ESPN Predicts A Louisiana Team In The Independence Bowl

The 2019 Walk-On's Independence Bowl will kickoff December 26th at 3pm local time at Independence Stadium in Shreveport. You'll be able to hear the game on 1130 The Tiger in Shreveport and Bossier once again.

As we've talked about before, this year's Walk-On's Independence Bowl will feature a lot of "last times". This will be the last time Walk-On's will sponsor the game, abandoning Shreveport's bowl game after three years. This will be the last time the match up should feature the SEC vs ACC, as both conferences will move to new bowl aliments without the Indy Bowl being involved.

But for another year, looking at the records of the teams in the two conferences, we're probably not going to see an SEC team in the final year of their agreement with the Indy Bowl. The SEC will likely not have enough teams to fill their bowl agreements yet again, but the ACC might be able to fill their commitments, though it might come down to the final weekend of the season to find out. But likely, they will probably have enough 6 wins teams to meet their bowl needs.

There are two conferences who have backup agreements with the Indy Bowl now, the American Conference and Conference USA. Last year Temple filled a secondary spot, representing the American Conference, so it would be more likely that a Conference USA team would get the call this year. That is, if Conference USA has enough teams.

Based on the fact they currently have 4 bowl eligible teams, with 3 more only one win away, they should be fine.

Now back in Week 2 of the college football season (YES, as early as WEEK 2), here's what I wrote in my prediction:

"We'll say that Conference USA will have enough teams, and we'll also exert our wishful thinking with a 1-win team there. We want Louisiana Tech.

So right now, our prediction (more like a wish) is Louisville vs. Louisiana Tech"

That was months ago. Which makes is a lot sweeter when you see what ESPN is looking at right now. Here's their dual projections from experts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach:

Walk-On's Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana
Dec. 26, 4 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Louisiana Tech vs. North Carolina
Schlabach: North Carolina vs. Western Kentucky

That's right, Both have an ACC team as predicted, and Bonagura projects Louisiana Tech. (We'll just ignore Schlabach doing that Western Kentucky thing, he just wanted to be a contrarian)

Make sure you check out I-Bowl Weekly every Wednesday nights at 6pm on 1130 The Tiger, 1130AM KWKH in Shreveport and Bossier, to hear from the guys behind the Indy Bowl for who THEY think will be in the bowl. Then catch the Indy Bowl broadcast on December 26th on 1130 The Tiger.