2015 Independence Bowl Preview Tulsa Golden Hurricanes vs Virginia Tech Hokies

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

It will be an emotional day in Shreveport, Louisiana, as the nation’s 11th oldest bowl game will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on Dec. 26 when the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Independence Bowl has a rich history that goes back all the way to 1976 when McNeese State defeated Tulsa 20-16 in the inaugural game. Tulsa also played in the 1989 game when they fell to Oregon 27-24.

Virginia Tech will also be making their third trip to Shreveport as the Hokies lost in 1984 to Air Force, 23-7, and then beat Indiana 45-20 in 1993. In 1993, Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer won his first bowl game leading the Hokies to a bowl game in each of the past 23 seasons since. The legendary coach has announced that he will retire after this game ending his storied career at Virginia Tech. Before his retirement, Beamer will have to lead his Hokies in an exciting matchup against the Golden Hurricanes.

Virginia Tech finished the season 6-6 and had an up and down season as they hovered around .500 all year. The Hokies score 29 points a game despite having to use two quarterbacks, Michael Brewer and Brenden Motley, due to Brewer breaking his collarbone against Ohio State in the season opener and not returning until October. Brewer has thrown for 1,359 yards and 12 touchdowns this year while Motley has thrown for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Redshirt freshman Travon McMillian is the Hokies leading rusher with 961 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Isaiah Ford has caught 63 passes and leads the team with 937 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Hokies give up 24 points a game this season and have a lot of talented athletes in their defensive unit. The leading tackler is junior cornerback Chuck Clark who has 100 total tackles including three for a loss, one sack, and one interception. Two linebackers, Deon Clarke and Andrew Motuapuaka, are two other key players to watch on defense. Clarke has 77 total tackles including 10 for a loss and three sacks while Motuapuaka has 66 total tackles, including 10 for a loss and also three sacks.

Tulsa is also 6-6 and had to beat Tulane (45-34) in their season finale to become bowl eligible. The Golden Hurricane have a high scoring offense which scores 36 points a game. Junior quarterback Dane Evans is the leader of the offense as he has thrown for 3,958 yards and 22 touchdowns. D’Angelo Brewer is the leading rusher with 732 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Zack Langer has chipped in with 714 rushing yards and has 17 rushing touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Keyarris Garrett has caught 88 passes for 1,451 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Golden Hurricane have given up over 38 points a game but look to put on a better defensive performance in their bowl game. Senior safety Michael Mudoh leads the team with 126 total tackles including 3.5 for a loss. Linebackers, Trent Martin and Matt Linscott, both have 96 total tackles and have a combined 30 tackles for a loss.

Key Matchups

Tulsa’s Passing Game vs Virginia Tech’s Pass Defense

Tulsa has a great passing game which averages 330 yards a game. Quarterback Dane Evans not only has thrown for almost 4,000 yards but also completes 63 percent of his passes. Evans will have his hands full when he faces Virginia Tech’s passing defense. The Hokies defense only give up 174 passing yards per game. Their linebackers and defensive backs do a great job of breaking up passes and making plays on the football. The Hokies have 10 interceptions and have broken up 47 passes combined as a team.

Tulsa’s Keyarris Garrett vs Virginia Tech’s Chuck Clark

Garrett is the favorite target of Tulsa’s quarterback as he leads the team with receptions (88), receiving yards (1,451), yards per catch (16.5), touchdowns (7) and average yards per game (120.9). The 6’4”, 221 pound, senior receiver had 268 receiving yards on Oct. 23 against Memphis and then had 216 receiving yards against Tulane. Virginia Tech will need for Garrett to put up another great performance in his final college game.

Virginia Tech junior cornerback Chuck Clark (6’1”, 204 pounds) will be up for the test to cover Garrett. Clark leads the Hokies with 100 total tackles including three for a loss and one sack. The junior also has one interception and has broken up six passes. This matchup pits two exciting players against each other and the winner of this battle will certainly lead their team to victory.

Final Analysis

The winner of this game will need their defense to step up and make big plays. Virginia Tech doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with Tulsa however if their defense can rise to the occasion in Coach Beamer’s final game they will have a chance to overcome the Golden Hurricanes explosiveness.

Tulsa’s defense will also need to do their part and stop Virginia Tech’s offense if they want to spoil Beamer’s farewell. If Virginia Tech can capitalize on Tulsa’s bad defense and make big plays Beamer will ride off into the sunset with a win in his final game.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 28, Tulsa 24

Game Info

Location: Shreveport, Louisiana

Kickoff: 5:45 p.m. ET

Coverage: ESPN

Line: Virginia Tech -13.5

Picture credit: richmond.com; Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer