2005 New Orleans Bowl for a touchdown to tie the game at 17–17. USM quarterback Dustin Almond connected with wide receiver Shawn Nelson for a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 24–17 lead. Arkansas State scored on a safety to get within 24–19. Dustin Almond threw a second touchdown pass to Shawn Nelson to make the final margin 31–19. 2005 New Orleans Bowl The 2005 New Orleans Bowl featured the (now the Red Wolves) and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, the game was played at Cajun Field in Lafayette, Louisiana, instead of at the Louisiana Superdome in
Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans Hurricane Ivan's threat to the city resulted in the largest evacuation of the city to date. Mayor Ray Nagin issued a call for a voluntary evacuation of the city at 6 pm on September 13. An estimated 600,000 or more evacuated from Greater New Orleans. The contraflow plan was put into full effect for the first time, but rather late in the evacuation due to various confusions. This proved valuable practice, for the contraflow was implemented much more smoothly in 2005. Hurricane Pam was a hypothetical hurricane used as a disaster scenario to drive planning for a 13-parish area in