By Paul Derrick (@sportingpuma)

2011 Independence Bowl: Missouri Tigers vs North Carolina Tar Heels

I live in Houston so a trip to Shreveport and the Independence Bowl is about 4 hours for me. I left Houston around 9 in the morning as I still had to stop by the media hotel and pick up my credential as well as my parking pass. The drive isn’t too bad as it is pretty much a straight shot up US 59 to I-20 then over to Shreveport from Houston. I made it to the media hotel just after 1 and with the game not starting till 4 I had plenty of time to stroll around the Louisiana Boardwalk. Unfortunately it was pretty chilly and a light to steady rain was constantly coming down so I decided to go ahead and just head to the stadium after a short stroll along the Boardwalk.

I made my way to the stadium and luckily since I was still pretty early there wasn’t a whole lot of traffic and I made it to my assigned parking lot with ease. This was my 2^nd trip to the Independence Bowl as I also attended last years snooze fest of a game between Georgia Tech and Air Force. Independence Stadium was built back in 1925 and definitely shows its age. The concessions are quite plenty but don’t expect anything too extravagant. They have all your basic options like hot dogs, nachos, popcorn etc, as well as a couple of my favorites like frito pies and sausages on a stick. Beer can also be had for 6 bucks a can, which isn’t bad for a bowl game.

The Stadium like I mentioned earlier isn’t the nicest bowl stadium as it is quickly showing its age. The press elevator was ancient, slow and had troubles from time to time. I can definitely say there are nothing worse then the possibility of getting stuck in an elevator. The press box I thought was overly crowded and very small and outdated. The media food was nothing spectacular just ordered pizza but then again your not there for the media food.  

I walked down to the field to watch the first half of the game which was what I thought was going to be an entertaining game as UNC quickly struck first with a 22 yard pass from quarterback Bryn Renner to wide receiver Dwight Jones. Carolina though couldn’t stop Mizzou quarterback James Franklin though 31 unanswered points though before the Heels hit a field goal at the end of the half. It was never much of a game as Missouri continued to run the ball down UNC’s throat and the Heels had no running game at all finishing with only 36 yards on the ground. Missouri definitely has a young team as they make their way to the SEC next year and I do believe they will be a viable contender as they sent interim coach Everett Withers out of UNC on a sour note.

Overall the Independence Bowl is a decent venue nothing spectacular but a decent place to watch a bowl game. The “paid” attendance was stated to be 41,728 which was off the actual attendance which I believe to be closer to around 30,000. I will probably make the venture back next year though and hopefully will see a better game in somewhat better weather.

Price of ticket: ranged from 25 to 35 bucks

Food: Meal at the Stadium would range from 8 to 15 bucks

Parking: Ranged from 10 to 20 bucks

Gas: $35

Miles: 481 miles

Drive Time: 8 hours

The Chick-fil-A Bowl was played in front of 72,919 fans, the 15th straight sellout for the bowl. The crowd was loud, but since both the Auburn Tigers and the Virginia Cavaliers wear the same colors, it was hard to distinguish which team had the most fans in attendance.

The game itself was an intriguing matchup of a young, but talented, Auburn team versus a methodical, veteran Virginia squad. However the game was ultimately decided on special teams plays.

While Auburn was able to use a strong performance by their kicker to consistently make Virginia begin possessions deep in their own territory, Virginia made mistake after mistake on special teams that put gave Auburn points, and ultimately the win.

Virginia began the game looking like the stronger team, and quickly found themselves in the lead when they went 64 yards on just five plays for a touchdown on a balanced drive that saw both running and passing plays go over 20 yards each on their second offensive series.

Virginia immediately made their first special teams mistake by kicking the ball out of bounds on the resulting kickoff, giving Auburn great field position.

The Cavaliers were able to once again stymie the Auburn drive but then made another huge special teams mistake when their own offensive drive ended by allowing Auburn to block the punt and recover at the Virginia 15 yard line.

The Tigers took advantage and scored in just two plays, capped off with a three yard rush by Kiehl Frazier.

The Cavaliers were only able to hold onto the ball for two plays before running back Perry Jones fumbled the ball on a nice play by the games defensive MVP, Chris Davis, and Ryan Smith recovered the ball for Auburn.

While Auburn would miss a field goal attempt on the drive, the errors by Virginia were keeping Auburn in the game until they could get their offense in rhythm.

Virginia took over at their own 27 yard line and drove for the go ahead touchdown in 10 plays, finishing with a six yard reception by Kris Burd.

Auburn was determined to start producing on offense as they gained 60 yards on their first play when running back Onterio McCalebb, the games offensive MVP scampered down the left side line for the big gain. A few plays later McCalebb ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to once again tie the score, this time 14-14 after the extra point.

