The Beamer Bowl Era has come full circle. Beamer's first bowl game came in 1993 in Shreveport, where the Hokies beat Indiana 45-23 in the Independence Bowl. For his final bowl game, he's headed back to Shreveport to take on Tulsa in the Camping World Independence Bowl.
This year's game will be played on Saturday, December 26 at 5:45pm. ESPN will carry the game.
This year's Indepdence Bowl features a pair of 6-6 teams who qualified for a bowl game in the final week of the regular season. The Hokies knocked off in-state rival UVA 23-20, while Tulsa defeated Tulane 45-34 in New Orleans.
Here's a look at Tulsa's regular season results, with each opponent's record in parentheses...
47-44 W vs. Florida Atlantic (3-9)
40-21 W at New Mexico (7-5)
52-38 L at Oklahoma (11-1)
38-24 L vs. Houston (12-1)
34-24 W vs. Louisiana-Monroe (2-11)
30-17 L at East Carolina (5-7)
66-42 L vs. Memphis (9-3)
40-31 W at SMU (2-10)
45-30 W vs. UCF (0-12)
49-38 L at Cincinnati (7-5)
44-21 L vs. Navy (9-2)
45-34 W at Tulane (3-9)
The overall record of teams that Tulsa beat is 17-56, and they beat just one team with a winning record. However, the overall record of the teams they lost to is 51-19. They played some very good teams, such as Oklahoma, Houston, Memphis and Navy.
Obviously the Golden Hurricane can put up some points. They averaged 35.9 points and 502.8 yards per game. However, their efficiency numbers aren't quite as good. They rank #51 nationally in S&P+ offense.
Defensively, Tulsa surrendered 38.6 points and 531.5 yards per game. They rank #115 (out of 128) in S&P+ defense, so the Hokies will have an opportunity to move the ball and score some points.
For ticket information, see HokieTickets.com. We'll have more on this matchup in the coming days.