Bowl Blitz: Independence Bowl Ends Eras for Missouri, North Carolina

Use the hash-tag #BowlBlitz this postseason.

The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association was formed in 1907, would become the Big Six, then later the Big Eight and finally the Big 12 Conference. Through every change, Missouri was a member but the longtime league cornerstone’s membership expires Monday. Mizzou will play its final game as a Big 12 Conference program in the Independence Bowl, perhaps fittingly in the region of its new conference.

Awaiting the Tigers in Louisiana are the North Carolina Tar Heels, trying to duplicate the feat accomplished by their new head on Christmas Eve: win a bowl game. Larry Fedora accepted the UNC head coaching position vacated in August when Butch Davis was fired, and Fedora went out of Southern Miss a winner in the Hawaii Bowl. Defensive end Everett Withers assumed duties in the interim, and made the best of a bad situation.

Withers inherited an experienced team with a cloud of scandal hanging over it. The Tar Heels’ NCAA infractions were the big controversy du jour of Summer 2010, a quaint notion given what followed first at Miami and most recently, Penn State. The leader of some outstanding defenses in recent years, Withers did an admirable job as the head coach, reaching 5-1 at the season’s mid-point. It wouldn’t be unfair to speculate Withers may have been extended the gig full-time had the Tar Heels not finished the campaign on a 2-4 skid, which included a 13-0 loss at rival NC State.

Withers leaves one scandal-plagued program for another, but co-defensive coordinating Ohio State under Urban Meyer should prove a good career move. Before joining Meyers’ staff, Withers puts a punctuation on the Davis era, which regardless of how it ended was the program’s most successful run since Mack Brown left for Texas.

Closing the current chapters of their program’s history books with an exclamation is the goal Monday. Each team has proven itself capable of doing so even amid controversy. Carolina played with NCAA investigations into relationships between former coach John Blake, players and agents while Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel was arrested on DWI late in the season.

The two ended their regular seasons on opposite trajectories. MU struggled out of the gate with losses to Arizona State, Oklahoma and Kansas State by a combined 24 points. Dropping close contests early toughened up the Tigers for the home stretch though — their final four victories over Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas were by a combined 37 points.

Both teams played their share of fiercely contested games, combining for 10 single digit-point decisions, five apiece. Both went 2-3 in such affairs.

UNC excels containing opposing offenses. When giving up 24 or more points, UNC’s record was 1-4. The sole win was a 49-24 rout of Wake Forest, coincidentally the Tar Heels’ highest point output of the season. In the other six UNC wins, opponents’ combined point total was 97 for just over 16 points per game.

UNC’s defensive prowess began with its ability to contain the rush. The Heels ranked No. 14 nationally containing opponents on the ground, allowing just 106.2 yards per game. Linebacker Zach Brown has been excellent sniffing out ball carriers. His 91 tackles were 24 more than the most prolific Heel tackler, and 11.5 of them were for a loss.

Brown is a do-everything defender, ranking second on the team in sacks, interceptions and passes deflected. UNC dominated last spring’s NFL Draft with nine selections, five of which were defensive. Brown will join the Carolina corps playing on Sundays, but Quinton Coples is likely to be the first Heel selected in 2012.

Coples’ production came into question through the season’s first half, but he finished on a torrid pace. Three of his 7.5 sacks came in the final three weeks, and he led UNC with 13 tackles for loss. He’ll provide much needed pressure at the point of attack against Missouri’s stout offensive line.

MU did an adequate job protecting quarterback James Franklin, giving up 18 sacks on the season. More significant though are the 2835 rushing yards the line paved the way for, 11th most in the FBS. MU lost running back Henry Josey to a “one-in-a-million” injury in the season’s final month, however, dealing a significant blow to the Tigers’ rushing attack. Josey was among the nation’s top rushers when he went down vs. Texas at 1168 yards on just 145 carries.

His absence leaves Franklin as the Tigers’ top rusher, with Kendial Lawrence assuming feature back duties. In the two games played without Josey, MU accrued 310 and 171 yards against Texas Tech and Kansas rush defenses that ranked Nos. 120 and 117 — not exactly the best barometers for an offense.

UNC could theoretically give up yards without surrendering points. However, a bend-but-don’t-break approach isn’t likely to benefit UNC against the Tiger offense. MU converted 88 percent of its red zone opportunities into points, ranking No. 21 among the FBS. It isn’t necessarily sexy, but MU is effective in putting up points. The Tigers averaged a healthy 32.2 per game. Carolina managed 28.3, but as noted is not a team that wants to get into a shootout.

The UNC offense was built with youth at its foundation. Gio Bernard had an outstanding freshman campaign, surpassing 1200 yards. Quarterback Bryn Renner had flashes of brilliance and a remarkably consistent 68.8 percent on his attempts. Aiding that efficiency tremendously is Dwight Jones, one of the best wide receivers in the collegiate game despite his lack of national attention. Jones hauled in 79 pass for over 1100 yards, and accounted for nearly half (11) of Renner’s 23 scoring strikes.

E.J. Gaines could draw the Jones assignment, though it will be interesting to see how often MU counters with double teams or blitzes on Renner. Defensive coordinator Dave Steckel has capable pass rushers, courtesy of a stacked front seven including linebackers Andrew Wilson and Luke Lambert, and linemen Jacquies Smith, Brad Madison and Dominic Hamilton.