2008 Independence Bowl

2008 Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Northern Illinois Huskies
(7–5) (6–6)
WAC MAC
17 10
Head coach: 
Derek Dooley		 Head coach: 
Jerry Kill
1234 Total
Louisiana Tech 7730 17
Northern Illinois 7030 10
DateDecember 28, 2008
Season2008
StadiumIndependence Stadium
LocationShreveport, Louisiana
MVPWR/KR Phillip Livas, La. Tech (Offensive)
CB Weldon Brown, La. Tech (Defensive)
RefereeDavid Epperley (C-USA)
Attendance41,567
PayoutUS$1,650,000
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersPam Ward, Ray Bentley
Nielsen ratings1.00
Independence Bowl
 < 2007  2009 > 

The 2008 Independence Bowl[1] marked the thirty-third edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Game summary

The game was contested starting on Sunday, December 28, 2008, with a 7:15 PM CST kickoff, telecast on ESPN. the contest pitted the 2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team against the 2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team.[2] Both Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois were chosen because both of the contracted conferences – the Big 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference – failed to produce enough bowl eligible teams as both had a pair of schools in the 2009 Bowl Championship Series. Prior to the game, citing financial difficulties stemming from the financial crisis of 2007–2008, PetroSun pulled out as title sponsor.

Both participants were football-only members of the Big West Conference in the mid-1990s. This was the 7th football game between Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois and the first since 1996. Tech now holds a 6–1 edge over Northern Illinois.

The game was Louisiana Tech's 4th appearance in the Independence Bowl and the first appearance since 1990 when Tech tied Maryland 34–34. The Bulldogs now hold an overall record of 2–1–1 in the Independence Bowl. The victory over Northern Illinois marked the first bowl game victory by the Bulldogs since their 1977 Independence Bowl victory over Louisville.

This was Northern Illinois' 1st appearance in the Independence Bowl and the 4th overall appearance in Division I FBS Bowl Games. Their previous appearances in bowl games include the 1983 California Bowl (20–13 victory over Cal State-Fullerton), 2004 Silicon Valley Classic (34–21 victory over Troy), and 2006 Poinsettia Bowl (37–7 loss to TCU).

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP La. Tech NIU
1 1:56 11 69 5:50 NIU Kyle Skarb 8-yard touchdown reception from Chandler Harnish, Mike Salerno kick good 0 7
1 1:43 La. Tech Phillip Livas 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Brad Oestriecher kick good 7 7
2 13:40 5 42 2:05 La. Tech Daniel Porter 11-yard touchdown run, Brad Oestriecher kick good 14 7
3 11:54 8 49 3:06 La. Tech 30-yard field goal by Brad Oestriecher 17 7
3 7:31 10 66 4:23 NIU 20-yard field goal by Mike Salerno 17 10
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 17

Statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 3 0 17
Huskies 7 0 3 0 10
Statistics La. Tech NIU
First Downs 12 17
Total offense, yards 236 339
Rushes-yards (net) 31–92 31–153
Passing yards (net) 144 186
Passes, Comp-Att-Int 12–27–0 20–41–2
Time of Possession 26:48 33:12
Team Category Player Statistics
La. Tech Passing Ross Jenkins 12/27, 144 yds
Rushing Daniel Porter 18 car, 78 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Patrick Jackson 1 rec, 34 yds
NIU Passing Chandler Harnish 20/40, 186 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Chad Spann 14 car, 79 yds
Receiving Matt Simon 6 rec, 44 yds

References

  1. ^ Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Northern Illinois Archived 2008-12-18 at the Wayback Machine CBS Sportsline
  2. ^ Watson, Graham. "Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech (7–5) vs. Northern Illinois (6–6)". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.