CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One particular invitee groused. A bowl named for, what, a line of muffler shops? A destination and a date, Dec. 27, way off the radar of college postseason prestige?

And that was just North Carolina's perspective.

"Yeah, we were [disappointed]. We were. We definitely wanted that Florida trip," said Tar Heels cornerback Kendric Burney, referring to the Orange Bowl for the Atlantic Coast Conference champion or the Gator for the next league team prized by Jacksonville bowl officials.

"We obviously had hoped for more," added linebacker Ryan Taylor. "I think every team goes into a season hoping for more. We kind of gave it up" with losses in two of their final three and three of their final five regular-season games, and two of those by a field goal or less.

Funny, but West Virginia is the Meineke Car Care Bowl invitee that seemingly has every reason to sound hacked off. Two of the previous three years, the Mountaineers were winning BCS games. Five consecutive years, they played into January. Those celebrated New Year's dates and glitzy venues and pampered bowl style had grown on them. Yet they aren't showing any discontent with a matchup today against North Carolina (8-4) inside Bank of America Stadium.

"Any bowl is big," offered West Virginia defensive tackle Scooter Berry. "Fifty-something teams didn't get here. It doesn't matter if it's a BCS bowl or not."

Of course, this from a guy wearing a Mountaineers letter jacket bearing on the right breast the inscription: Gator Bowl champions, Fiesta Bowl champions.

This from a guy refusing to accept the four cell calls placed recently by former Mountaineers defensive lineman Keilen Dykes, whom he knew was trying to give him grief about participating in what Dykes always labeled one of those Mickey Mouse bowls. "He texted me [Thursday], 'Oh, you aren't taking any of my phone calls?' " Berry said. "I replied, 'I ain't talking to you until after the game.' "

"You look at it, we were playing on Jan. 1 or 2, now we're playing on Dec. 27," Mountaineers linebacker Mortty Ivy added. "It [still] means so much to us because it's a bowl game."

"Last year, they beat up on Oklahoma; if I was in their shoes, I'd definitely be disappointed in the season they had," said Tar Heels quarterback T.J. Yates. "Same with us. We feel we should be in the Orange Bowl."

One aspect seems comparable to another of West Virginia's recent BCS jaunts: Much the same as playing Georgia in nearby Atlanta in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, there might be a house full of home fans today 140 miles from North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus. If nothing else, it should feel like home to the Tar Heels: 12 starters and 41 percent of the scholarship roster hail from the state.

Burney, from Jacksonville near the Outer Banks, said the home-state Tar Heels' initial disappointment was tempered when they began to comprehend the familiarity and proximity of this bowl.

"We sat down and realized, 'We're going to have another home football game,' " Burney said. "Our fans sold out 60,000 of the 73,000 capacity. It gives us a lot of motivation going into this game."

"I heard a criticism earlier that [the Mountaineers] wanted to make an example of us, that they deserved to be in a better bowl," Burney added. But exactly who said it? "One of the media guys told me that," he continued, beginning to doubt its accuracy. "But if it doesn't make it in the papers ..."

Having watched the Oklahoma tape, Burney doesn't need to read up on West Virginia's recent bowl successes. Of late, the postseason brings out the best in these Mountaineers. They compiled a three-game winning streak after a parched spell that saw them lose 11 of 12. They defeated No. 8 Georgia in its home-state, Georgia Tech not far from its home and No. 3 Oklahoma in a Fiesta vapor thickened by the departure of coach Rich Rodriguez barely a fortnight earlier.

In those games, the offense flourished with 502, 442 and 525 yards plus 38, 38 and 48 points.

It almost had to as the defense floundered, yielding 35, 35 and 28 points and a heaping pile of yardage.

That West Virginia defense figures to be undermanned, even undermined, today because of the absences of sturdy safety Sidney Glover and surging cornerback Brandon Hogan. Glover, fourth on the team in tackles, has been hobbled by a knee injury since his breakout Dec. 6 game against South Florida. Hogan, fifth in tackles and leading the team in pass breakups (seven) plus interceptions (three), has missed practices because of what coach Bill Stewart called a personal situation.

North Carolina's offense is also suffering, too. It isn't the same without receiver-returner Brandon Tate, who had a season-ending injury six games ago.

"He is unreal," Berry said. "We'd definitely have our hands full if he played. We're still going to have our hands full. But him being out of the game is definitely going to be a plus for us."

• Meineke Bowl Scouting report

Matchup: West Virginia (8-4, 5-2 Big East) vs. North Carolina (8-4, 4-4), 1 p.m. today, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. West Virginia is favored by 1 1/2.

TV/Radio: ESPN; WWVA-AM 1170 and Mountaineer Sports Network, along with MSNSports.net and Sirius Radio Channel 122.

North Carolina: Won their only previous meeting in 1997 Gator Bowl, 20-13. ... Tar Heels badly miss injured WR Brandon Tate, who averaged 164 all-purpose yards and nearly one touchdown per game through five games. ... Have three interceptions for TDs. ... LB Bruce Carter has five of the team's six blocked punts and kicks.

West Virginia: TBs Jock Sanders and Noel Devine expected to share work, though coach Bill Stewart said both remain in his doghouse. ... Defense likely to miss SS Sidney Glover and CB Brandon Hogan, who combined for 121 tackles, 13 pass breakups and four interceptions.

Hidden stat: Each lost three close games -- North Carolina by eight total points, West Virginia by 10.