SHREVEPORT, La. – The 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is 20 days away, and the matchup is now set – pitting the Marshall Thundering Herd against the No. 22 Army West Point Black Knights. The game will kick off in primetime on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. CST on Saturday, December 28. It will be the first matchup of conference champions in the Independence Bowl since the inaugural bowl in 1976.

Marshall comes into the game at 10-3 overall after a dominant 31-3 victory over Louisiana in the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Championship.

Marshall is one of eight Sun Belt Conference teams who obtained bowl eligibility in the 2024 season. The Thundering Herd was picked to finish fifth in the East Division in the preseason, but won six straight to end the regular season for the right to represent the East Division in the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Championship.

The Thundering Herd is led by Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Mike Green, who broke the Sun Belt Conference record and tied the Marshall University record with 17.0 sacks on the season. In addition to leading the FBS in sacks, Green also leads FBS in tackles for loss (22.5), sack yardage (144) and TFL yardage (155), and tackles by a defensive lineman (84). Marshall is also led by quarterback Braylon Braxton, who is 8-0 as a starter en route to earning SBC Newcomer of the Year and All-SBC Second Team honors as a quarterback.

Marshall heads into the 2024 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl boasting of the nation’s best bowl winning percentage among teams who have competed in at least 15 bowl games in their history. The Herd comes into the bowl game with a 13-6 record. The Herd also has one of the Group of Five’s longest active bowl streaks, advancing to a bowl game for the eighth consecutive year – second to only Memphis in the Group of Five. This is Marshall's first appearance in the Independence Bowl.

Last week, Marshall had 13 players honored as All-SBC selections, including five All-SBC First Team selections. In addition to Green, those players were center Logan Osburn, linebacker Jaden Yates, safety J.J. Roberts and kick returner Ian Foster.

Army (11-1) won the American Athletic Conference Championship, going 9-0 in conference play in its first season as a member of the conference, taking down Tulane, 35-14 on Dec. 6. Monken's unit won its conference matchups by an average score of 35.5 to 13.38. They are ranked No. 22 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

“Playing in a postseason bowl game is a measure of success for every team in FBS football. It rewards the players for a good season and recognizes the accomplishments of a great, team effort. I am thrilled that our team will play in the Independence Bowl, one of America’s best and most historic games, and be rewarded for being conference champions and winning 11 games," said Army head coach Jeff Monken. “It is also one more opportunity for us to showcase our program and our incredible institution on a national stage, displaying our brand of football and the values of West Point in front of the nation. Our team, and especially our seniors, are incredibly proud to join the other great Army teams that have played in the postseason.”

The conference championship was Army's first conference title in the program's 134-year history, as the program has been Independent for most of that time. The conference title victory gave Army its 11th victory of the season, only Army’s second 11-win season in school history, the other coming in 2018, also under Head Coach Jeff Monken. Monken, in his 11th season leading the Black Knights holds an 81-56 overall record at West Point.

Army has maintained a spot in the AP Top 25 for nine consecutive weeks, the longest stretch since being ranked each week of the 1958 season. In the final AP Poll before the College Football Playoffs (December 8), Army climbed five spots to No. 19 following its conference title win.

Army has been led by senior quarterback Bryson Daily whose 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for the FBS lead with Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, despite playing in two fewer games than Jeanty. Daily has broken several school and conference records this season including, the most rushing touchdowns in a season in AAC history, the most rushing touchdowns in a season in school history, the most touchdowns responsible for in a season in school history and tied the Army program record for most rushing touchdowns in a game with five.

Head Coach Jeff Monken was tabbed the AAC Coach of the Year and Daily was selected as the AAC Offensive Player of the Year.

This is Army's second appearance in the Independence Bowl and first since 1996. There are a lot of parallels between this year's Army team and 1996. The Black Knights started 9-0 for the first time since 1996 this season. This season also marked the fourth time in the last 30 years that Army appeared in the national ranking polls (2024, 2020, 2018 and 1996). 

This year's Army team will be just the seventh ranked team to play in the Independence Bowl. The last ranked team to play in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl was BYU in 2021 – ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 and No. 13 in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Prior to the 2021 BYU team, Army's 1996 was the last ranked team to play in Shreveport, as they were ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll coming into that game.

The Thundering Herd and Black Knights will also be the first conference champions to play in the Independence Bowl since McNeese State in 1980. Five previous conference champions have played in the Independence Bowl – all between the bowl's inception in 1976 and 1980. The Independence Bowl received the Southland Conference champion for the first four years of the bowl's history and also received the Missouri Valley Conference champion, Tulsa, in the first edition of the Independence Bowl in 1976. It is the first matchup of two conference champions since that 1976 matchup.

The Sun Belt has appeared twice in Independence Bowl history – Louisiana in 2022 and UL Monroe in 2012. This will be the American Athletic Conference's fourth appearance in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. The conference holds a 1-2 record in their three previous games. 

Tickets to Shreveport's annual bowl game start at $20 and are on sale at RadianceTechnologiesIndependenceBowl.com/Tickets. Many ticket packages are available – including individual tickets, group tickets, Pizza Hut Family 4-Packs, Small Business Fan Packs, premium options and more. For ticketing questions, fans can email info@independencebowl.org or call the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl office at (318) 221-0712.

For information on Independence Stadium rules and the clear bag policy, please visit RadianceTechnologiesIndependenceBowl.com/stadium-rules. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl fans can visit OpportunityLouisiana.com to explore why Louisiana businesses are positioned to win.