2015 Independence Bowl, Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa: Date, time, location and more

The stage is set for the 40th Independence Bowl, once again pitting the SEC against the ACC in a game that the SEC has historically dominated. In 17 appearances in the game, the SEC is 14-3, while the ACC is 2-4-1 in seven appearances.

The Independence Bowl takes its name because it was founded during the country’s bicentennial year in 1976 when it was without a sponsor. It wasn’t until 14 years later when it had its first sponsor, Poulan, and there were another four sponsorships before Duck Commander took over as the title sponsor in 2014.

Duck Commander, founded by former Louisiana Tech quarterback Phil Robertson, was made famous by the reality show Duck Dynasty. The new sponsor, however, is Camping World.

Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s Independence Bowl:

Date and time: Saturday, Dec. 26, 5:45 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Shreveport, La.

Stadium: Independence Stadium, 65,000

Last year’s score: South Carolina 24, Miami (FL) 21

Last year’s attendance: 38,242

Last year’s TV rating: 2.5

Last year’s payout for each school: $1.2 million

Team with the most all-time appearances: Ole Miss, 5

Team with the most all-time wins: Ole Miss, 4

After a three-year drought, Tulsa has returned to the postseason.

The Golden Hurricane didn’t have a banner year, but its 6-6 mark -- which capitalized on a weak schedule that featured 3-9 Tulane, 2-10 SMU, 2-11 Louisiana-Monroe and 0-12 Central Florida -- was good enough to earn a bowl bid in 2015. Strong-armed QB Dane Evans led a stout offense that averaged nearly 36 points per game and ensured that Tulsa was never boring. He threw for more than 300 yards in eight Golden Hurricane games this season and commanded the nation’s 12th-ranked passing offense.

Evans kept his team alive when its defense could not. Only seven FBS teams allowed more points per game than Tulsa’s 38.6, which turned most Golden Hurricane contests into shootouts. They held their opponents to under 30 points only twice this season and gave up 52 points to Oklahoma and 66 to Memphis in a pair of blowout losses. When matched up against powerful offenses, their defense tends to just get out of the way and hope Evans can fix everything.

Last bowl game: 2012 Liberty Bowl (31-17 win over Iowa State)

All-time bowl record: 9-10

Head coach’s bowl record: This is Philip Montgomery’s first bowl appearance.

The obvious story of Virginia Tech’s 2015 season is the final farewell for Frank Beamer. Beamer will be coaching his final game in the Hokies’ bowl game, their 23rd straight bowl appearance of his 25-year tenure in Blacksburg. Tech has already found Beamer’s replacement in Memphis head coach Justin Fuente, but Frank has one more game at the helm before handing things over.

On the field, the Hokies are what they’ve been for the last several years: A strong defense and a struggling offense. Virginia Tech allowed just over 24 points per game and 5.4 yards per play this year, which isn’t amazing, but isn’t bad by any stretch. The advanced metrics smiled on the Hokies more brightly though, where they graded out at 28th in defensive S&P+. But on offense, things remained somewhat stagnant. They were 82nd in offensive S&P+, and averaged 29 points per game.

Virginia Tech does have weapons on offense, though. Running back Travon McMillian (961 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and five touchdowns) and wide receiver Isaiah Ford (63 catches for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns) can both hurt you if you’re not careful.

Last bowl game: 2014 Military Bowl (33-17 win over Cincinnati)

All-time bowl record: 11-17

Head coach’s bowl record: Frank Beamer is 10-12 in bowl games all-time, all of which came with Virginia Tech.