# 2017 Independence Bowl

The 2017 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2017, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 42nd annual Independence Bowl featured the Southern Miss Golden Eagles of Conference USA against the Florida State Seminoles of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Sponsored by Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar, the game was officially known as the Walk-On's Independence Bowl.
The contest was televised on ESPN, with kickoff at 1:30 p.m. (EST). It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. Florida State defeated Southern Miss, 42–13.

## Team selection

The game featured the Southern Miss Golden Eagles against the Florida State Seminoles.
This was the twenty-third meeting between the schools, with Florida State holding a 13–8–1 advantage. They had most recently played in 1996, when the Seminoles defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 54–14.

### Florida State

On December 21, 2017, an unofficial report was published on Reddit claiming that the Seminoles were not bowl eligible due to an NCAA rule stating that for an FCS opponent to be countable towards bowl eligibility, the FCS program must have awarded 90% of the FCS scholarship limit. Delaware State, an FCS team that lost to FSU earlier in the season, did not meet the 90% threshold set by the NCAA. Without this win, FSU stood at 5–6 on the season. However, on December 22, 2017, Florida State addressed the issue and stated that Delaware State verified its scholarship situation as eclipsing the 90-percent threshold. This, FSU claims, is due to an alleged established NCAA rule interpretation, allowing academic and other non-athletic scholarships to count towards the required threshold, however they did not reference the interpreted rule. The confirmation officially gave Florida State bowl eligibility, and allowed the team to play in the Independence Bowl.

## Game summary
### Scoring summary

Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | USM | FSU |
| 1 | 11:05 | 8 | 78 | 3:55 | USM | Kwadra Griggs 5-yard touchdown run, Parker Shaunfield kick no good | 6 | 0 |
| 1 | 5:20 | 12 | 75 | 5:45 | FSU | Auden Tate 20-yard touchdown reception from James Blackman, Ricky Aguayo kick good | 6 | 7 |
| 2 | 12:38 | 9 | 80 | 4:59 | FSU | Cam Akers 14-yard touchdown reception from James Blackman, Ricky Aguayo kick no good | 6 | 13 |
| 2 | 7:48 | 8 | 58 | 2:51 | FSU | 29-yard field goal by Ricky Aguayo | 6 | 16 |
| 2 | 1:33 | 4 | 24 | 1:30 | FSU | Auden Tate 10-yard touchdown reception from James Blackman, Ricky Aguayo kick good | 6 | 23 |
| 3 | 10:45 | 10 | 43 | 4:15 | FSU | 39-yard field goal by Ricky Aguayo | 6 | 26 |
| 3 | 3:25 | 9 | 85 | 4:40 | FSU | Jacques Patrick 2-yard touchdown run, Ricky Aguayo kick good | 6 | 33 |
| 3 | 0:44 | 6 | 75 | 2:41 | USM | Korey Robertson 13-yard touchdown reception from Kwadra Griggs, Parker Shaunfield kick good | 13 | 33 |
| 4 | 13:34 | 5 | 30 | 2:10 | FSU | Auden Tate 17-yard touchdown reception from James Blackman, Ricky Aguayo kick no good (snap fumbled) | 13 | 39 |
| 4 | 7:32 | 8 | 13 | 3:54 | FSU | 39-yard field goal by Ricky Aguayo | 13 | 42 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 13 | 42 |

### Statistics

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Seminoles | 7 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 42 |
| Statistics | USM | FSU |
| First downs | 12 | 25 |
| Plays–yards | 55–260 | 74–452 |
| Rushes–yards | 28–131 | 45–214 |
| Passing yards | 129 | 238 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15-27-0 | 19-29-0 |
| Time of possession | 22:52 | 37:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Southern Miss | Passing | Kwanda Griggs | 13-25, 86 yds., 1 TD |
| Southern Miss | Rushing | Ito Smith | 16 carries, 92 yds. |
| Southern Miss | Receiving | Korey Robertson | 4 rec., 36 yds., 1 TD |
| Florida State | Passing | James Blackman | 18-26, 233 yds., 4 TD |
| Florida State | Rushing | Cam Akers | 13 carries, 94 yds. |
| Florida State | Receiving | Auden Tate | 5 rec., 84 yds., 3 TD |