Independence Bowl First Look: Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa
A first look at the Independence Bowl matchup between the Virginia Tech Hokies and Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
The 2015 Camping World Independence Bowl will feature a matchup between the Virginia Tech Hokies and Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Camping World Independence Broadcast Info
Date: Saturday, December 26
Time: 5:45 pm ET
Network: ESPN
Venue: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
For old times’ sake, Frank Beamer is leading Virginia Tech into a postseason game one final time
It’s one for the road for the retiring Beamer, whose streak of consecutive bowl games reached 23 when his Hokies handled Virginia to get to 6-6. While it was a feel-good moment for Va Tech and its fans, it was also another stark reminder that the program needed to move in a new direction to recapture its old form as an ACC power. Enter Justin Fuente, who’ll succeed Beamer as soon as the bowl game ends. The former Memphis coach will inherit a team that has slipped considerably over the last four seasons, and needs a win in this bowl game to avoid a first losing campaign since 1992.
Nah, it wasn’t always pretty, but Tulsa is just thrilled to be back in the postseason
After a two-year hiatus, the Golden Hurricane is bowling again, becoming eligible with a win over Tulane on the final weekend of the regular season. Simply reaching .500 is an underrated step for first-year head coach Philip Montgomery, who inherited a team that won only five combined games in predecessor Bill Blankenship’s final two seasons. Montgomery’s wide-open, Baylor-inspired offense was an instant upgrade from a year ago, and helped to offset the generosity of a D yielding almost 39 points per game. Tulsa is 1-5 versus teams with winning record, so it’ll need to flip the script to finish above .500.
