Armed Forces Bowl 2016: Louisiana Tech vs. Navy TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Redemption awaits two teams in need of a strong end to the year when the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs get together with the No. 25 Navy Midshipmen in the 2016 Armed Forces Bowl.
Despite boasting one of the nation's best offenses, the Bulldogs (8-5) have dropped two games in a row, including the Conference USA title game.
It's a similar story for the Midshipmen (9-3), who are battling a wealth of injuries that has helped them suffer two losses in a row, including the important season-ending bout with Army.
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Hobbled rosters and little momentum aside, this bowl game looks like one of the best during the holidays. Here's everything to know.
Armed Forces Bowl 2016
Date: Friday, Dec. 23
Time (ET): 4:30 p.m.
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 66
Spread: Louisiana Tech (-6)
Team Injury Reports
| Dalton Santos | LB | Questionable |
| Jordan Harris | LB | Questionable |
| Secdrick Cooper | S | Questionable |
| Israel Tucker | RB | Out for season |
| Jaqwis Dancy | RB | Out for season |
| Courtney Wallace | DT | Out indefinitely |
| Craig Scott | WR | Questionable |
| Mike Kelly | LB | Questionable |
| Tyler Carmona | WR | Questionable |
| Darryl Bonner | SB | Questionable |
| Jerry Thompson | S | Questionable |
| Toneo Gulley | SB | Out for season |
| Will Worth | QB | Out for season |
| Josh Brown | SB | Questionable |
| Joshua Walker | SB | Questionable |
| Josiah Powell | LB | Questionable |
| Kyle Battle | S | Questionable |
| Elijah Merchant | CB | Questionable |
| Marcus Edwards | G | Questionable |
| Daniel Gonzales | LB | Out for season |
| Tago Smith | QB | Out for season |
| Robert Lindsey | G | Out for season |
| DJ Grant-Johnson | K | Out indefinitely |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Back to Basics
The Bulldogs can't be happy about dropping two games in a row, breaking a seven-game streak.
They can, however, take solace in the fact few can stop their attack. They go into Friday's game against a Navy defense that is allowing 29.7 points per game.
Ryan Higgins leads the way for the Bulldogs under center and boasts gaudy numbers after completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 37 touchdowns to eight interceptions.
Coach Skip Holtz has been singing his praises, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com).
"What Higgins has been able to do as a fifth-year senior is very impressive. His development has been one of the big reasons for our success. Higgins has done a great job of protecting the football and making good decisions. He understands the offense and has a very accurate arm," Holtz said.
The effectiveness of Higgins opens things up on the ground for Jarred Craft, who has rushed for 1,011 yards and nine scores. Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson are two of the best wideouts in the country; the former sits on 124 catches for 1,570 yards and 10 scores, while the latter has 72, 1,406 and 17.
It's the defense that faltered for the Bulldogs over the two losses, allowing 39 and 58 points. This makes the recipe for getting back on track rather simple—jump out ahead and force Navy off the ground and out of its comfort zone.
Overcoming the Odds
The Midshipmen have lost two starting quarterbacks this year (along with the wealth of other names one can see above in the injury report).
That would doom a normal team.
Navy isn't like any other team, though. It lost quarterback Will Worth (33 total touchdowns) and tailback Toneo Gulley (four rushing scores) in the American Athletic Conference title game before the loss to Army.
This leaves Zach Abey as the starting quarterback, a sophomore who threw two picks and rushed for a pair of scores against Army. Even with a third-stringer under center, Navy still rushed for 112 yards and the two touchdowns but couldn't control the pace of the game as usual.
With Worth out of the picture, Abey will lean on two lead backs for production:
| Chris High | 78 | 500 | 6.4 | 70 (TD) | 5 |
| Shawn White | 77 | 443 | 5.8 | 50 (TD) | 7 |
Those numbers don't jump off the page, but Worth did it all by himself, piling up 25 rushing touchdowns.
Abey and the offense have had quality time to build chemistry before this game. So long as he can emulate Worth and keep the offense on the field, a team barraged by injuries can escape with a bowl win.
It's imperative, though, the Midshipmen dominate the clock and keep Higgins off the field.
Prediction
Unfortunately for Navy, a leaky defense was going to have a hard time with the high-flying Bulldogs offense either way.
Add in the wealth of the injuries for the Midshipmen, and it's easy to see this one playing out in almost blowout fashion.
Navy will try to exert its will on the ground as always. Without Worth, though, the attack won't be as effective and won't compensate for the defense. This means Louisiana Tech should pull away in the second half, leaving Navy without a way to close the game.
Prediction: Louisiana Tech 38, Navy 28
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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