The Independence Bowl

Tigers and Tarheels matchup after Christmas

This match up is a tale of two halves of each season, respectively, for Missouri and North Carolina. These two teams will meet in the Independence Bowl on December 26, but the way things have gone for each team could not be more opposite. The Missouri Tigers have won three straight games to end the season with a record of 7-5, while the North Carolina Tar heels have sputtered after a hot 5-1 start, since only winning two of its last four games and finishing the season with the same record of 7-5. What the Tar Heels have done under interim coach Everett Whithers has been impressive, but to secure his status as the coach of the Tar Heels, a victory against the SEC-bound Tigers should be high up on the list.

Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel , after deciding to start the year with sophomore quarterback James Franklin, knew that it would not be wise to put all of the pressure on him, and decided to build the team's strength around a running game led by Henry Josey. Henry Josey, who was the Big 12 conference rushing leader, suffered an injury against the Texas Longhorns that ended his season, thus giving the starting running back job to Kendi Lawrence.

The North Carolina Tar Heels, coming from the ACC, have proven to be very solid against non-conference opponents, but have struggled against their conference rivals. The Tar Heels have leaned on quarterback Bryn Renner, who has an astounding 68% completion percentage. Another solid contributor to the Tar Heel offensive attack has been running back Giovani Bernard. The most dangerous threat in the Tar Heels offense is wide receiver Dwight Jones, who has amassed over 1100 receiving yards over the season. Like Missouri, their defense is solid but unspectacular, but if there is one weakness to this Tar Heel team, it is the inability to hold on to the football. Tar Heel ball carriers have fumbled the ball 24 times, and compared to the 15 times that Missouri has fumbled, and that is a sure way to give opposing teams a victory.

From an outsider's perspective, it is easy to assume that Missouri would be victorious just by how well the two teams have played as of late. Another black mark for North Carolina is the fact that their team is based in a very weak ACC conference that only has two ranked teams in the whole conference. The fact that North Carolina has lost most of their ACC conference games, and only beaten weak non-conference opponents would seem to shift the tide of victory over to the Tigers, but in the game of football, nothing is certain.

The biggest problem that the Missouri Tigers will be dealing with is the continued loss of star running back Henry Josue. It is hard to replace a contributor that had an 8.1 YPC average. Missouri based almost the entire game plan on the talents of Josey and that production will not be matched through the efforts of Kendi Lawrence. The Tigers have a lack of quick-strike ability due to limited talent at wide receiver, as well as a young quarterback, so if the Tar Heels want to make a run at the Tigers, they must be patient and score when the opportunity rises. Sometimes a punt is a successful possession if it means field position.

There is no way to decide which team will be victorious because only the players and coaches can have a say in that. If Missouri is already thinking about going to the SEC and decides not to give a full effort against North Carolina, then the Tar Heels could easily walk away with the victory.

Independence Bowl History & Traditions

The Independence Bowl played in Shreveport, Louisiana has been a tradition since 1976 and has been held in Independence Stadium since its inception. The first five years of the Independence Bowl began with affiliations between the champion of the Southland Conference and an at large bid. After the first five years, the Independence Bowl began inviting two at large teams until 1995.

In 1995 the Southeastern Conference, otherwise known as the SEC, was the invited conference against an at large team. In 1998 when the Big 12 took over as the featured team along with the SEC. One stipulation of the contract states that if there are no bowl teams available from either conference the bids will go to an at large team.

The wildest and most memorable game occurred in the 2000 Independence Bowl. The Shreveport, Louisiana area was hit by a freak snow storm during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game was also significant because former Texas A&M coach Jackie Sherrill was now the coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Sherrill had previously led Texas A&M to national prominence and was now the coach of the Bulldogs.

Known as the Snow Bowl, the added tension with Sherrill having ties to both teams added to the importance and ferociousness of the game. The game went to overtime and the Mississippi State Bulldogs won under the guidance of head coach Sherrill in an exciting and meaningful game.

The Mississippi Rebels have played in the most Independence Bowls, five in all and have won all but one of those appearances. Mississippi is also the only team to ever repeat as an Independence Bowl champion. Some of the most famous MVP's in the history of the Independence Bowl have been: Gary Kubiak (current coach of Houston Texans), Eli Manning, Takeo Spikes and Kevin Faulk. Eli Manning won the Independence Bowl MVP in his junior year. At Allpro we'll have all kinds of college football odds setup for bowl season, including props that will let you place sports bets on individual performances in each bowl game along with MVP awards. This is also an excellent time to get your bets in NFL MVP as well.

The Independence Bowl now has changed affiliations as the 2010 NCAA college football season begins. The game will now match up the third ranked Mountain West Conference team versus the seventh ranked ACC team. The conference affiliation will be binding until the 2013 college football season. The payout for the two teams is 1.1 million dollars.

Independence Stadium is a fast track with synthetic grass otherwise known as Astro play. Teams that tend to well in this stadium are fast teams with speedy running backs and deep threat wide receivers. Opened in 1925, the stadium has been renovated a total of four times. The last renovation took place in 2001. The stadium includes seating for 53,000 fans and has hosted the World Football League in the 70s and the Canadian Football League in the 80s.

There are three teams that have played two Independence Bowls and have won them both. Air Force, Georgia Bulldogs and LSU all went undefeated in their two showings in the game. Over the years the Independence Bowl has somewhat of a consolation prize to the two teams that meet in late December. No BCS National Championship or number ranking awaits the winner, just a beautiful glass trophy to hold aloft.

Our Independence Bowl lines and Independence Bowl betting & game preview articles will be published once it is determined which teams will matchup this year. Ths happens in the selection show when teams all across the states receive their bowl berths.