Auburn again showed that their special teams were superior by executing a beautiful onside kick that was recovered by their own kicker, Cody Parkey. The momentum to Auburn and the game really changed at this point and Auburn again scored a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead.

Virginia countered with a promising drive that had plays that included a 17 yard run and passing plays of 11, 16 and 17 yards. However the drive stalled at the Auburn 15 yard line and the Cavaliers lined up to attempt and short field goal. Instead, the play was a fake but the intended receiver tripped and Virginia was stopped short so Auburn took over at their own 12 yard line.

The Tigers again took advantage of the Virginia special teams mistake and took just 3:32 to drive 88 yards for another touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 28 yard pass from Barrett Trotter to McCalebb and the touchdown play was a 25 yard pass from Trotter to McCalebb.

Virginia did add a field goal on the last play of the half to make the score 28-17, but as the teams went to the locker room, you could easily see that momentum and confidence were fully with Auburn at this point.

When the second half began, Auburn stalled on their first offensive possession, but a great punt pinned the Cavaliers on their own six yard line. A third down sack saw Virginia barely avoid giving up a safety when quarterback Michael Rocco was tackled at the one yard line. However another special teams mistake did lead to a safety for Auburn when Angelo Blackson blocked the Virginia punt out of the end zone. This gave Auburn a 37-24 lead and the ball.

Auburn returned the free kick 62 yards to the Virginia 15 yard line but had some trouble moving the ball on this possession. The Tigers were also called for a personal foul penalty which made for a long field goal attempt but Parkey was again able to convert to extend the Auburn lead to 40-24.

From here to the end of the game, Auburn just tried to melt away the clock every time they were on offense, adding a field goal on their next drive and holding the ball for the final 6:57 of the game on their final offensive drive.

While most fans concentrate on offensive and defensive stats, this game showed how special teams often are the deciding factor for who wins a fairly evenly matched game. Auburn showed that they were the dominate team when it mattered and they went home victorious because if it.

In fact, Virginia head coach Mike London was so embarrassed by his special teams play that he apologized to the fans saying “thanks to the fans even though it was ugly and thanks to them for traveling.” London went on to say that special teams was “one part of the game and it’s my responsibility to make sure we play all facets of the game well. We didn’t execute like we needed to. We gave up the inches that we couldn’t afford to.”

Meanwhile, Auburn head coach, Gene Chizik said the team was “just thrilled to play in the game. Proud of the players and coaches. We played a really good game tonight. We beat a really good football team tonight.”

Seated beside me was Lyn Scarbrough from Lindy’s Sports and he was nice enough to spend the evening talking to me. I also had time to talk to Kristi Dosh and Chadd Scott for a few moments. Bryan Fischer and Spencer Hall were here but I didn’t get to meet either of them.

I have a different style of game recap that should be coming out on National Football Authority so I put together a more dry version for here.

Side Note: I managed to get a parachuting cow for my wife.

Game recap:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl was played in front of 72,919 fans, the 15^th straight sellout for the bowl. The crowd was loud, but since both the Auburn Tigers and the Virginia Cavaliers wear the same colors, it was hard to distinguish which team had the most fans in attendance.

The game itself was an intriguing matchup of a young, but talented, Auburn team versus a methodical, veteran Virginia squad. However the game was ultimately decided on special teams plays.

Virginia received the open kickoff and went 34 yards on nine plays before punting the ball to Auburn, tackling the Auburn returner at the seven yard line.

Auburn looked tentative on their first possession and was unable to convert for a first down. The Tigers immediately punted the ball back to Virginia after just three plays.

The Cavaliers quickly went 64 yards on just five plays for a touchdown on a balanced drive that saw both running and passing plays go over 20 yards each.

Auburn again floundered on offense with a four play, 12 yard drive that lasted just 56 seconds before they again punted the ball back to Virginia. The Tigers also lost starting quarterback Clint Moseley on the last play of the drive and the game was starting to look like it was getting away from the Tigers.

This time Virginia had a little more trouble moving the ball, only gaining 11 yards on six plays. Garrett Harper then blocked the punt for Auburn and the Tigers took over at the Virginia 15 yard line, in great position to tie the score.

Auburn did just that with a quick two play drive, capped off with a three yard rush by Kiehl Frazier.

The Cavaliers were only able to hold onto the ball for two plays before running back Perry Jones fumbled the ball on a nice play by the games defensive MVP, Chris Davis, and Ryan Smith recovered the ball for Auburn.

The Tigers had a little more trouble moving the ball on this possession, only gaining five yards on the drive and ending with no points after kicker Cody Parkey missed from 44 yards out.

