Sporting News is predicting both local teams – UNC and N.C. State – to lose their football bowl games. A seven-person CBS Sports panel picks Missouri over UNC 4-3 while the same panel picks Louisville over State 5-2. The WhatIfSports simulation game predicts Missouri 26, Carolina 22 and Louisville 26, NC State 23. Football USA predicts Missouri 28, Carolina 24 and Louisville 21, NC State 20. Below are previews of the two games.<\/p>\n
Monday, December 26, 2011
\nAdvocare V100 Independence Bowl<\/b><\/p>\n
North Carolina (7-5, 3-5 ACC) vs. Missouri (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) ESPN2; 5p.m.
\nIndependence Stadium (49,147); Shreveport, La.<\/p>\n
The Series: Missouri leads 2-0.
\nFirst bowl meeting
\nThe Coaches: Everett Withers: 7-5 (1st year) at North Carolina and overall
\nGary Pinkel: 85-54 (11th year) at Missouri; 157-91-3 (21st year) overall
\nLast Meeting: Oct. 2, 1976: Missouri 24, North Carolina 3 at Columbia, Mo.: The 12th-ranked
\nTigers racked up 557 yards of total offense in handing the No. 14 Tar Heels their
\nfirst loss of the season. UNC earned a Peach Bowl bid that season and finished the season at 9-3.<\/p>\n
North Carolina<\/b> … The Tar Heels are 13-15 in all bowl games and 13-12 as ACC members. The Independence will be their fi rst postseason game in Louisiana and their first contest in the state since a 42-10 win at Tulane on Nov. 13, 1993. \u2026 ACC teams are 10-11 all-time against schools representing the Big 8\/Big 12 at game time.
\nUNC has never played a Big 8\/Big 12 team in postseason. … UNC is in a bowl for the fourth straight season, its longest streak of postseason participation since 1992-98. \u2026 North Carolina is one of five FBS teams with an 1,100-yard rusher (RB Giovani Bernard, 1,222) and an 1,100-yard receiver (WR Dwight Jones, 1,119). Missouri has played two of the other teams in that group of five, losing to Baylor and Oklahoma State. \u2026 Bernard is 43 yards from the second-highest freshman rushing total in ACC history. \u2026 The Tar Heels have held five of their past six opponents below the national average in total offense. … For theseason, six of 12 opponents failed to rush for 80 yards against North Carolina, which permitted an average of 3.14 yards per rush. … In four non-conference games, QB Bryn Renner has completed 67-of-88 passes (.761) for 958 yards, eight TDs and four INTs.<\/p>\n
Missouri<\/b> … The Tigers are 12-16 in all bowl games and are playing their fi rst postseason contest against an ACC member. \u2026 Missouri is in a bowl for the seventh
\nconsecutive season and for the eighth time in nine years. \u2026 The Tigers are making their third Independence Bowl appearance, having defeated South Carolina in 2005 and lost to Arkansas in 2003. \u2026 In all action, the Tigers are 4-4 against the ACC. \u2026 The Tigers enter on a three-game winning streak that concluded the 2011 regular season. \u2026 Four of their five losses have been by 10 or fewer points. For the season, they have gained 2,835 yards rushing and 2,834 by passing. \u2026 RB Henry Josey amassed 263 rushing yards on only 14 carries in a win over Western Illinois on Sept. 17; the yardage total is the fifth-highest by an FBS player this season. Josey is 12th nationally with 116.8 rushing yards per game. \u2026 QB James Franklin is one of only three FBS players with 800 or more rushing yards and 2,000 or more passing yards in 2011; the others are Chandler Harnisch of Northern Illinois and Denard Robinson of Michigan. \u2026 The Independence is one of three bowls in which both teams have one of the nation\u2019s 25 leading rushers; the others are the Rose (Oregon-Wisconsin) and the Alamo (Baylor-Washington).<\/p>\n
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
\nBelk Bowl<\/b><\/p>\n
NC State (7-5, 4-4 ACC) vs. Louisville (7-5, 5-2 Big East) ESPN; 8 p.m.
