Both Vanderbilt and N.C. State are coming off of upset wins over in-state rivals that clinched their bowl eligibility.

The Tennessee win was part of a strong finish for Vanderbilt, which won four of its last six games. The Wolfpack finished 6-6 and fourth in the Atlantic Division of the ACC.

Here’s a look at how they match up for the Independence Bowl at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 26, on ESPN2.

When Vanderbilt has the ball

Kyle Shurmur vs. N.C. State pass defense: The Vanderbilt quarterback finished the season with a flourish with 1,162 passing yards in his last four games, a large chunk of his 2,251 yards for the season. A slow start might be an understatement: In his first eight games,  Shurmur twice threw for less than 90 yards and went above 150 just once. The Wolfpack were near the bottom of the ACC in pass defense, allowing 251 yards per game. In five games, N.C. State allowed at least 286 passing yards, and it lost all of those contests.

Edge: Vanderbilt

Ralph Webb vs. run defense: Vanderbilt’s career rushing leader is one half of the marquee matchup of this game. He goes up against the Wolfpack’s strong rush defense, which was fifth nationally during the regular season. Webb ran for nearly 100 yards per game and will look to extend his consecutive start streak to 37 games. Webb finished the regular season with 1,172 rushing yards, the second highest single-season total in team history. Webb — along with Shurmur — will need to be aware of defensive lineman Bradley Chubb (a cousin of Georgia’s Nick Chubb), who was third in the ACC in tackles for a loss with 20.5 and fifth in sacks with nine. He had at least two sacks in three games, including three against Notre Dame.

Edge: N.C. State

Trent Sherfield/C.J. Duncan/Kalija Lipscomb vs. pass defense: The Vanderbilt receivers improved as the season went along, but these top three pass-catchers only combined for three touchdowns. Sherfield, though, had a banner game against Tennessee with nine catches for 184 yards, by far his best performance of the season. Safety Josh Jones has two interceptions, and he has expressed interest in measuring his NFL Draft stock. Josh Tocho also notched two picks during the season. The Wolfpack have been known to give up big plays in the passing game, and that could be a point of focus for Vanderbilt if the running game stalls against the tough N.C. State defensive line.

Edge: Vanderbilt

When N.C. State has the ball

Ryan Finley vs. Vanderbilt pass defense: Finley had four 300-yard passing games and finished with 15 touchdowns, eight interceptions and 2,820 passing yards. He was 25-for-41 for 340 yards and a touchdown against Florida State. Vanderbilt’s pass defense was exposed to the tune of 17 touchdowns and only five interceptions, and was 11th in the SEC at 245 yards per game.

Edge: N.C. State

Matt Dayes vs. run defense: Dayes had eight 100-yard rushing games, including 104 against North Carolina despite missing the week of practice with ankle and knee injuries. He missed about half the season last year with a toe injury, but came back with 138 yards in the first game this season. He was third in the ACC in rushing behind Dalvin Cook and Lamar Jackson.

The Wolfpack like to run the ball, which was evident in five games with at least 41 rushing attempts, including three that topped 50, all wins — over William & Mary, Notre Dame and North Carolina. Dayes ran for 1,119 yards and was the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher since in 2002.

Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham led a rushing defense that was sixth in the SEC at 165 yards allowed per game. It held four opponents, including Ole Miss, Florida and Georgia, under 100 yards rushing. Cunningham will look to duplicate performances he had in the win at Georgia and the loss against Auburn, in which he stopped a fourth-down play and blocked a field goal attempt. His 119 tackles led the SEC in the regular season. He’s the first Vanderbilt player to record 100 tackles in consecutive seasons since 2000.

Edge: Vanderbilt

Jaylen Samuels/Stephen Louis/Kelvin Harmon vs. pass defense: Harmon led the team with five touchdowns, but had four games with one catch or none. Samuels, listed as a tight end, is equally a threat in the passing game and running the ball, and is the Pack’s most versatile offensive weapon. He rushed 87 times and scored 15 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He also caught 11 touchdown passes in that span and added a touchdown pass this season. Louis is the most consistent receiver with three 100-yard games and seven games with at least three catches. The Vanderbilt defense allowed two passing touchdowns in each of its last three games, and allowed at least 273 passing yards in each of those games. Overall, the Commodores yielded at least two TDs in seven games.

Edge: N.C. State

Special teams

Vanderbilt’s Darrius Sims owns the school record with 2,414 career kick-return yards. His 28.2-yard average as a senior topped all SEC kick returners, and was the highest season average by a Commodore since 1957. Nyheim Hines for N.C. State averaged 22 yards per kickoff return.

Vanderbilt punter Sam Loy averaged 41.2 yards per punt, which was ninth in the SEC, while N.C. State punter A.J. Cole III was ninth in the ACC at 41.6 yards per punt.

Vanderbilt’s kicker, Tommy Openshaw, made 14 of 17 field goal attempts, including three in the Auburn loss.

Edge: Vanderbilt