9:15 p.m. | ESPN
Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the third meeting between LA Tech and Army and the first-time the two have met in a bowl game. Army leads the series 2-0 after picking up a 14-7 win in the first meeting in 2008 and a second win in 2013.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Notes
BULLDOGSTORYLINES AND 2024 LEADERS
• Louisiana Tech football returns to postseason play for the first time since the 2020 season as the Bulldogs will make their 14th bowl appearance in program history, taking on the Army Black Knights in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport on December 28 at 8:15 p.m. CT. This will mark LA Tech’s second appearance in a bowl game with less than six wins, after reaching the New Orleans bowl with a 5-5 record in 2020. • LA Tech will be in search of its ninth bowl victory, entering with an 8-4-1 record all-time in bowl games. This will be La Tech’s first bowl appearance under head coach Sonny Cumbie. The Bulldogs won six straight bowl games from 2014-19, with their last win coming over Miami in the 2019 Independence Bowl. • The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 5-7 (4-4 CUSA) record, finishing fifth in CUSA. LA Tech defeated Kennesaw 33-0 in the season finale to finish with a 4-2 record inside Joe Aillet Stadium, while pitching their first shutout since the 2019 Independence Bowl versus Miami. Army enters the bowl matchup with an 11-2 mark and as the No. 19 ranked team in the country. The Black Knights posted a 10-1 record in the regular season and defeated Tulane win the American Athletic Conference Championship. • LA Tech’s defense finished the season as the No. 11 ranked total defense in the nation, allowing just 301.9 yards per game. Tech’s defense ranked in the top 30 in several other categories including rush defense (29th), passing yards allowed (22nd) and scoring defense (24th). The Bulldogs will have their handfuls as they will face an Army team that has the nation’s top rushing attack, averaging 298.9 yards rushing yards per game on the ground. The Black Knights average 31.4 points per outing, while LA Tech gives up an average of 20.5 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
14 LA Tech’s upcoming appearance in the Independence Bowl will mark the program’s 14th bowl game. The Bulldogs are 8-4-1 all-time in bowl games and will look for their first win since defeating Miami in 2019.
10 This will be the 10th time a team with five or fewer wins will play in a bowl game since 1980, including LA Tech’s appearance in the 2020 New Orleans Bowl. Those teams have a 5-4 record in those games.
9 Nine different LA Tech players earned All-CUSA honors. Tru Edwards and David Blay were named to the All-CUSA First Team, while Evan Bullock was earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
6 This will be the Bulldogs’ sixth appearance in the Independence Bowl, breaking a tie with Ole Miss. LA Tech is 3-1-1 in Independence Bowl matchups, including wins over Miami (2019), Northern Illinois (2008), East Carolina (1978) and Louisville (1977).
A LA TECH WIN…
• Would give the Bulldogs their ninth overall bowl win and their fourth Independence Bowl win. • Would give head coach Sonny Cumbie his second career bowl win as a head coach. • Would give LA Tech its first win over a ranked opponent since the 2009 season when the Bulldogs defeated No. 23 Fresno State. • Would give the Bulldogs their second win over a Military Academy. LA Tech is a combined 1-4 against Army and Navy. • Would give LA Tech 50 all-time wins in Shreveport.
MATCHUP NOTES
This will be the third meeting between LA Tech and Army and the first-time the two have met in a bowl game. Army leads the series 2-0 after picking up a 14-7 win in the first meeting in 2008 and a second win in 2013. The inaugural matchup took place in West Point, N.Y. midway through the 2008 season. Army rushed for 203 yards and one score, while holding LA Tech to just 152 total yards of offense. Ian Smith registered a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to go up 7-0. An R.P. Stuart 2-yard touchdown rush would tie the game midway through the third quarter, but the Black Knights were able to put the final nail in the coffin with a 2-yard passing score in the fourth quarter to pull away 14-7. LA Tech and Army matched up five years later in the Heart of Dallas Classic during the 2013 season. The Black Knights came away with a 35-16 victory after rushing for 414 yards and five scores. The Bulldogs finished with 377 total yards to Army’s 430. Ryan Higgins completed 20-of-36 passes for 320 yards, while connecting with Andrew Guillot five times for 123 yards and a score. Kenneth Dixon registered 16 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown in the loss. The Black Knights were picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, but a 10-1 regular season record propelled them into the AAC Championship Game, where they defeated Tulane 35-14 to claim the title and finish first in the league. Army enters the bowl season with the No. 1 rushing offense in the FBS, averaging just under 300 yards on the ground per outing (298.9). Quarterback Bryson Daily will look to become the third FBS player in the last 25 years to have 1500+ rush yards and 30+ rush TDs in a season, as he enters the contest with 29 scores on the ground.
