Missouri to the Independence Bowl: A Guide to the Matchup vs. North Carolina

The Missouri Tigers (7-5) will be playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., against the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5).

It's certainly not an ideal bowl game for the Tigers, who got no favors from the Big 12 conference they will be leaving before next season.

But a game is a game, and the Tigers need to make sure they are prepared to win.

With that being said, let's take a look at some of the important bowl information for the December 26 game.

Game Information

Date: December 26

Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern

TV: ESPN2

Payout: $2.3 million

Missouri's Strength

The Tigers can run the ball with the best of them.

Missouri is currently 12th in the nation in rushing, with 235.7 yards per game.

They lost Henry Josey to a devastating knee injury, but backup Kendial Lawrence has filled in nicely in Josey's absence.

Quarterback James Franklin is also a talented runner, with 839 rushing yards on the season.

The Tar Heels have to stop the run if they want to stop Mizzou.

North Carolina's Strength

The Tar Heels have a very balanced offense.

Running back Giovani Bernard has more than 1,200 yards rushing and quarterback Bryn Renner has more than 2,700 passing yards.

They can beat you in a variety of ways, so the Missouri defense will have to be prepared for anything.

Missouri's Weakness

The Tigers have a pretty good defense, but they are susceptible to the pass.

When they face good quarterbacks and high-powered offenses, they tend to give up a lot of passing yards.

When they face a team that tries to run the football to win games, they are much better off than they are against pass-happy teams.

North Carolina's Weakness

The Tar Heels aren't very deep at the wide receiver position behind Dwight Jones.

If he doesn't get going, Bryn Renner and the offense could find it hard to score points.

Missouri is good at stuffing the run, so if this game turns into a game where the Tar Heels need to pass the ball, they need to get it to Jones.

Otherwise, they'll find it hard to get first downs and stay in the game.

Missouri's Key Player

As James Franklin goes, so go the Missouri Tigers.

Franklin is the most important player on offense, with his ability to run and throw the ball.

If he can get hot in the passing game, there's no way the Tar Heels will be able to stop the Tigers.

If he struggles like he did in the first half against Kansas, it could end up being a long day for Mizzou.

North Carolina's Key Player

As stated before, the Tigers don't have the best pass defense.

That means Bryn Renner is going to need to have a big game throwing the football if the Tar Heels are going to pull off the upset.

He'll need to get star receiver Dwight Jones involved in the offense early and often.

If he can do that, the Tigers secondary might not be able to contain the Tar Heel offense.

How Missouri Got Here

The Tigers got shafted by the Big 12 in the bowl selection process.

That's not too surprising, considering the team is fleeing the Big 12 for the SEC next year.

The Independence Bowl was really the only option for the Tigers after Iowa State went to the Pinstripe Bowl, despite getting demolished by the Tigers in the regular season.

How North Carolina Got Here

North Carolina is in a bowl game in large part because of a weak ACC schedule.

The Tar Heels played three ranked teams this year and lost to all three.

They did beat two Big East teams (Rutgers and Louisville) that are bowl-bound, but the Big East doesn't exactly provide schedule-boosting wins.

A very mediocre season for North Carolina has them fittingly ending up in a very mediocre bowl game.

Prediction: Missouri 31, North Carolina 20

In the end, Mizzou's rushing attack and tough run defense will prove to be too much for the Tar Heels.

James Franklin will have a good game, throwing for a touchdown and running for a couple more.

As long as he doesn't throw more than one interception and holds onto the football, the Tigers will win the 2011 Independence Bowl.