\nBank of America Stadium (73,667); Charlotte, N.C.<\/p>\n
The Series: Louisville leads, 3-0
\nFirst bowl meeting.
\nThe Coaches: Tom O\u2019Brien: 32-30 (5th year) at NC State; 107-75 (15th year) overall
\nCharlie Strong: 14-11 (2nd year) at Louisville and overall
\nLast Meeting: Sept. 29, 2007: Louisville 29, NC State 10 at Raleigh, N.C.: After allowing eight
\ntouchdown passes and 925 yards of total offense in the previous two games, the
\nCardinals forced five turnovers and pulled away for a victory over the Wolfpack. Coach Tom O\u2019Brien\u2019s first team, struggling
\nto find an offensive flow because of injuries to quarterbacks, was still a couple
\nof weeks away from hitting its stride. A four-game late-season winning streak
\nhelped the club finish at 5-7. <\/p>\n
NC State<\/b> … The Wolfpack is making a bowl trip in consecutive seasons for the fi rst time since 2000-03. \u2026 State is 13-11-1 in all bowl games and 13-10-1 while in
\nthe ACC. … NC State is 2-2 against the Big East in bowl games. … This is the program\u2019s second appearance in the Bowl game in Charlotte; the Pack defeated South Florida 14-0 in the 2005 Meineke car Care Bowl \u2026 To qualify for postseason, the Pack won its final two regular-season games, defeating No. 8 Clemson 37-13 and Maryland 56-41. The triumph over the Tigers was the program\u2019s first against a Top-8 opponent since the 24-7 result over No. 2 Florida State on Sept. 12, 1998, and in overcoming a 27-point
\ndefi cit against the Terrapins, they delivered the largest numerical comeback in the program\u2019s history. \u2026 QB Mike Glennon threw eight TD passes and one interception in
\nthose contests. \u2026 The Pack is one of 10 FBS teams with multiple INT and fumble returns for scores this season. \u2026 CB David Amerson has tied the ACC\u2019s single-season
\nrecord and is the nation\u2019s leader in interceptions with 11. That\u2019s four more than any other player in 2011 and the most by any individual since Wisconsin\u2019s Jim Leonhard
\nhad 11 in 14 games in 2002. Even if Amerson does not pick off a pass against Louisville, his average of 0.846 interceptions per game will be the highest since 2000.<\/p>\n
Louisville<\/b> … The Cardinals are 7-7-1 in all bowl games, including a 1-1 mark against the ACC; they lost to Virginia Tech 35-24 in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, 2007 and
\ndefeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2,2007. \u2026 The Cardinals are 11-10 against ACC teams in all contests. \u2026 Louisville earned a share of the Big East title with a 5-2 record in 2011 and won five of its fi nal six regular-season outings. \u2026 The Cardindals are 10th nationally against the run, having allowed 103 yards a game,
\nand 14th in scoring defense (19.17 points per game). Louisville has held six of its opponents to 17 or fewer points. \u2026 LB Dexter Heyman has three interceptions
\nand four sacks on the year. \u2026 Louisville\u2019s opponents have returned 12 punts for a total of fi ve net yards in 12 games. \u2026 Special teams were key to two Big East victories
\nfor Louisville: an 82-yard TD return of a blocked field goal produced a 10-point swing in an eventual 38-35 win at West Virginia and an 100-yard kickoff return highlighted
\na 14-point triumph over Connecticut. \u2026 In third-and-1 and third-and-2 situations, the Cards\u2019 opponents have converted only 55.6 percent of the time. \u2026 PK Chris
\nPhilpott is one of two FBS kickers with field goals of 50 or more yards in consecutive games; he made a 51-yarder against Cincinnati and a 52-yarder vs. Rutgers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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