2024 Independence Bowl
The 2024 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2024, at Independence Stadium located in Shreveport, Louisiana. The game began at approximately 8:15 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. The Independence Bowl was one of the 2024–25 bowl games concluding the 2024 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by engineering services company Radiance Technologies and was officially known as the 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
The 48th annual Independence Bowl game was originally set to feature Marshall and Army. However, Marshall withdrew from the contest after a number of its players entered the NCAA transfer portal. Louisiana Tech was named as Marshall's replacement on December 14. Marshall was subsequently fined $100,000 by their conference, the Sun Belt, for opting out of the bowl.Teams
The original match-up of Marshall and Army was announced on December 8. However, Marshall withdrew from the game after a plethora of players entered the NCAA transfer portal following the departure of head coach Charles Huff to Southern Miss. Louisiana Tech was selected to replace Marshall.Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech ended their regular season with a 5–7 record. The Bulldogs began the season with four losses in five games, then went 4–4 in their remaining eight games. They did not face any ranked FBS teams. Louisiana Tech plays their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana, approximately east of Shreveport, Louisiana, home of the Independence Bowl.Army played to a 10–1 record and earned a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, where they defeated Tulane, 35–14. They then faced Navy in the annual Army–Navy Game and suffered a 31–13 defeat. The only other team to defeat Army was the one ranked team they faced, Notre Dame. Army entered the bowl with an 11–2 record and ranked 22nd in the final College Football Playoff rankings, 19th in the AP poll.Game summary
Statistics