The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the 2025 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Louisiana Tech is favored by 9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -360. Coastal Carolina, meanwhile, enters as a +9.5 underdog and is +275 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 51.5 total points.
Here’s my Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech prediction and college football picks for Tuesday, December 30.
Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Prediction
- Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech Pick: Coastal Carolina Team Total Over 20.5
My Louisiana Tech vs. Coastal Carolina best bet is on the Chanticleers to go over their team total. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Odds
| Coastal Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -105 | 51.5 -105o / -115u | +275 |
| Louisiana Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -115 | 51.5 -105o / -115u | -360 |
- Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Spread: Louisiana Tech -9.5, Coastal Carolina +9.5
- Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Over/Under: 51.5 Points
- Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Moneyline: Coastal Carolina +275, Louisiana Tech -360
Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Independence Bowl Preview
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Betting Preview: Struggles in Bowl Season
Two consecutive six-win seasons were deemed enough for Tim Beck, and Coastal Carolina let go of the third-year head coach. The Chants went and hired Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard and his entire staff for next season.
Stepping into the interim role for this game is defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson, who faces off against the team whose defense he ran in 2024, Louisiana Tech.
The disruption to the coaching staff was just the start, as a couple of key pieces hit the transfer portal and a slew of other starters appeared on the injury report.
That includes quarterback Samari Collier, who started three games for Coastal before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the final two games.
Collier was steadily improving during his time as the starter, and his injury is a tough blow for both the redshirt senior and the Chants. Tad Hudson, who started the year as QB1, would likely reassume starting duties here.
In games Collier started, Coastal Carolina went 3-0 outright; granted, none of those three opponents were better than .500. But the Chants also jumped in offensive production and then immediately regressed under Hudson. More on that later.
Left tackle Nick Del Grande, Coastal’s top offensive lineman, is both hurt (he missed the final two games) and expected to transfer out. Three additional starters on defense missed time at the end of the year.
The season couldn’t have ended fast enough for the Chants. They dropped their final three games of the season, and their five FBS wins this year combined for an 18-42 final record (.300).
Five of their losses this season came against far superior teams (Virginia, East Carolina, Old Dominion, South Carolina, James Madison), while the additional sixth loss came in a wild 45-40 game at Georgia Southern.
Bowl season hadn’t been particularly kind to Beck’s Chants. They lost two of their last three bowl appearances by a combined 53 points with a 24-14 win over San Jose State being the reprieve. Quality teams ran this team out of the building.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Betting Preview: The Only Consistency
In a world of changing college football (including with this team’s own conference affiliation), there's some stability: Louisiana Tech playing in the Independence Bowl. The Bulldogs are 3-2-1 and head into their seventh Independence Bowl appearance, the most among any team.
Louisiana Tech was a popular preseason dark-horse pick in Conference USA. It appeared to be heading toward living up to the billing with a 4-1 start that included a narrow loss at LSU, a 49-14 blowout of conference foe New Mexico State and a 30-20 win over Southern Miss.
But from October on, Tech went 3-4 with a 35-7 loss to eventual champion Kennesaw State and narrow losses to Western Kentucky and Delaware. And thus, Tech finished 7-5 and 5-3 in CUSA play, outside consideration for the title game.
This is Year 2 in a row for Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
Last year’s roster filled in for a withdrawn Marshall and played 13-win Army to a 26-7 loss. The last time this program won a bowl was in the 2019 Independence Bowl (which featured a shocking 14-0 win over Miami).
Head coach Sonny Cumbie went through multiple quarterbacks this season.
Evan Bullock, last year’s starter, was overtaken in the preseason and played in spot starts this year before announcing his intent to transfer. Blake Baker, the Week 1 starter, suffered a few injuries and, in Week 11, suffered a season-ending one.
That left the keys to Trey Kukuk, a junior transfer.
Kukuk probably gets his third start of the year after finishing up the final two games as QB1. He went 2-0 in those starts with 34 points scored against Liberty in overtime and 42 against Missouri State.
Despite losing its DC this offseason, Tech fared well on defense. It finished 35th in Points Per Drive, 15th in Success Rate allowed (36.5%) and 22nd in takeaways (20).
However, both starting safeties (Michael Richard and Jacob Fields), plus two starting linebackers (Mekhi Mason and Kolbe Fields) are out for this game.
Jacob Fields earned first-team All-CUSA honors, and Mason earned second-team honors. Kolbe Fields has been out since Week 5.
Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech Pick, Betting Analysis
Welcome to a Sun Belt preview of 2026 and beyond. Louisiana Tech joins the league, leaving Conference USA, on July 1. Conference opponents for 2026 and beyond haven’t been released at the time of writing.
The Coastal offense is night and day under Collier compared to Hudson.
In the four games Collier started, Coastal averaged 42.3 points per game (3-0 in games he also finished). Under Hudson, the Chants were held under 14 points six times, including being shut out 38-0 by East Carolina and held to 13 points against FCS Charleston Southern, which went 5-7.
You can scrutinize the quality of the opponent, but this offense was significantly better under Collier than under Hudson.
From a 10,000-foot view, Coastal Carolina just isn’t very good. Per aggregated industry power ratings, the Chants are the second-lowest rated bowl team and lowest among those in the six-plus win bowl-eligible field.
Coastal has been blown out in losses and won narrowly, leading to a 20.8% deficit in available yards, fifth-worst in the FBS.
But something shifted in the final few games of the season for Louisiana Tech’s defense. Tackling became a significant issue — both Liberty (28 points) and Missouri State (30 points) gained more than 5.8 highlight yards per rush.
Coastal’s offense lives and dies by explosive plays. I’d expect a few of those here against a regressing defense on what should be a mild day in Shreveport.
Pick: Coastal Carolina Team Total Over 20.5
