2019 Independence Bowl

2019 Walk-On's Independence Bowl
2019 Walk-On's Independence Bowl
44th Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	Miami Hurricanes
(9–3)	(6–6)
C-USA	ACC
14	0
Head coach: ; Skip Holtz	Head coach: ; Manny Diaz
Date	December 26, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	Independence Stadium
Location	Shreveport, Louisiana
MVP	Justin Henderson (RB, Louisiana Tech) & Connor Taylor (LB, Louisiana Tech)
Favorite	Miami by 7
Referee	Scott Campbell (Big 12)
Attendance	33,129
Payout	US$2,200,000
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst) and Eric Wood (sideline)
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Brasil
Announcers	Matheus Suman (play-by-play) ; Weinny Eirado (analyst)
Independence Bowl
< 2018	2021 >

The 2019 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2019, with kickoff at 4:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. local CST) on ESPN.^[5] It was the 44th edition of the Independence Bowl, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar, the game was officially known as the Walk-On's Independence Bowl.

Teams

The bowl featured the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs of Conference USA (C-USA) against the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was the fifth meeting between the two programs and their first meeting in a bowl game; Miami had won each of their previous four meetings.^[6]

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Louisiana Tech entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (6–2 in conference). They were co-champions of the West Division of C-USA; UAB advanced to the C-USA Championship Game due to their regular season win over the Bulldogs. This was Louisiana Tech's fifth Independence Bowl, tying them with Ole Miss for the most appearances in the game. The Bulldogs had a record of 2–1–1 in prior editions of the bowl, most recently with their 2008 team winning that season's Independence Bowl over Northern Illinois, 17–10.

Miami Hurricanes

Miami entered the bowl at 6–6 (4–4 in conference). They finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Hurricanes started their regular season with two losses, won six of their next eight games, and then finished with two losses. The 2014 Hurricanes appeared in that season's Independence Bowl, losing to South Carolina, 24–21.

Miami was missing several key players for the game, three due to injury and four due to NFL draft considerations.^[7]

Game summary

2019 Walk-On's Independence Bowl

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Louisiana Tech	0	7	0	7	14
Miami	0	0	0	0	0

at Independence Stadium • Shreveport, Louisiana

Date: Thursday, December 26, 2019
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. CST)
Game weather: Partly cloudy • Temperature: 71 °F (22 °C) • Wind: SE 2 mph
Game attendance: 33,129
Referee: Scott Campbell
TV announcers (ESPN): Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst) and Eric Wood (sideline)
ESPN game summary

Game information

First Quarter: No scoring
Second Quarter

(9:34) LT – J'Mar Smith 26-yard pass to Israel Tucker, Bailey Hale kick (Drive: 13 plays, 91 yards, 5:18; Louisiana Tech 7–0)

Third Quarter: No scoring
Fourth Quarter

(1:15) LT – J'Mar Smith 8 yard rush, Bailey Hale kick (Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 2:07; Louisiana Tech 14–0)

The Bulldogs' win made them the first Group of Five team to shut out a Power Five team in a bowl game in either the Bowl Championship Series (1998–2013) or College Football Playoff (2014–present) era.^[8]

Statistics

Statistics	LT	MIA
First downs	18	15
Plays–yards	68–337	62–227
Rushes–yards	40–174	28–74
Passing yards	163	153
Passing: comp–att–int	13–28–1	15–34–2
Time of possession	31:26	28:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana Tech	Passing	J'Mar Smith	13/28, 163 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Justin Henderson	22 carries, 95 yards
	Receiving	Malik Stanley	3 receptions, 75 yards
Miami	Passing	Jarren Williams	9/20, 94 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Cam'Ron Harris	12 carries, 31 yards
	Receiving	K. J. Osborn	5 receptions, 56 yards

References

External links

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