South Carolina finished 6-6 in Will Muschamp’s first season, an improvement over last year’s 3-9 campaign.

This is the Gamecocks’ first bowl appearance since 2014, when they beat Miami in the Independence Bowl 24-21. That marked their seventh consecutive bowl, and fourth consecutive victory. Both streaks are the longest in program history.

The 11th annual Birmingham Bowl will be played at 2 p.m. on Dec. 29. The Gamecocks last played in the Birmingham Bowl after the 2009 season, when it was the PapaJohns.com Bowl; they lost 20-7 to Connecticut.

Here’s everything you need to know about South Florida:

South Florida’s season in review: The Bulls finished tied for first in the American Athletic Conference’s East Division with a 10-2 (7-1 in the AAC) record but lost the tiebreaker because it lost to Temple.

USF also lost to Florida State (55-35). It had two three-game winning streaks and closed the season with a four-game winning streak. Coach Willie Taggart is being mentioned for other job openings, most notably Oregon, and in the running for coach of the year awards after his first team in 2013 went 2-10. It’s the first 10-win season in program history.

What they do best: South Florida is 10th in the nation in total offense (515.1), and fifth in yards per play (7.29). The USF offense has a nation-leading streak of scoring at least 30 points in 16 games. The offense is nicknamed “9-to-5” because of the connection between quarterback Quinton Flowers and running back Marlon Mack. Flowers wears No. 9; Mack No. 5.

Mack is USF’s career rushing leader and owns 13 program records, including averaging 6.6 yards per carry in a season and game rushing record of 275 yards. He has 1,137 yards in 11 games this season.

USF’s best offensive player: Flowers had the greatest individual offensive season in South Florida history, and was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He finished the regular season ranked in the top 20 in the country in nine offensive categories, and set USF season records for total offense (3,976 yards), rushing yards (1,425), rushing touchdowns (15), total touchdowns (37) and 300-yard total offense games (eight).

Nov 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls quarterback Quinton Flowers (9) hands the ball off to South Florida Bulls running back Marlon Mack (5) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. South Florida Bulls defeated the UCF Knights 48-31. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

USF’s best defensive player: Linebacker Auggie Sanchez was third in the AAC with 108 tackles and six sacks. He was named to the second-team all-AAC. He was named the team’s defensive MVP after last season and was the top returning tackler in AAC. His 117 tackles last season were the most ever at USF.

USF’s bowl history: USF is 4-3 in bowl games after it made its first appearance in 2005. It played in this bowl game as the PapaJohns.com bowl in 2006, a 24-7 win over East Carolina. Its best bowl win came against Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in 2010, 31-26, when Skip Holtz was the coach. Taggart lost to his alma mater, Western Kentucky, last year in the Miami Beach Bowl 45-35.

Notable: USF is 1-5 against SEC teams. It won at Auburn 26-23 in overtime in 2007, when the Bulls reached No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll. It lost its only previous game against South Carolina 34-3 in Columbia in 2004. The Birmingham Bowl is one of 13 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN.