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Louisiana Tech vs. Army: Predictions, latest odds for Independence Bowl

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Louisiana Tech vs. Army: Predictions, latest odds for Independence Bowl


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The college football bowl action continues with the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl featuring the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs facing off against the Army Black Knights.

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Stepping in to replace Marshall after it pulled out due to outside factors, Louisiana Tech has shown remarkable resilience. Despite a tough season, finishing 5-7 and fifth in Conference USA, the Bulldogs have not backed down. They are led by freshman quarterback Evan Bullock, who boasted a 67.4% completion rate for 1,938 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only two interceptions. Bullock has a strong target in wide receiver Tru Edwards, who led CUSA in receptions (77) and recorded 897 receiving yards with six touchdowns.

Louisiana Tech is set to face a challenging opponent in Army, which recently made history by winning its first AAC championship game. This marks a significant milestone in the program’s 134-year history after an impressive 11-2 season. The Black Knights are guided by senior quarterback Bryson Daily, who is a formidable presence both on the ground and through the air. Last season, Daily passed for 942 yards and nine touchdowns, while also throwing four interceptions. Additionally, he rushed for an impressive 1,532 yards, scoring a remarkable 29 touchdowns.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Independence Bowl.

Independence Bowl predictions: Louisiana Tech vs. Army

USA TODAY Sports: Army is unanimous pick

  • Scooby Axson: Army
  • Jordan Mendoza: Army
  • Paul Myerberg: Army
  • Erick Smith: Army
  • Eddie Timanus: Army
  • Dan Wolken: Army

ESPN: Army 23, Louisiana Tech 16

Adam Rittenberg writes: “The Independence Bowl has a new participant and a different/more local flavor, as Marshall opted out following its coaching change and portal exodus, and Louisiana Tech stepped in as the replacement, and will make the short drive from Ruston to Shreveport. The Bulldogs have half the number of wins as the Thundering Herd, but their defense can be very stingy at times, and will need to perform against Bryson Daily and the Black Knights. Although Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie said, “The band’s back together,” the Bulldogs will be without several defensive linemen who went into the transfer portal. Army is undoubtedly still smarting from the Navy loss, and top running back Kanye Udoh entered the portal. Louisiana Tech jumps ahead early behind quarterback Evan Bullock, but Army eventually takes control and grinds out a low-scoring win, its 12th on the season.”

College Football Network: Army 35, Louisiana Tech 13

James Fragoza writes: “The Black Knights’ 2024 campaign has been one for the books, highlighted by their physical dominance and a well-executed option attack. While a 49-14 rout at the hands of playoff-bound Notre Dame and a 31-13 upset loss to Navy stand out as blemishes, they’re hardly disqualifying. Navy, after all, is a nine-win squad with an efficient offense – a far cry from what Louisiana Tech brings to the table. The Black Knights, even after failing to cover as double-digit favorites in their last two outings, still present a clear mismatch for a Bulldogs team that managed just one win over an FBS opponent with a winning record this year. For Louisiana Tech, this matchup feels less like an opportunity and more like a buzzsaw, especially due to its transfer portal losses.”

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Independence Bowl odds, lines: Louisiana Tech vs. Army

The Army Black Knights are favorites to defeat the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, according to the BetMGM college football odds.

Odds as of Friday, Dec. 27.

  • Spread: Army (-14)
  • Moneylines: Army (-800); Louisiana Tech (+500)
  • Over/under: 44.5

How to watch Louisiana Tech vs. Army in the Independence Bowl

  • Date: Saturday, Dec. 28
  • Time: 9:15 p.m. ET
  • TV: ESPN
  • Stream: Fubo
  • Where: Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)

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Louisiana’s oldest death row inmate dies less than month before execution date

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Louisiana’s oldest death row inmate dies less than month before execution date


A terminally ill man who spent over 30 years on death row in Louisiana for the killing of his stepson died days after a March date was scheduled for his execution by nitrogen gas.

Christopher Sepulvado, 81, died Saturday at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, “from natural causes as a result of complications arising from his pre-existing medical conditions,” according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

He was the oldest of the 57 inmates on death row as the state weighed resuming executions after a 15-year pause, CBS affiliate WWL-TV reported.

Sepulvado was charged with the 1992 killing of his 6-year-old stepson after the boy came home from school with soiled underwear. Sepulvado was accused of hitting him on the head with a screwdriver and immersing him in scalding water. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1993.

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His attorney, federal public defender Shawn Nolan, said in a statement Sunday that doctors recently determined Sepulvado was terminally ill and recommended hospice care. Nolan described his client’s “significant” physical and cognitive decline in recent years.

“Christopher Sepulvado’s death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana,” Nolan said. “The idea that the state was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric.”

According to Nolan, Sepulvado had been sent to New Orleans for surgery earlier in the week but was returned to the prison Friday night. According to WWL-TV, Sepulvado’s health had sharply declined, and COPD and gangrene led to a recent leg amputation.

Louisiana officials decided to resume carrying out death sentences earlier this month after a 15 year pause driven by a lack of political interest and the inability to secure legal injection drugs. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry pushed to proceed with a new nitrogen gas execution protocol after the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature last year expanded death row execution methods to include electrocution and nitrogen gas.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that “justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to death a defenseless six-year-old boy.”

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Louisiana Nitrogen Death Penalty
Death Row building at the Louisiana State Penitentiary Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, in Angola, La.

Judi Bottoni / AP


Murrill added that Louisiana failed to deliver justice in his lifetime “but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter.”

