Independence Bowl 2016: NC State vs. Vanderbilt TV Schedule, Time and Odds

A winning record awaits the victor of a showdown between the NC State Wolfpack and Vanderbilt Commodores in the 2016 Independence Bowl. 

Both teams finished 6-6, riding strong end-of-season performances to go bowling. NC State, out of the ACC, won two of its last three contests, including a dismissal of a rival North Carolina team.

Vanderbilt finished SEC play strong, claiming victories against Ole Miss and Tennessee to close the year hot and put a two-game skid to bed.

With both teams hot, this bowl games pits NC State's offense against a strong Vanderbilt defense in a cross-conference showdown fans won't want to miss. Here's a look at everything to know about Monday's third bowl game.

Independence Bowl 2016

Date: Monday, Dec. 26

Time (ET): 5 p.m.

Location: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana

Watch: ESPN 2

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 42.5

Spread: NC State (-5.5)

Team Injury Reports

NAME	POS	STATUS
Cole Cook	TE	Ques Mon
Ryan Finley	QB	Prob Mon
James Smith-Williams	DE	Ques Mon
C.J. Riley	WR	Out for season
Jumichael Ramos	WR	Out for season

NAME	POS	STATUS
Delando Crooks	G	Ques Mon
Nigel Bowden	LB	Ques Mon
Andrew Jelks	OL	Out for season
Shawn Stankavage	QB	Out for season

Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.

Trench Warfare

NC State is all about winning in the trenches.

Thanks to a strong defensive line, the Wolfpack held nine opponents to a maximum of 24 points this year. As a whole, the unit did its part most of the season, even holding the then-No. 22 Florida State to 24 points in a four-point loss.

This would explain why much of the talk from NC State's side comes from the defense. For instance, safety Josh Jones can't wait to get a shot at an SEC opponent, according to STATS LLC (via ESPN.com).

"I'm looking forward to playing an SEC team, get down there and compete," Jones said. "[The] ACC is pretty powerful too. We have to go out there and show people what we're all about. We're just thankful we got an opportunity to be in the postseason."

The biggest issue for NC State this year has been the offense upholding its end of the bargain. In five of the team's six losses, the unit failed to crack more than 20 points. Quarterback Ryan Finley has thrown 15 touchdowns against eight interceptions, and running back Matthew Dayes has 1,119 yards and 10 touchdowns, but as a whole, the unit wilts at times.

Against an SEC foe, the Wolfpack must discover better balance to finish with a winning record. Stunting the Vanderbilt offense is one of the team's most interesting tasks of the year.

Riding the Wave

The Vanderbilt offense has put on a show to close the season.

Quarterback Kyle Shurmur isn't the focal point of the offense, so his record of nine touchdowns to seven interceptions doesn't stand out. What does, though, is running back Ralph Webb's 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns on a per-carry average of 5.1 yards.

In a 38-17 dismissal of Ole Miss, Shurmur threw two scores and Webb rushed for three. To close the season, Shurmur and Webb accounted for two more apiece in their respective ways while taking down the then-No. 17 Tennessee, 45-34.

The offense coming alive in such a manner stands in stark contrast to a unit that produced seven points in a loss to Georgia Tech and six in a loss to the then-No. 23 Florida.

Rest assured Vanderbilt will attempt to keep it on the ground with Webb, who needs 22 yards to set the program record for rushing yards in a season. This creates a strength-against-strength predicament that Las Vegas hasn't got too bold with from an odds outlook.

For Vanderbilt, though, the last two games have been about going against the odds to make a bowl game in the first place.

Prediction

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

It might be easy for some picking this game to roll with the SEC team and move on to something else.

Not so fast. While the recent offensive outbursts are nice, Vanderbilt is a .500 SEC team that has fallen completely off the map in the scoring department.

NC State arguably faced a tougher schedule. Not only did it nearly upset Florida State, it took the then-No. 3 Clemson to overtime, holding the Deshaun Watson-led offense to 24 points.

Given Vanderbilt's one-dimensional attack, the notion that the Wolfpack put the clamps on Webb and riding out a gritty defensive victory isn't so outlandish. Look for this one to go down to the wire and a strong NC State defense to make the difference.

Prediction: NC State 23, Vanderbilt 20

Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information according to OddsShark.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.