2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl (December)

The 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 26, 2014 at the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. The fifth edition of the Heart of Dallas Bowl featured the Illinois Fighting Illini against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.[4] The game was played at 1:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The game is sponsored by the Zaxby's chicken restaurant franchise and is officially known as the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl.

2014 Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl
5th Heart of Dallas Bowl
Illinois Fighting Illini Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
(6–6) (8–5)
Big Ten C-USA
18 35
Head coach: 
Tim Beckman		 Head coach: 
Skip Holtz
1234 Total
Illinois 3663 18
Louisiana Tech 147014 35
DateDecember 26, 2014
Season2014
StadiumCotton Bowl
LocationFair Park
Dallas, Texas
MVPHouston Bates (LB, Louisiana Tech)[1]
FavoriteLouisiana Tech by 7[2]
RefereeLand Clark[3] (Pac-12)
Attendance31,297[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN & RedVoice LLC
AnnouncersMike Corey, Charles Arbuckle, & Kayce Smith (ESPN)
Brian Estridge, John Denton, Rob Best, and Landry Burdine (RedVoice LLC)

Louisiana Tech beat Illinois by a score of 35–18.[5]

This was the second overall meeting between these two teams, with the Bulldogs winning the first matchup in 2012.

Illinois
See also: Illinois Fighting Illini football and 2014 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Illinois came as a team on a series of streaks throughout the season. On the season the Illini had averaged 26.6 points per game but gave up an average of 34 points per game. Illinois can easily be summarized as a Jekyll and Hyde team. During their 6 wins the Illini scored an average of 33.8 points per game, but in their 6 losses they've gave up an average of 41.67 points per game. This was the Illini's first bowl game since 2011.

Louisiana Tech
See also: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football and 2014 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Louisiana Tech entered the bowl game as the C-USA West Division champs. The Bulldogs won six of their last eight games giving up an average of 20.5 points per game during that stretch. 3 of the Bulldogs five losses come to Top 25 teams.

Game summary

With the win, the Bulldogs won their first bowl game since 2008.

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP ILL La. Tech
1 7:29 6 63 1:26 La. Tech Jarred Craft 16-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Barnes kick good 0 7
1 3:46 8 65 3:43 ILL 27-yard field goal by Taylor Zalewski 3 7
1 3:28 1 80 0:18 La. Tech Kenneth Dixon 80-yard touchdown reception from Cody Sokol, Jonathan Barnes kick good 3 14
2 11:15 5 65 1:30 ILL Jon Davis 25-yard touchdown reception from Reilly O'Toole, Taylor Zalewski kick failed 9 14
2 7:20 – – – La. Tech Interception returned 69 yards for touchdown by Xavier Woods, Jonathan Barnes kick good 9 21
3 6:04 9 72 4:17 ILL Donovonn Young 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 15 21
4 14:01 10 49 3:59 ILL 43-yard field goal by David Reisner 18 21
4 6:15 5 74 2:20 La. Tech Kenneth Dixon 1-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Barnes kick good 18 28
4 3:43 6 49 1:36 La. Tech Blake Martin 28-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Barnes kick good 18 35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 18 35

Source: [3]

Statistics
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Illini 3 6 6 3 18
Bulldogs 14 7 0 14 35
StatisticsILLLa. Tech
First downs2616
Plays–yards80–45159–361
Rushes–yards33–12231–114
Passing yards329247
Passing: Comp–Att–Int28–47–114–28–0
Time of possession35:0025:00
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
ILLPassingReilly O'Toole24/39, 295 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingJosh Ferguson7 car, 50 yds
ReceivingMalik Turner6 rec, 84 yds
La. TechPassingCody Sokol14/28, 247 yds, 1 TD
RushingKenneth Dixon13 car, 63 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingCarlos Henderson4 rec, 93 yds

References
  1. Isabella, Sean (December 26, 2014). "Tech's Bates wins MVP against former team". thenewsstar.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  2. Odds
  3. "2014 December Heart of Dallas Bowl Game Stats". Stat Broadcast. December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  4. Ryan, Shannon (December 7, 2014). "Illinois Will Face Louisiana Tech in Heart of Dallas Bowl", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  5. Ryan, Shannon (December 26, 2014). "Illinois Fumbles Away Huge Opportunity in Bowl Loss to Louisiana Tech", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
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