2012 Independence Bowl
The 2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The 37th edition of the Independence Bowl began at 1:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. The game's title sponsor was AdvoCare, an American dietary supplement company.
| 2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 37th Independence Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 28, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Independence Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Shreveport, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Keith Moore-LB
Beau Blankenship-RB Tyler Tettleton-QB | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | La. Monroe by 7[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Sound of Today | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Dennis Hennigan (Big East) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Sound of Today and The Ohio University Marching 110 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 41,853 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1,100,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave LaMont Cara Capuano | ||||||||||||||||||
The game featured the Ohio Bobcats from the Mid-American Conference against the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks from the Sun Belt Conference and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams.[2] Both the Bobcats and the Warhawks accepted their invitation after finishing at 8–4 during the regular season.[3] This was both teams' first appearance in the Independence Bowl.
Teams
Under normal circumstances, the Independence Bowl would feature the seventh bowl-eligible team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against the tenth bowl-eligible team from the Southeastern Conference. However, both conferences are one school shy of having enough bowl-eligible teams to qualify (the ACC has six and the SEC has nine).
On Friday, November 30, Louisiana Tech was invited to play in the Independence Bowl but asked for more time as they were in negotiations with the Liberty Bowl and Heart of Dallas Bowl.[4] Louisiana Tech athletic director Bruce Van De Velde and WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd both claimed that on Saturday, December 1, the Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart guaranteed the Bulldogs a bowl invite.[5][6] After the Independence Bowl's deadline for Louisiana Tech to accept their invitation passed, the Independence Bowl selected the MAC's Ohio (8-4) instead. On Sunday, December 2, the Liberty Bowl extended their remaining bid to Iowa State (6-6) instead of Louisiana Tech (9-3). The Bulldogs did not end up playing in any bowl game despite boasting the nation's top scoring offense.[7]
This was the first meeting between these two teams.
Ohio
Despite a promising 7-0 start to the season (including a #23 ranking as well as defeating Penn State), the Bobcats would decline during their last five games, posting a mere 1-4 record during that timespan, dropping their conference record to 4-4, only good for third place in the MAC East Division. When Louisiana Tech declined their invitation, the Bobcats accepted theirs.
Louisiana–Monroe
In their first winning season since joining Division I FBS (then Division I-A) in 1994 (when they were the Northeast Louisiana Indians), the Warhawks finished in a tie for second place in the Sun Belt, amassing a 6–2 conference and 8–4 overall record. After the season, the Warhawks accepted an invitation to the 2012 Independence Bowl.[8]
This was the first bowl game in school history for the Warhawks, being one of two teams making their bowl debut this season (along with fellow Sun Belt member the WKU Hilltoppers).
Game summary
Scoring summary
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Starting lineups
Source:[10]
| Louisiana–Monroe | Position | Ohio |
|---|---|---|
| Offense | ||
| Je'Ron Hamm | WR | Tyler Futrell |
| Joseph Treadwell | LT | Skyler Allen |
| Jon Fisher | LG | Jon Lechner |
| Josh Allen | C | Eric Herman |
| Jonathon Gill | RG | John Prior |
| Demiere Burkett | RT | Bryce Dietz |
| Keavon Milton | TE | Troy Hill |
| Brent Leonard | WR | Donte Foster |
| Kolton Browning | QB | Tyler Tettleton |
| Monterrell Washington | RB | Beau Blankenship |
| Tavarese Maye | WR–TE | Tyler Knight |
| Defense | ||
| Malcolm Edmond | LE | Corey Hasting |
| Gerrand Johnson | DT–LDT | Neal Huynh |
| Joey Gautney | RE–RDT | Carl Jones |
| DaCorris Ford | OLB–RE | Tremayne Scott |
| R.J. Young | MLB–SLB | Jelani Woseley |
| Ray Stovall | OLB–MLB | Nate Carpenter |
| Henry Mitchell | CB–WLB | Keith Moore |
| Rob'Donovan Lewis | LCB | Larenzo Fisher |
| Otis Peterson | RCB | Ian Wells |
| Cordero Smith | SS | Josh Kristoff |
| Isaiah Newsome | FS | Gerald Moore |
References
- Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2012
- "Tyler Tettleton, Beau Blankenship spark Ohio in Independence Bowl". Associated Press. December 28, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- "2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Will Feature Ohio and ULM". Independence Bowl. December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
- Myerberg, Paul (December 3, 2012). "Why Louisiana Tech is staying home despite a 9-3 record". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
- "Louisiana Tech AD, WAC claim Liberty Bowl reneged on deal". The Times. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
- "Louisiana Tech AD says Liberty Bowl 'went back on' its word to school". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
- "9-3 Louisiana Tech won't play in bowl". ESPN. December 3, 2012.
- "2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Invites ULM to First Bowl Game in Program History". IndependenceBowl. December 1, 2012. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- Ohio Bobcats vs Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks - Box Score. ESPN. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- "Ohio vs ULM". ulmathletics.com. Retrieved 2015-05-20.