9-3 La Tech is staying home because in part, they got squeezed out by NIU going to the Orange. As their
AD tells it, they couldn't give the Independence Bowl a final answer because there were one or two better bowls that had expressed interest. After the deadline to give the IB an answer had passed, NIU busted the BCS, which pushed OK out, which pushed another Big 12 school out of a contract bowl, which left La Tech out in the cold. Not sure why the IB -- which wound up with 6-6 Iowa St -- couldn't wait a few hours for an answer. Having the nation's best offense on the field would likely be a bigger draw than a mediocre Big 12 school.