JANUARY 2025 EDITION
UNDER REVIEW
ARMY EARNS PROGRAM-RECORD 12TH
The No. 19/22 (AP/CFP) Army West Point Black Knights scored on their first drive of the game in the 48th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl and never looked back – defeating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 27-6, in front of 34,283 fans in Independence Stadium.
Army scored on their first three drives of the game – including an Independence Bowl record 21-play, 75-yard drive that spanned 12 minutes and 21 seconds in the second quarter and ended with a touchdown run by quarterback Bryson Daily.
VICTORY IN 48TH I-BOWL
The Black Knights continued to add to their 21-3 halftime lead in the third quarter with Daily’s 32nd rushing touchdown of the season – earning him the all-time NCAA record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback. Daily broke Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds’ record of 31 – set in 2013.
Army’s defense was stout all night, holding the Bulldogs to just six points – the fourth-fewest in Independence Bowl history. They are just the fourth team to keep their opponent out of the endzone. Louisiana Tech’s 219 total yards are the fifth-fewest in Independence Bowl history, and their 50 plays are the second-fewest in Independence Bowl history.
All six of LA Tech’s points came off the foot of redshirt freshman kicker Drew Henderson, who made both of his attempts on the night. The field goals were the first points of his young career.
LARGEST INDEPENDENCE BOWL CROWD IN A DECADE
The 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl had an announced attendance of 34,283 – the largest since 2014 between Miami and South Carolina.
The 2024 crowd topped 2023 by almost 1,300 fans. Prior to 2023, the last time the Independence Bowl topped 33,000 was 2019.
The Independence Bowl ranked 19th amongst 41 bowl games in announced attendance and was one of 20 bowls to record higher attendance than the 2023-24 Bowl Season.
CHECK THE GAME NOTES
2024 GAME NOTES &
RECORDS
• Conference Records in the I-Bowl following the game: CUSA: 2-2 / American: 2-2
• Army is the first ranked team to win an Independence Bowl since Virginia Tech in 1993. The last two ranked teams (1996 Army and 2021 BYU) lost. #22 Virginia Tech defeated #21 Indiana in the 1993 Independence Bowl. Ranked teams are now 4-3 in seven Independence Bowl appearances.
• Army’s 27-6 victory gives the Black Knights 12 wins for the first time in program history.
• With his first-quarter 15-yard rushing touchdown Army quarterback Bryson Daily took the NCAA FBS lead with 30 rushing touchdowns. Daily increased his total to 32 in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run.
• Daily’s fourth quarter 3-yard touchdown run gives him the most career rushing touchdowns (32) by a quarterback in NCAA history breaking the record previously held by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds.
• Daily’s 27 rushing attempts are the most by a quarterback in Independence Bowl history since Air Force quarterback Bart Weiss had 29 carries against Virginia Tech in 1984.
• Daily’s 127 rushing yards are the fourth-highest rushing yards by a QB in Independence Bowl history.
• Daily’s three rushing touchdowns for 18 points are the most points by an individual since BYU’s Tyler Allgeier had three rushing touchdowns for 18 points in 2021. It’s tied for second-highest total in Independence Bowl history (tied with 8 other players).
• Army running back Hayden Reed’s 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his first rushing touchdown of the season and his second overall.
• Army’s Daily (127) and Reed (114) are the first teammates to rush for over 100 yards since Missouri’s James Franklin (142) and Kendal Lawrence (108) accomplished the feat against North Carolina in the 2011 Independence Bowl.
• 34,283 was tonight’s announced attendance and the highest since 2014. Army’s 21-play scoring drive (75 yards, 12:21) is the most plays in a scoring drive in Independence Bowl history. The previous record (17 plays, 76 yards) was held by Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss in 1986.
• LA Tech place kicker Drew Henderson’s 27-yard field goal in the first quarter was the first attempt of his career. Henderson connected on a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter on his second career attempt.
• Army was 4-for-5 on fourth down conversion attempts in the game. The four conversions equal the Black Knights’ highest total this season (4-for-5 twice, vs. UTSA & Tulane).
• LA Tech ran 50 total offensive plays in tonight’s game, which is the second-fewest in Independence Bowl history. The record for fewest plays is 47 plays run by McNeese State vs. Syracuse in 1979.
• Louisiana Tech’s 219 total yards is the fourth-fewest in Independence Bowl history.
• Army is just the fourth team to keep their opponent out of the endzone, and the six points allowed are the fourth-fewest in Independence Bowl history.
• Louisiana Tech’s 11 first downs is tied for the fewest in Independence Bowl history.
• Army’s 64 rushing attempts are the fifth-highest total in Independence Bowl history.
• The Black Knights’ 321 rushing yards are the second-highest total in Independence Bowl history.
INDY BOWL IN THE NEWS
FORMER INDEPENDENCE BOWL KICKER WINS 2024 LOU GROZA AWARD
Louisiana kicker Kenneth Almendares won the 2024 Lou Groza Award –becoming the third Independence Bowl kicker to ever win the award that recognizes college football's best place-kicker.
