1977 Independence Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1977 Independence Bowl featured the Louisville Cardinals
and the Southland Conference
champion Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
. Louisville struck first on a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown by Kevin Miller in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Lewis to tie the game. The Bulldogs scored another touchdown on a 41-yard Keith Thibodeaux pass to Pree. Still in the first quarter, Thibodeaux threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to McCartney to increase LA Tech's lead to 21-7. In the second quarter, Swiley connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Dawgs a 24-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Kevin Miller scored his second touchdown of the game on a 13-yard run to close the gap to 24-14, which would end up being the final score.
Louisville Cardinals football
The Louisville Cardinals football team represents the University of Louisville in college football as a member of the Big East Conference. Howard Schnellenberger started the program's rise to relevancy after winning the Miami Hurricanes' first national championship...
and the Southland Conference
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
champion Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football program represents Louisiana Tech University in Western Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901, Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 554 wins, 422...
. Louisville struck first on a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown by Kevin Miller in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Lewis to tie the game. The Bulldogs scored another touchdown on a 41-yard Keith Thibodeaux pass to Pree. Still in the first quarter, Thibodeaux threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to McCartney to increase LA Tech's lead to 21-7. In the second quarter, Swiley connected on a 21-yard field goal to give the Dawgs a 24-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Kevin Miller scored his second touchdown of the game on a 13-yard run to close the gap to 24-14, which would end up being the final score.