmen — he and insider starter Jake Molbert — opening along with a pair of seniors, leading tackler Lance Kelley and No. 2 tackler Devon Lewis-Buchanan.

The two seniors, Stewart suggested, are the heart of UL’s linebacker corps.

"Lance and D-Lew are great leaders," he said. "When things don’t go good at times, them are guys are the first that are going to get on (youngsters’) butts — and they’ll be the first to take the blame when they do something that is not in the scheme of the defense.

"They’ve been a pleasure to coach — great, great young men that will be very successful in life. There’s no doubt in my mind."

Stewart on Griffin

The New Orleans Bowl will afford UL a second chance to watch true freshman Qyen Griffin play defense this season.

The Cajuns are in the process of converting their backup tailback into a linebacker. His first game on the other side of the ball came Nov. 26 at Arizona.

"Love him," UL defensive coordinator Greg Stewart said.

"He made a couple mistakes against Arizona, but he hadn’t been there very long.

"But he’s a great athlete, and he has a knack for getting off blocks," Stewart added. "He’s fast, and he weighs 245 pounds. He’s exciting to watch."

Really big deal

As a self-proclaimed "huge Cajun fan my entire life, growing up in Lafayette and Carencro," Kelley really does consider getting to the New Orleans a big deal.

"I (saw) how much this town wanted a winner," the St. Thomas More product said. "Just seeing their reactions us doing this is really fulfilling.

"I keep saying ‘surreal,’ because it’s hard to believe it’s happening. It really is. I mean, it’s a great experience."  

The next level

He coaches in the Sun Belt Conference, and isn’t ashamed to admit it.

"The thing that probably aggravates me more than probably anything is sometimes the lack of respect this conference gets," Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth said. "But, I’m gonna tell you: We’re getting more and more every year."

Hudspeth is especially proud of the fact Sun Belt teams went 5-2 against Conference USA opponents and 1-0 against Big East opponents this season — two conferences arguably at a higher, albeit somewhat proximate, level than the Sun Belt.

Sun Belt schools also went 2-0 against the Mid-American Conference — arguably a lower-level conference. But the Sun Belt was 0-1 vs. the Missouri Valley, with Indiana State beating Western Kentucky.   

Hudspeth notes further that the Sun Belt placed three schools — UL, Florida International and conference-champ Arkansas State — in a bowl for a second straight year.

UL, incidentally, went 2-2 against non-conference opponents this season — 1-0 vs. the lower-level Southland (Nicholls State) and 1-0 vs. the MAC (Kent State), but 0-1 against the Big 12 (Oklahoma State) and Pac-12 (Arizona).

All of which leads to "» the next level.

Sun Belt teams went 1-4 against the Big Ten, 0-1 vs. the Big 12, 0-1 vs. the Mountain West, 0-1 vs. the Pac-12, 0-5 vs. the ACC, 0-6 against the SEC and 0-9 against Top 25 teams.