With an FBS-leading 27 field goals this year, he set a new single-season record at Louisiana and posted the most ever in a season by a Sun Belt kicker. Coming on just 29 attempts, his 93.1% accuracy rate was by far the best in the country by a kicker with at least 20 tries. That combination of makes and accuracy puts him in rare company: if he can hold the numbers through bowl season, he would become just the third kicker since 2008 to lead the country in field goals while also connecting at 90% or better.
Almendares joins the list of elite kickers who have won the award – a list that includes 2019 Independence Bowl Foundation Chair Art Carmody IV.
ARMY'S BRYSON DAILY NAMED NATIONAL COLLEGIATE QB OF THE YEAR
Army senior quarterback Bryson Daily was named the National Collegiate Quarterback of the Year on January 10 by the National Quarterback Club.
Daily finished off a historic season in the 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl – rushing for 127 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 65 passing yards. Daily’s third touchdown of the game was his 32nd of the season –earning him the all-time NCAA record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback. Daily broke Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds’ record of 31 – set in 2013.
In his final college season, Daily led the Black Knights to their first 12-win season in program history.
ARMY WEST POINT RANKED NO. 21 IN FINAL AP POLL
The Army West Point Black Knights tied a service academy record and set a program record for wins in a season with 12, and they were rewarded for their historic season – ranking No. 21 in the final Associated Press poll of the 2024 season.
The Black Knights were ranked in the AP Poll for more than half the season this year. They entered the Independence Bowl ranked No. 19 in the poll – becoming the seventh ranked team to ever play in an Independence Bowl.
With their victory over Louisiana Tech, Army became the first ranked team to win an Independence Bowl since Virginia Tech in 1993.
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INDEPENDENCE BOWL ALUMNI
FIVE INDEPENDENCE BOWL ALUMNI HEADED TO SUPER BOWL LIX
The Super Bowl LIX matchup is set – featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles – and will include five players who have played in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
The Eagles roster two Independence Bowl alumni – LB Oren Burks (Vanderbilt, 2016) and DL Milton Williams (Louisiana Tech, 2019), while the Chiefs feature three former Independence Bowl players – DB Deon Bush (Miami, 2014), DL Derrick Nnadi (Florida State, 2017) and TE Noah Gray (Duke, 2018).
NICK SABAN HEADLINES LIST OF INDEPENDENCE BOWL ALUMNI IN 2025
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS
The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Football Hall of Fame announced the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class on January 15 and it includes two Independence Bowl alumni – legendary head coach Nick Saban and Ole Miss offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf.
Saban has coached in the Independence Bowl twice – 1995 with Michigan State and 2007 with Alabama – and has a 1-1 record. Metcalf started on the 1999 Ole Miss offensive line when they defeated Oklahoma in the final college football game of the millennium.
Read more about the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class and the full bios for Saban and Metcalf by pressing the button below.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL ALUMNI STARRING IN COLLEGE ALL-STAR GAMES
The 2024-25 college football season is over, and draft season is now upon us with the college all-star game circuit underway. The two premier college all-star games and their practice weeks are this week with the East-West Shrine Game and the Reese's Senior Bowl.
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is heavily represented in those two games. DB Nohl Williams (Cal, 2023), DB Trey Amos (Louisiana, 2022) and OL Caleb Rogers (Texas Tech, 2023) are playing in the Senior Bowl, while DL Tyler Batty (BYU, 2021), RB Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech, 2023), DB Craig Woodson (Cal, 2023) and Williams are playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl.
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COMMUNITY IMPACT
16 LOCAL EDUCATORS RECEIVE $1,000 DONATION FROM I-BOWL
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl donated $1,000 to 16 local educators during Bowl Week in December 2024, in conjunction with the College Football Playoff Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers initiative.
The Independence Bowl donated $17,000 to local educators in 2024, including the $1,000 it donated on the Extra Yard for Teachers BIG DAY in September 2024. The 2024 donations bring the total to $102,000 since 2021.
Since 2021, the $102,000 has funded 132 local educators – reaching schools in Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto, Red River and Webster Parishes – and impacted approximately 20,000 local students.
The 16 educators who received $1,000 donations during Bowl Week are listed below.
• Stacy Berry – Haughton Elementary School
• Shelby Brown – Blanchard Elementary School
• Ashley Clements – Keithville Middle School
• Julie Davis – Captain Shreve High School
• Julie Eason – Southwood High School
• Christene Griffith – Riverside Elementary School
• Lori Harper – Parkway Middle School
• Lagretta Hawthorne – Huntington High School
• Ashley Hazelton – A.C. Steere Elementary School
• Kathryn Hoffman – University Elementary School
• Jacob Mainiero – C.E. Byrd High School
Dixie McCloud – Plantation Park Elementary School
• Devin Rachels – Captain Shreve High School
• Kimberly Searcy – Bossier Elementary School
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