Emerald City

Emerald Bowl

Miami vs. California

8 p.m., Dec. 27 (ESPN)


AT&T Park, San Francisco, Cal.

Why watch: Year 2
for the Miami Hurricanes under Randy Shannon was a significant step up from
Year 1. The Canes, who finished 5-7 a year ago, were on the verge of a berth in
the ACC championship game until a loss to Georgia Tech derailed those hopes.
But a win tonight could signal an impending breakthrough in Year 3 for Coach
Shannon and his troublemakers. That being said, a win against Cal won’t come
easy for the Canes. Cal tailback Jahvid Best ran for 1,394 yards and 13
touchdowns this season, and Miami’s young defense struggled to stop the run
down the stretch. Miami’s D has the talent and speed to stay with Best, and his
counterpart Shane Vereen, but the question remains, will they? This game will
be fun to watch. Both teams have a lot of speed and talent on both sides of the
ball. Plus, who doesn’t love watching football being played in a baseball
stadium?

Why not watch: If
you don’t like the running game, then this probably isn’t the game for you.
Both teams are heavily focused around the run, Cal especially. With Miami’s
starting QB, Robert Marve, suspended, expect them to focus on effectively
running the ball as well. Graig Cooper (778 yards, 4 TDs) will lead the attack
for the Canes while Best will be Cal’s go to guy.

Randomness: With the
move of the Insight Bowl from Chase Field to Sun Devil Stadium, the Emerald
Bowl was the only NCAA Division I bowl game held at a stadium used exclusively
by a professional baseball team for two years. However, with the 2008 start of
the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play -
this will bring the total of baseball stadia hosting football postseason games
to two.

 Pick: Cal 35, Miami
21