By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Marshall sent a couple of team officials to Shreveport early last week to make hotel arrangements and get familiar with the local landscape in anticipation of the Sun Belt Conference champion Thundering Herd playing American Athletic Conference champ Army in the Dec. 28 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
Never mind. There may be a few TVs in Huntington, W.V., tuned to ESPN for the 8:15 p.m. kickoff for the local bowl, but there will be no Marshall football team here.
Instead, the closest FBS team to Independence Stadium, 5-7 Louisiana Tech, will line up against Army (11-2) in this year’s game.
Facing a major player exodus in the wake of the departure of head coach Charles Huff, Marshall backed out of the I-Bowl officially Saturday, and a few hours later, Tech eagerly filled the vacancy.
Huff’s four-year contract with Marshall expired in what he called a “mutual decision” and less than a day after the Herd won Dec. 7 at UL-Lafayette to claim the Sun Belt crown, he officially took over at Southern Mississippi.
The supply of bowl-eligible teams (with at least six wins) was exhausted when bowl pairings were set last Sunday. The NCAA-mandated alternative is to consider five-win teams based on their four-year Academic Progress Rate scores.
While Tech was 15th and second-to-last in that ranking, no other teams with better APRs – including Wisconsin, Air Force, Auburn, UCLA and Kansas — were willing, able or perhaps invited to replace Marshall. Nearby ULM, also 5-7, had a lower APR average, acknowledged by school officials in a statement Saturday evening hours after first-year coach Bryant Vincent had tweeted “we are always willing and ready!” following news about the I-Bowl’s vacancy.
Independence Bowl officials didn’t initially anticipate Marshall’s tenuous status, but it became apparent during the week as reports surfaced of the major personnel losses. Interim head coach Telly Lockette said in a Monday media conference he was unsure how many players or even coaches would be available.
“It is unfortunate that Marshall determined they won’t be able to compete in the bowl in a couple of weeks. Our goal was to create the best matchup possible for our local fans and college football fans throughout the country, and we think we did that with two conference champions,” said Independence Bowl executive director Missy Setters in a statement released at 3:30 Saturday.
The transfer portal includes 36 Marshall players, 17 on the team’s depth chart and all three quarterbacks who took snaps this season.
Louisiana Tech has its share in the portal, well over a dozen including leading scorer Buck Buchanan (68 points, 13-20 on field goals) and backup quarterback Jack Turner, who began the season as the Bulldogs’ starter. But embattled head coach Sonny Cumbie, whose third season appeared over with a five-win mark that followed a pair of three-win seasons, determined Tech could muster a capable roster to take on Army.
The Bulldogs had three overtime losses, the last 44-37 at home Nov. 9 to eventual Conference USA champion Jacksonville State, which forced overtime with a 50-yard Hail Mary on the final play of regulation. Tech beat the other team in the CUSA championship game, Western Kentucky, 12-7 on the road the following week and after a 35-14 loss at Arkansas, capped the schedule with a 33-0 homefield romp over Kennesaw State.
The Bulldogs struggled all season, and last year, offensively. Announcing his decision to retain Cumbie in in a Dec. 1 open letter on the LaTechSports.com website, Tech athletic director/vice president Ryan Ivey said offensive changes were ahead, and late last week Tech announced Tony Franklin’s return to the staff as offensive coordinator.
Franklin was in that role on Sonny Dykes’ Tech staff from 2010-12 and the Bulldogs averaged 36 points in 37 games, including 51.4 in the 2012 season. The 2024 Tech offense ranks 113th nationally in scoring (22.2 average) and 105th nationally in total offense (342.2 yards per game).
Ironically, Franklin’s last coaching position was at Army, but not with the Black Knights’ varsity. He was offensive coordinator for the Academy’s 2022 Sprint football team, a club sport involving 16 institutions in the northeast and midwest U.S. with players no bigger than 178 pounds.
At the height of his career, Franklin held OC posts at Auburn, Kentucky and Cal. He is already in Ruston working with the Bulldogs program.
Tech’s calling card in 2024 has been a defense that has ranked among the top 30 nationally in several categories, and stands 15th currently in yards allowed per game (302).
“We are very excited to host Louisiana Tech and are thrilled we found an opponent for Army. We appreciate Louisiana Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey, coach Sonny Cumbie, their players, and support staff for their willingness to step up and play in our bowl game,” said Setters.
It will be the sixth Independence Bowl for the Bulldogs, the third this century. Tech beat Miami 14-0 in the 2019 edition and topped Northern Illinois 17-10 in 2008.
Army was upset 31-13 Saturday in its 125th battle with Navy, dropping the Black Knights to 11-2 and likely knocking them out of Top 25 rankings.
“Army has had a tremendous season, and bowl season is all about celebrating that success and providing a reward at the end of the season,” said Setters in her afternoon statement. “We look forward to showing both teams what our community is all about and providing them with an unforgettable Bowl Week experience.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com