RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL
ARMY vs. LOUISIANA TECH
Independence Stadium
(63,000/FieldTurf)
Shreveport, Louisiana
Television
ESPN
Lowell Galindo, Fozzy Whittaker and Tori Petry
Live Statistics
StatBroadcast
THE GAME
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl takes its name from the inaugural playing of the game in 1976, the year of the United States bicentennial … This year’s matchup will feature the third meeting between Army and Louisiana Tech … The Black Knights have taken both previous matchups, most recently a 35-16 decision in 2013 … Army was originally slated to face Marshall in this year’s bowl, but the Thundering Herd withdrew from the game to open the door for Louisiana Tech.
ARMY
11-2, 8-0 American
Head Coach
Jeff Monken (Millikin ’89)
81-57, 11th season at Army
117-73, 15th season as collegiate head coach
Army is playing in Bowl Season for the 11th time in program history and the first time since the 2021 season … The Black Knights are 7-3 all-time in bowl games, including a 24-22 win against Missouri in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl their last time out … Army went 8-0 in American Athletic Conference games to win the regular-season title and completed the championship sweep with a 35-14 win against Tulane in the conference championship game … Army won its eight conference games by an average score of 35.5-13.4 … Army has been ranked in the national polls in nine consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch for the Black Knights since 1958 … Army is the eighth team in American Athletic Conference history to go 8-0 in conference play (UCF in 2013, 2017, 2018; Cincinnati and Houston in 2021; Tulane and SMU in 2023) … Army won its last nine home games … The Black Knights are playing 14 games in the 2024 season, the most in program history … Army did not trail in a game this season until its ninth game, against North Texas … QB Bryson Daily was named as The American’s Offensive Player of the Year and finished sixth in the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting … Daily leads The American with 1,532 rushing yards and a conference-record 29 touchdowns … Daily also has 942 passing yards with nine TD passes … Daily leads four Army players on the all-conference first team as OG Bill Katsigiannis and C Brady Small were chosen along with S Max DiDomenico … The rest of Army’s starting offensive line - OT Connor Finucane, OT Lucas Scott and OG Paolo Gennarelli - earned second-team honors … Katsigiannis earned first-team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, Scott was an FWAA second-team All-America choice, while Gennarelli was a third-team Associated Press All-America … Army’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s top unit … LB Andon Thomas has a team-high 95 tackles … LB Elo Modozie leads the way with 6.5 sacks, while LB Kalib Fortner has 8.5 tackles for loss to top the Black Knights … S Casey Larkin has a team-high four interceptions.
LOUISIANA TECH
5-7, 4-4 Conference USA
Head Coach
Sonny Cumbie (Texas Tech ’04)
11-25, third season at Louisiana Tech
13-28, fourth season as collegiate head coach
Louisiana Tech was a late entrant into the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl as the Bulldogs stepped in for Marshall, which withdrew from the bowl Dec. 14 … The Bulldogs will make their first bowl appearance since 2020 and play in the Independence Bowl for the first time since a 14-0 win against Miami (Fla.) in 2019 … Louisiana Tech has played in 13 bowls previously and is 8-4-1 in its previous postseason games … The Bulldogs won six consecutive bowl games between 2014-19 under former coach Skip Holtz … This year’s bowl game against Army will be Louisiana Tech’s second matchup against an American Athletic Conference opponent this season … The Bulldogs fell 23-20 to Tulsa in overtime Sept. 21 … Louisiana Tech had won three games in each of Sonny Cumbie’s first two seasons in Ruston, but the Bulldogs would finish with a six-win season with a win against Army … A six-win season would be the Bulldogs’ best since a 10-3 showing in 2019 … Louisiana Tech won two of its last three games to close the regular season and put itself in position for Bowl Season … QB Evan Bullock has completed 184 of 273 passes (67.4%) for 1,932 yards and 14 touchdowns against two interceptions … Bullock, who saw his first significant action off the bench in the overtime loss to Tulane, took over as the starter and played his way onto the Conference USA All-Freshman Team … The top rusher is RB Omiri Wiggins, who has 487 yards and four touchdowns on 103 carries … WR Tru Edwards has 77 catches for 897 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs in all three categories … Edwards was a Conference USA first team selection as he led the league with 6.4 receptions per game … The defense is led by LB Zach Zimos, who has a team-high 74 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss … LB Kolbe Fields is not far behind with 71 tackles and 9.0 TFL,, though he is not expected to play against Army due to a late-season injury … DE David Blay has team highs with 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss … The Bulldogs have allowed only 181.8 passing yards per game