Dec. 27, 2008

RUSTON--The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will be in Shreveport Sunday December 28 to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in the 33rd annual Independence Bowl with kick off set for 7:15 p.m.

The Bulldogs will be participating in their first Bowl appearance since the 2001 season when Louisiana Tech won the Western Athletic Conference and earned a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho where they were downed by Clemson 48-24.

This will be the seventh meeting on the gridiron between Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinoisas the Bulldogs lead the series 5-1. Tech is 3-0 against Northern Illinois in Ruston and 2-1 against the Huskies in DeKalb. However, this game will take place on a neutral field in Shreveport, La. just an hour away from Louisiana Tech's campus.

Although the game will take place so close to home for the Bulldogs, Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley is sure this will not be a home game.

"We're not playing at Joe Aillet Stadium," said Dooley. "We're not staying in the same hotel we normally do before a game, we're not playing on the same field and the locker room is different so there's really no home field."

Even though Dooley believes ther is no home field advantage, he does however believe Tech may be able to take advantage of a possible home crowd.

"Certainly there can be a home crowd advantage," said Dooley. "But the only way our crowd can be a factor is if our team comes out and plays the way we played down the stretch this season. We were a fun team to watch, we played with a lot of enthusiasm and effort we were flying around and hitting. If we do all that it can certainly be an advantage."

On paper both the Huskies and the Bulldogs are extremely similar football teams the feature strong rushing games and tough physical defenses.

Northern Illinois is led offensively by their redshirt freshman quarterback Chandler Harnish. Harnish finished the regular season completing 98 of 171 passes for 1,342 yards, seven touchdowns as well as seven interceptions. However, the aspect of Harnish's game that makes him so dangerous is his ability to run the football as he has gained 478 yards rushing four touchdowns on 106 carries.

"Offensively of course they are going to try and dominate and control the line of scrimmage," said Dooley. "They are going to pound the football and use some play action and I don't think they try to hide that. It's going to be a tough challenge for our defense to sustain for four quarters against a real physical football team, especially with the added dimension of a quarterback running the football."

The Bulldogs will be looking to put together a strong ground game as well. The Louisiana Tech offense is averaging 195 yards rushing per game and are led by junior running back Daniel Porter who has rushed for 1,086 yards and eight touchdowns this season on 204 carries.

"Of course their feature of their team is their defense," said Dooley. "They are as good as any defense we've played all year and we've played some good ones in Boise State and Mississippi State, two excellent defenses."

The Bulldog offensive line will have their hands full in the contest as they look to contain MAC Defensive Player of the Year Larry English for Northern Illinois. English finished the regular season with 36 total tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and eight sacks.

"Any time you have an elite pass rusher like they do it causes tremendous problems especially on third down," said Dooley. "Of course their pass defense is as good as any other in the country."

Louisiana Tech's defense will be looking to slow a powerful Northern Illinois running game that averages 172.8 rushing yards per game. The Bulldogs look up to the task as they are surrendering under 100 yards per game rushing and have yet to have an opposing player rush for 100 yards in a game against them.

"Now that we have had a chance to watch a lot of film on Northern Illinois we've gained an even greater respect for their coaching staff and for their program," said Dooley. "I'm very impressed with them and I respect what they do and we're ready to for a great match up."

Game Info

Who: Louisiana Tech vs. Northern Illinois

What: Independence Bowl

When: Sunday December 28, 2008 at 7:15

Where: Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La.

TV: ESPN

Radio: KXKZ 107.5 FM (Dave Nitz, Steve Davison, Benny Thornell)

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