Sepulvado’s execution was scheduled for March 17. Another man, Jessie Hoffman, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and slated for execution on March 18. Hoffman initially challenged Louisiana’s lethal injection protocol in 2012 on the grounds that the method was cruel and unusual punishment. A federal judge on Friday reopened that lawsuit after it was dismissed in 2022 because the state had no executions planned.

The country’s first execution using nitrogen gas was carried out last year in Alabama, which has now executed four people using the method.

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Louisiana man with execution date next month dies at Angola

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Louisiana man with execution date next month dies at Angola


A federal appellate court this week refused to throw out a ban on housing incarcerated youth at Angola. (Photo credit: Jarvis DeBerry/Louisiana Illuminator)

Christopher Sepulvado, the 81-year-old man who was facing execution next month for the 1992 murder of his stepson, died overnight at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, according to his attorney.

Shawn Nolan, who had represented Sepulvado, said was sent to a New Orleans hospital last week for a leg amputation. Doctors instead sent him back to Angola, and it is believed the infection ultimately claimed Sepulvado’s life, according to Cecelia Kappel, another attorney representing death row clients.

Doctors had previously determined Sepulvado, who had multiple serious ailments, was terminally ill and recommended hospice care at the time a judge set his execution date for March 17, according to Nolan.

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“Christopher Sepulvado’s death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana,” Nolan said in a statement. “The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric.”

Sepulvado would have the first person Louisiana put to death using nitrogen hypoxia, a method state lawmakers and Gov. Jeff Landry approved last year. The death penalty hasn’t been carried out in Louisiana since 2010, when Gerald Bordelon, 47, received a lethal injection for the kidnapping and murder of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Courtney LeBlanc, in Livingston Parish.

Next on Louisiana’s execution calendar is Jessie Hoffman, 46, who was sentenced to die for the 1996 rape and murder of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot. Authorities said Hoffman abducted Elliot in downtown New Orleans and brought her to St. Tammany Parish, where he raped and murdered her, leaving her body in a remote area near the Pearl River.   

Hoffman is scheduled to die March 18, though attorneys are challenging Louisiana’s new execution method in court on behalf of 10 death row inmates. There are currently 57 people facing the death penalty in the state.

DeSoto Parish Judge Amy Burford McCartney issued a death warrant Feb. 12 for Sepulvado for the killing of  6-year-old Wesley Allen Mercer. Police said the boy was beaten and scalded to death. His mother, Yvonne Jones, was convicted of manslaughter and served more than seven years in prison. 

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Sepulvado was previously scheduled to die by lethal injection in 2013, but his attorney successfully argued that Louisiana officials could not provide enough information on the drugs being used to execute him. The lack of those details constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a federal judge ruled.

Multiple execution dates for Sepulvado have since been handed down and subsequently suspended as lawyers for him and other death row inmates have challenged the use of lethal injection.

Sepulvado’s motion for reconsideration was denied in November 2022, but U.S. District Judge Shelley Dick, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, agreed Friday to reopen the case. 

This is a developing story.

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Nicholls to host Louisiana’s Restoration Generation Coastal Summit

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Nicholls to host Louisiana’s Restoration Generation Coastal Summit


Nicholls State University is going to host a big first in the continued fight to raise awareness in our state’s continued fight against coastal erosion.

Nicholls will host the inaugural Louisiana’s Restoration Generation Coastal Summit on March 12, 2025 in the Cotillion Ballroom.

The event will be hosted from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and it is sponsored by Restore the Mississippi River Delta and the Nicholls Mass Communication Department. The event aims to explore issues related to conservation in Coastal Louisiana while inspiring the next generation of coastal advocates.

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During the day, there will be presentations, panel discussions, coastal and cultural vendors, live Cajun music and more.

Bren Haase is the executive director of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. Haase will deliver a keynote presentation on ‘Restoration in the Barataria and Terrebonne Estuaries.’

The panels will include ‘The People of our Coast,’ ‘Careers in Coastal Restoration,’ and ‘Louisiana’s Restoration Generation: Students Making an Impact.’

“We are thrilled to partner with Nicholls State University for the first Coastal Summit. This event is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about Louisiana’s land loss crisis and discover solutions they can directly plug into to help, while also exploring careers in coastal restoration. By engaging in these critical discussions, these students are standing up for their coast— helping to drive meaningful discussions that can help shape the future of Louisiana’s coast,” said Emily Guidry Schatzel, senior communications manager for Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Attendees can register and secure their spot at the event at Nicholls.edu/maco/coastal-summit.

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Registration is not required, but it is encouraged. Registrants will receive a conference bag, discounted Louisiana-themed lunch in the Vernon F. Galliano Dining Hall and entry into a raffle drawing.

The summit is free and the public is invited to attend. Pre-registration at the above-listed website closes on March 6.

The inaugural Summit is part of a service learning project for students who are studying Environmental Communication, Global Communication and Public Relations.

Louisiana’s Restoration Generation is a movement of college students who aim to engage the college student population on issues of concern in Coastal Louisiana, while encouraging students to explore career paths in restoration industries. They also aim to inspire students to become conservation advocates for Coastal Louisiana.

It is part of the Nancy Sanderson Matherne Institute for Global Communication in the Nicholls Department of Mass Communication

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“Communication on coastal issues is something important to us in the Department of Mass Communication. We see this as an opportunity to give our students important real-world experience while making an impactful difference for our community and our state,” said Nicki Boudreaux, assistant professor of Mass Communication and director of the NSM Institute for Global Communication. “This is our opportunity to create a movement.”

For more information, contact nicki.boudreaux@nicholls.edu.



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