| 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]
The game featured the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Baylor Bears.
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.
See also: 2015 Baylor Bears football team. After finishing their season 9–3, the Bears accepted their invitation to play in the game.[4]
The Bears set an all-time bowl game record with 645 total rushing yards.[5]
| 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 |