Virginia took over at their own 27 yard line and drove for the go ahead touchdown in 10 plays, finishing with a six yard reception by Kris Burd.

Auburn was determined to not let Virginia pull away as they gained 60 yards on their first play when running back Onterio McCalebb, the games offensive MVP scampered down the left side line for the big gain. A few plays later McCalebb ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to once again tie the score, this time 14-14 after the extra point.

Auburn again used special teams to keep momentum on their side by executing a beautiful onside kick that was recovered by their own kicker, Parkey.

By the Tigers maintaining possession of the ball, the Virginia defense seemed to lose their energy and Auburn drove 59 yards in just 5 plays for another touchdown on a one yard run by Frazier.

Virginia countered with a promising drive that had plays that included a 17 yard run and passing plays of 11, 16 and 17 yards. However the drive stalled at the Auburn 15 yard line and the Cavaliers lined up to attempt and short field goal. Instead, the play was a fake but the intended receiver tripped and Virginia was stopped short so Auburn took over at their own 12 yard line.

The Tigers again took advantage of the Virginia special teams mistake and took just 3:32 to drive 88 yards for another touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 28 yard pass from Barrett Trotter to McCalebb and the touchdown play was a 25 yard pass from Trotter to McCalebb.

With just 54 seconds before halftime, Virginia managed to get off six plays, including passes of 25 and 29 yards, allowing kicker Robert Randolph time to kick a 24 yard field goal to end the half and cut the Auburn lead to 28-17.

Auburn received the second half kickoff and drove 80 yards on nine plays that finished on a 22 yard touchdown run by Tre Mason.

Virginia countered with a touchdown drive of their own when running back Kevin Parks scored from a yard out with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

Auburn took over at their own 25 yard line to begin their next possession, but was stopped after five plays and punted the ball back to Virginia.

The Cavaliers took over on their own six yard line, and barely avoided giving up a safety when quarterback Michael Rocco was sacked at the one yard line. However another special teams mistake did lead to a safety for Auburn when Angelo Blackson blocked the Virginia punt out of the end zone. This gave Auburn a 37-24 lead, the ball and momentum.

Auburn returned the free kick 62 yards to the Virginia 15 yard line but had some trouble moving the ball on this possession. The Tigers were also called for a personal foul penalty which made for a long field goal attempt but Parkey was again able to convert to extend the Auburn lead to 40-24.

Virginia worked a nice eight play drive but it finally ended on an incomplete fourth down pass and Auburn took over at their own 33 yard line.

The tigers moved the ball 47 yards on eight plays and were aided by a 15 yard personal foul penalty on a late hit by Virginia. Parkey added another field goal to make the score 43-24 in favor of Auburn.

Virginia unsuccessfully tried to score once more when Rocco was intercepted by Auburn with just 6:57 left in the game.

Auburn finished out the game with a clock eating, ball control possession that saw them kneel on the ball at the Virginia four yard line, then celebrate the victory by dancing with fans and catching parachuting stuffed Chick-fil-A cows.

At some point I received more gifts from the Chick-fil-A Bowl, including a book, a water bottle and a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich.

I’m about to head to the game where I am sure to provide game updates on twitter.

I made it to Atlanta and picked up my credential with 10 minutes to spare. The bowl gift was a wireless Chick-fil-A Bowl branded mouse, which was handy because when I made it to my room, I found the batteries on my mouse dead.

Getting checked into the hotel was an ordeal as I am not familiar with standard procedure at these types of hotels. To be honest, every other hotel I stayed in on this trip cost less than $37 so the bellmen and the valet parking was quite the shock.

Once I got everything up to my room I settled in for about 30 minutes and got the Champs Sports Bowl videos uploaded and posted. Then I got ready for the Atlanta Hawks game and went over to the media party.

The food was excellent and I tried some sort of beer called Sweet Water. It was alright but not something I could drink a six-pack of.

I’m not a huge fan of basketball and didn’t watch the game real intently. I spend most of the second half of the game talking to one of the bowl workers, Patrick, about the bowl, it’s history and how it is run.

I learned a lot of information, including the fact that the Chick-fil-A Bowl only has 11 full time employees. They have over 250 volunteers who meet twice a month beginning in September to prepare for the game.

That is quite different from the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl who told me last year that they operate with just three full time employees and only have one, two hour volunteer meeting the week prior to the game.

Overall it was a good day and I got to experience my first ever NBA game.

Now leaving for Atlanta to pick up my credential, check into my hotel and then attend the Atlanta Hawks game.

Post game interviews are edited and will be uploaded when I get to Atlanta, along with my photos from the Champs Sports Bowl.