A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
LA Tech’s upcoming trip to the Independence Bowl will mark the Bulldogs’ 83rd game in the city of Shreveport, and the first game this decade. The Bulldogs have played 82 games in Shreveport since 1902, with their last game coming in the 2019 Independence Bowl. LA Tech will look for its 50th win all-time in Shreveport as they are 49-30-3. This contest will be the 10th time the Dogs have traveled to Shreveport this century. The Bulldogs have matched up against several teams in Shreveport, with most game being played at Independence Stadium, including Miami, Texas A&M, Baylor, Cal, Northwestern State and Tulsa.
RUN STOPPERS
The LA Tech defense held five opponents under 100 rushing yards this season, the most by a Bulldog defense since the 2018 season. The Bulldogs limited Nicholls to 62 yards on the ground in the season opener, 87 yards to FIU, 60 yards to MTSU, 63 yards to WKU, and 58 yards to Kennesaw. The Bulldogs only allowed one team to rush for 200+ yards in Arkansas, while holding 10 total teams to under 170 rushing yards. Every team 100+ yards against LA Tech in 2023, while the Tech defense only held one opponent under 100-yards in 2022 and 2021.
Army Black Knights Notes
#19 ARMY LOOKS FOR FIRST BOWL VICTORY SINCE 2021
#19 (AP) Army (11-2, 9-0) looks to rebound after falling in the 125th Army-Navy Game, 31-13 on Dec. 14 in Landover, Md. Army won the American Athletic Conference Championship a week prior, going 9-0 in conference play in its first season as a member of the conference, taking down Tulane, 35-14 on Dec. 6, however with the loss to Navy relinquished the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, a source of pride among the service academies. Monken’s unit won its conference matchups by an average score of 35.5 to 13.38. QB Bryson Daily has been the driving force for Army, who, with his 29 rushing touchdowns is tied for the FBS lead with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Daily and his Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line has led Army to only its second 11-win season in school history (2018), both coming under Head Coach Jeff Monken. With a win, Army would capture its 12th win of the season which would be the most ever by an Army team. Army is 15-2 in its last 17 games dating back to last season. Louisiana Tech (5-7, 4-4) accepted the bowl bid after Marshall dropped out of the opportunity due to too many players in the transfer portal. The Bulldogs won its final regular season game, 33-0 over Kennesaw State to put them in a position to receive a bowl opportunity if a situation like this presented itself. WR Tru Edwards leads C-USA with 76 receptions, also recording 894 yards and six touchdowns
1ST AND 10
• Army won its first-ever conference championship on Dec 6, defeating Tulane to win the American Athletic Conference, in its first season as a league member. • Army is ranked #19 (AP Poll), #22 (CFP) and #18 in the Coaches Poll (Dec. 8). • Army has maintained a spot in the AP Top 25 for nine consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since being ranked each week of the 1958 season. • With a win, Army would capture its 12th victory of the season, the most ever in a single season in program history and would tie for the most wins in a season by a service academy with Air Force (1985 and 1998). • Army is 15-2 in its last 17 games dating back to last season. • Jeff Monken is 4-1 in bowl games at Army. Army’s last bowl game was a 24-22 win over Missouri in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl. • Army is 7-3 all-time in bowl games. • Army has once before played in the Independence Bowl in 1996, a 32-29 loss to Auburn. •Army is 3-0 in bowl games following a loss to service academy rival, Navy (1985, 2010, 2021). • Army is 2-0 all-time vs. LA Tech, last meeting in 2013, a 35-16 win playing the game at the Cotton Bowl. • Sophomore RB Kanye Udoh (10 TDs, 1,117 rushing yards), will not be playing in the Independence Bowl. He entered the transfer portal following the Navy game and has since committed to Arizona State. • QB Bryson Daily’s 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for the FBS lead with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. Daily has played in one fewer game than Jeanty. • With one more rushing score, Daily will become the sixth player in NCAA history to total 30+ rushing touchdowns in a season. • Daily is 58 passing yards away from 1,000 on the season. If he reaches this, he would become only the second Army QB to have 1,000 rushing and passing yards in the same season joining only Kelvin Hopkins Jr., who did so in 2018. • OL Connor Finucane will start in his 51st consecutive game on the Army line, a program record. Finucane will have started in 52 career games and played in 61. • With five tackles, ILB Andon Thomas will have 100 tackles on the season. • K Trey Gronotte is a perfect 54-for-54 on PATs in his career, the third-longest PAT streak in program history.
