By MALCOLM BUTLER, Lincoln Parish Journal
RUSTON — Two weeks after it thought a frustrating season had come to an end, Louisiana Tech is now preparing for a bowl game.
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl announcement Saturday stunned nearly everyone, but was in the works for a few days as a contingency.
Saturday, the bowl confirmed national media social media posts that morning reporting Marshall had pulled out of the game. A few hours later, news broke that Louisiana Tech (5-7) will replace the Sun Belt Conference champion Thundering Herd in the Dec. 28 matchup with Army (11-2) at Independence Stadium.
Tech athletics director and vice president Ryan Ivey said the conversation about the Bulldogs being a contingency choice began earlier this week, but it really heated up late Friday night.
“We began talking in earnest last night about 10:30 p.m.,” said Ivey. “We had an initial call earlier in the week about it being a possibility, but at that time it looked like Marshall would still be able to play.
“Then last night I got a call around 10:30 and it became more and more of a real possibility.”
About 14 hours after Marshall’s 31-3 win over UL-Lafayette Dec. 7 in the Sun Belt Conference championships game, Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff was announced as the new coach at SBC member Southern Mississippi. In the next few days, three dozen Marshall players also signaled their departure by entering the transfer portal.
According to ESPN Senior Writer Adam Rittenberg, Marshall has 36 players in the transfer portal – 17 of those from the team’s two-deep, including starting quarterback and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Braylon Braxton, along with the other two QBs who have taken snaps for the Herd this season.
Marshall ultimately backed out of the I Bowl as a result.
With no other bowl-eligible 6-6 teams available – all were lined up for other bowl games set last Sunday — Independence Bowl officials quietly turned to 5-7 teams.
“When there aren’t enough team to qualify for bowls, they go to APR to determine the order and it’s based off the multi-year rate,” said Ivey, referring to the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate. “Then it’s up to the teams to say yes or no.”
With most schools on the semester system, many have already left for winter break. Louisiana Tech is on the quarter system and the winter quarter began two weeks ago.
Ivey said he had numerous conversations with Bulldog head coach Sonny Cumbie before telling the bowl officials that the Bulldogs would play. Tech has some players in the portal, including kicker Buck Buchanan and backup quarterback Jack Turner, who remain eligible to play if they choose to and if the Bulldogs agree.
“We talked about if we are going to have enough players to field a competitive team,” said Ivey. “We wanted to make sure we have a chance to compete knowing Army is such a strong opponent. We obviously had to be prepared for that. After those conversations we feel we are in a good spot.
“Our guys are excited to play. I know the season didn’t go our way, but this is a positive for our program in many ways.”
Ivey confirmed the Bulldogs’ new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin is already on campus and would be a part of the staff heading into the bowl game.
This will be Tech’s sixth appearance in the Independence Bowl. Most recently, the Bulldogs won the 2008 Independence Bowl over Northern Illinois 17-10 and the 2019 Independence Bowl over Miami 14-0.
Since that win, Tech has not had a winning season, but this year’s 5-7 mark included three overtime losses, and two wins in Tech’s last three conference games, with the loss coming after Jacksonville State’s Hail Mary pushed a Nov. 4 contest to overtime.
The Bulldogs finished Nov. 30 with a resounding 33-0 romp at Aillet Stadium over CUSA newcomer Kennesaw State.
Contact Malcolm at lpjnewsla@gmail.com