At this time last week, the Louisiana Tech football team’s season was over, but now they are preparing for a bowl game. The Bulldogs are now getting ready to battle Army in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on December 28th in Shreveport. Tech received a bowl invite after Marshall opted out. Coach Sonny Cumbie is pleased with his team’s first bowl practice.
“That was one of the best practices that we’ve had. From an execution standpoint, there’s a lot of things that we have to get better at, but it was the best practice that we had because we were back together again. It gives us two more weeks to practice, to develop guys that are coming back, and it gives us an opportunity to win three of our last four football games,” Cumbie said.
Marshall could not play in the Independence Bowl, because of a lack of players as there’s been a mass exodus with the Thundering Herd because of a coaching change. Cumbie says they are missing some players but certainly have enough to take on the Black Knights.
“The band’s back together. We’re down a few guys on the defensive line that went into the portal, but I think we’ll make do with the guys that we have. It’s another opportunity for guys that maybe haven’t played in a bigger role to prove what they can do. So, I think, from a roster standpoint, we’re as strong as we can ask for. Offensively, everyone’s coming back,” Cumbie said.
Cumbie has also hired a new offensive coordinator since the regular season finale. Tony Franklin is back as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. When Franklin was the offensive coordinator between 2010 and 2012, Tech had high scoring offenses. Cumbie says Franklin is an experienced play caller that this program needs.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring coach Franklin back to Louisiana Tech, a place that I believe means a lot to he and his wife Laura. They’ve had a lot of success here on the field, offensively and teamwise, but I think they love this community. They love the community of Ruston. Their time here at Louisiana Tech, they look back on it fondly, and that’s part of the reason why he reached out to me when this opportunity came about,” Cumbie explained.
Tech will take on 19th-ranked Army on Saturday December 28th.
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