It was a rainy arrival to Shreveport on Christmas Eve for Army as the 11-2 AAC Champions prepare for their final game of their remarkable season in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
Jeff Monken - Army head coach
"The pride that comes along with being able to say that we're a team that played in the bowl game. I've been watching bowl games since I was a kid. I've been watching this bowl game. This is one of the great bowl games in college football. So to be able to come here and and be rewarded for a winning season and play in the postseason, play on national TV, it's a great experience for everybody."
The Black Knights come to our city on a disappointing note, dropping their version of the Super Bowl against Navy a couple weeks ago.
Monken: "I'm still sorely disappointed and and sleep deprived over it, frankly, that that is the biggest game of the year for us. And I can't put into words the emotions that that come about. Oh, I stick my shoe up their ass and just make sure they're ready to go. So when they get here this afternoon, you know, we'll be right back to reality."
The reality is facing Louisiana Tech Saturday in primetime. The Bulldogs may be an unexpected opponent for Army, but they have coach Monken's attention.
Monken: "Louisiana Tech's got a good football team, very athletic. And and we're going to need to play our best. There's not a team that we play throughout the year that we match up physically and say, you know, we're we're going to be apples to apples. So we're going to have to really play well and execute if we're going have a chance to win."
Army and the Independence Bowl have a history of close calls with one another, including in 2020. The Black Knights say a chance to participate in a game that has the word independence in its name is truly special.
Monken: "The fact that we've got men and women that stand in the gap between freedom and those that want to take it from us every day around the world and really fight for our independence and our our American way of life. So we're proud to be here. We're proud to represent those 1 million men and women in the United States Army."
Army and Louisiana Tech meet in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Saturday, December 28th, at 8:15pm.