Emerald Bowl Preview

Emerald Bowl
Miami vs California
Saturday, December 27, 8:00
on ESPN
AT&T Park - San Fransisco

Why you should watch:

• A Saturday night bowl game featuring the U
  
• A Pac 10 vs ACC game
  
• No bowl games until Monday
  

Why you shouldn't watch:

• Really these teams are questionable bowl teams
  
• Not a whole lot of excitement in this one
  

Streaks and Scheduling Notes:
Miami:

• 7-5 (4-4)
  
• 9th bowl game in the last 10 years (6-2)
  
• Lost 2 straight (had won 5 in a row prior to that
  
• 3-3 away from home this season
  

California:

• 8-4 (6-3)
  
• 6th straight bowl game (4-1); won their last 3
  
• Won 4 of their last 6
  
• 1-4 away from home this season
  

Key Stats, Figures, and Players:
Miami:

• Offensively this team is not very good. They are below average in everything.
  
• Defensively they are very good against the pass allowing only 169 yards per game.
  
• QB Jacory Harris gets the start and will play the whole game after the suspension of Robert Marve for this game. Harris is a dual threat quarterback who can play.
• RB's Graig Cooper and Javarris James have combined for 1.061 yards and 8 touchdowns this season.
  

California:

• Offensively they like to run the ball. They average about 184 yards per game on the ground.
  
• Defensively they are a solid team. Their pass efficiency defense is 5th in the country.
  
• RB Jahvid Best is the leading rushing with 1,394 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averages a disgusting 8 yards per carry.
  
• LB Zack Follett is a defensive force. From the linebacker position he has 8 sacks to lead the team. He also has 19 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 passes broken up.
  

Who Wins:

California....With Marve suspended and Harris taking all the snaps I think the game will actually be a close one. But Cal has been the better team all season and with Miami traveling all the way out to San Fran I think the Bears have a great advantage.