2015 Russell Athletic Bowl Explained

Game Name:Russell Athletic Bowl
Subheader:26th Russell Athletic Bowl
Date Game Played:December 29
Year Game Played:2015
Football Season:2015
Stadium:Orlando Citrus Bowl
City:Orlando, Florida
Visitor School:University of North Carolina
Visitor Name Short:North Carolina
Visitor Nickname:Tar Heels
Visitor Record:11–2
Visitor Conference:ACC
Visitor Rank Ap:10
Visitor Rank Coaches:11
Visitor Rank Cfp:10
Visitor Coach:Larry Fedora
Visitor 1Q:7
Visitor 2Q:10
Visitor 3Q:14
Visitor 4Q:7
Home School:Baylor University
Home Name Short:Baylor
Home Nickname:Bears
Home Record:9–3
Home Conference:Big 12
Home Rank Ap:18
Home Rank Coaches:19
Home Rank Cfp:17
Home Coach:Art Briles
Home 1Q:14
Home 2Q:14
Home 3Q:14
Home 4Q:7
Odds:Baylor by 3[1]
Referee:John O'Neill (Big Ten)
Attendance:40,418
Payout:TBD
Us Network:ESPN/ESPN Radio
Us Announcers:Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, & Dr. Jerry Punch (ESPN)
Bill Rosinski, David Norrie, & Joe Schad (ESPN Radio)

The 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 29, 2015, at the Orlando Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The 26th edition of the Russell Athletic Bowl featured the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Conference. It began at 5:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The game's naming rights sponsor was the Russell Athletic uniform company.[2]

Teams

The game featured the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Baylor Bears.

North Carolina Tar Heels

See also: 2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team. After finishing their season 11–2, the Tar Heels accepted their invitation to play in the game.[3]

This was the Tar Heels' second Russell Athletic Bowl; they had previously won the 1995 Carquest Bowl, defeating Arkansas by a score of 20–10.

Baylor Bears

See also: 2015 Baylor Bears football team. After finishing their season 9–3, the Bears accepted their invitation to play in the game.[4]

Game summary

The Bears set an all-time bowl game record with 645 total rushing yards.[5]

Statistics

Statistics UNC BU
First Downs 28 38
Total offense, plays – yards 73–487 103–756
Rushes-yards (net) 36–244 84–645
Passing yards (net) 243 111
Passes, Comp-Att-Int 22–36–1 10–18–1
Time of Possession 22:54 37:06

Notes and References

  1. Odds, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2015
  2. Web site: North Carolina To Face Baylor In The 26th Annual Russell Athletic Bowl . . December 6, 2015 . December 6, 2015.
  3. Web site: Carolina To Face Baylor In Russell Athletic Bowl . . GoHeels.com . December 6, 2015 . December 6, 2015.
  4. Web site: Football Accepts Russell Athletic Bowl Invitation . . BaylorBears.com . December 6, 2015 . December 6, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151208021906/http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120615aaa.html . December 8, 2015 . dead .
  5. Web site: Baylor sets all-time bowl rushing record vs. UNC . December 29, 2015 .