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Get ready for bowl season, Canes Fans! On Sunday afternoon, the Miami Hurricanes were selected to play in the 2019 Walk-On’s Independence Bowl against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
We are thrilled to announce our matchup for the 44th Walk-On’s Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami! pic.twitter.com/2VDLJSRJPN
— Walk-On's Independence Bowl (@IndyBowl) December 8, 2019
Miami is headed to the @IndyBowl! pic.twitter.com/ym1odCBnKW
— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) December 8, 2019
Mark your and spend the holidays with us!
— LA Tech Football (@LATechFB) December 8, 2019
The ‘Dogs have accepted an invitation to the @IndyBowl, taking on @CanesFootball on Dec. 2️⃣6️⃣!
| https://t.co/t5c6G8MPCD
| https://t.co/PA2HtQbDxV#EverLoyalBe pic.twitter.com/pQjd2i5Nc9
After concluding the 2019 season a disappointing 6-6, including a 4-4 record in the ACC, the Miami Hurricanes have earned their way to yet another bowl game. This is Manny Diaz’s first bowl game as a head coach, achieved in his first season in the big chair.
While making a bowl game is a good thing, the results in those games has not been great for the Hurricanes in recent years. Miami is only 1-8 in their last 9 bowl games, including losing the last 2 to Wisconsin in the Orange and Pinstripe bowls, respectively. And while this is the 7th consecutive year with a bowl, Miami is only 1-5 in the previous 6 games in this recent run. Which .....(checks math).....is not great.
Louisiana Tech ended the 2019 regular season at 9-3 (6-2 Conference USA). Their losses were to Texas, Marshall, and UAB, all teams who are heading to a bowl game this season. They also beat the FIU Panthers 43-31 back in September, a feat Miami was unable to replicate when they faced off against FIU in the penultimate game of the regular season.
There’s an additional level of connection between these teams: Miami Had Coach Manny Diaz wa the defensive coordinator at Lousiana Tech in 2014, and was succeeded in that position by now-Canes DC Blake Baker, who worked in Ruston from 2015-18, and was on Diaz’s staff the year prior. Baker was hand picked by Diaz as his replacement when the former left for a 2nd stint as DC at Mississippi State, and then hand picked by Diaz once again as his DC at Miami in Diaz’s first turn as a head coach this season.
The Walk-On’s Independence Bowl is scheduled to be played on December 26th at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, and will be televised nationally on ESPN. This is a less-than-desirable placement both by location (Shreveport) and calendar (the day after Christmas). But that’s what you get when you take a schedule and roster ready made for 10 wins in the regular season and go 6-6.
But, that’s in the past. The Canes are going bowling again with one goal in mind: Win.
Let’s get back on the grind and work to send the senior class (those who aren’t skipping the bowl) off with a final victory!