Duke Football: 3 reasons to watch Independence Bowl vs Temple

Duke football will square off with Temple in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl. Here are three reasons to watch the showdown in Shreveport.

ACC middleweight Duke will head to Shreveport for the 2018 Independence Bowl, the first time in more than four decades that the Blue Devils will play in this long-running bowl game. After losing two straight to end the regular season, Duke will hope to get things back on track in the postseason as they reach for an eighth victory this year.

Their opponent is a Temple team that started the year 0-2 but clawed back to win six of their last seven games. They ended the year second behind undefeated UCF in the AAC East standings, as they knocked off Cincinnati and South Florida along the way and slotted in behind the Knights.

Temple has been getting the job done thanks to a crushing defense, while Duke has done a great job of not beating themselves with too many penalties. This should be a hard-hitting contest with few flags, as the two sides play what might end up being a low-scoring duel at Independence Stadium.

Despite both having long histories in the sport, Duke and Temple have never previously met on the football field. This initial meeting between the two sides will offer a great matchup two days after Christmas.

Temple will take their chances without Geoff Collins. The head coach resigned at the end of the regular season to take over the Georgia Tech job that opened with Paul Johnson‘s retirement. That said, there is still plenty that is compelling about this contest. Here are three reasons why you won’t want to miss the Independence Bowl this season.