Army to Headline 2024 Independence Bowl in Shreveport

This year's Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is shaping up to be one of the most memorable matchups in a long time. The game is scheduled for Saturday, December 28th, 2024 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport. The game will kick off at 8:15pm local time, and will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN.

The fact that the game is on a Saturday is a huge plus. Getting a game after Christmas is also a big deal. Being a prime-time kickoff is pretty exciting, in addition to the fact it will be on ESPN. All of these elements give this year's Independence Bowl a huge boost, in-person and on TV.

This year's Independence Bowl will feature Army versus Marshall.

This will be a great makeup for the attempt at the 2020 Independence Bowl game, where Army had the wins and was ready to play. It was the pandemic, but Independence Stadium is outside, in the open air. By this point in 2020, many were getting back to outdoor events. Army had 9 wins and gladly accepted their Indy Bowl invite.

But the Pac-12 wasn't feeling it. Team after team in the Pac-12 declined the game, and left both Army and Shreveport hanging. For their part, Army still wanted to play, and kept trying to find a game that would let them. Eventually, they ended up win the 2020 Liberty Bowl.

Army has previously appeared in the Independence Bowl, back in 1996 when they took on Auburn in Shreveport. Final score there was 32-29, for the New Year's Eve contest.

This year's Army team is one of the best in the nation. With all due respect to the Independence Bowl, Army should actually be in the College Football Playoffs.

The team is 11-1 on the season, with their only loss coming at the hands of Notre Dame. That Notre Dame team is also 11-1, and are one of the top teams in the College Football Playoffs. Its arguable that Notre Dame's one loss is far worse than Army's, with Notre Dame losing to a Northern Illinois team that finished the season 7-5 in the MAC.

Army will play Marshall in Shreveport. The Thundering Herd were 10-3 on the season and are Sun Belt Champions. That makes this Independence Bowl matchup a game of champions, as both teams won their conference championship game.

Marshall is a team in flux though, as the same day they're named to the Independence Bowl, their coach from this season is announced as the new coach of a Sun Belt Conference Rival. Southern Miss has hired Charles Huff as their new coach, sending him from the conference champions to the last place team in the same conference.

This will be an incredible matchup for Shreveport, and a great way to showcase the city nationally on ESPN. Get your tickets for the 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl here.