California vs. Miami

                                                                                         

Golden Bears -8 vs. Hurricanes

Miami was flying high and ranked for the first time in a number of years as they won their fifth in a row over Virginia Tech on November 13. With a 7-3 record and two games remaining, the Hurricanes were looking for possibly a New Years Day bowl game. Perhaps they were looking too hard because they dropped their final two games to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State, both on the road, by an average of nearly 15 points. Miami finished 7-5 and is headed to the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco to take on the California Golden Bears on December 27.

Meanwhile, at 6-4, California's season looked in peril prior to their final two games of the season. They had lost any shot at the PAC-10 title and were facing opponents whose seasons could be defined by an upset of the Bears. But Cal crushed their final two opponents, Stanford and Washington, by an average of 31 points to finish at 8-4 and be allowed the ability to take the short trip to San Francisco for their sixth straight postseason appearance.

Jahvid Best was vital to the Bears throttling of their Pac-10 opponents by rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-16 win against the Cardinal. If that performance was not enough the sophomore running back set a school record in the final game of the season with 311 rushing yards and four scores to help the Beats whip the Huskies 48-7.

With its proximity to Berkeley, this game will have the look and feel of a Cal home game, which is a distinct advantage for the Bears who won all seven of their home games this year. Miami was a so-so 3-3.

The Hurricanes season ending skid cost them a chance at the ACC title game. Their defense, in particular, let them down as they allowed a combined 691 yards in the final two losses. This flew directly in the face of the type of defense Miami boasted all season. Through their first seven games, the Hurricanes allowed only two opponents to rush for 100 yards, yet Georgia Tech ran for 472 yards in a 41-23 victory over Miami and NC State ran for a troubling 219 yards on the ground in a 38-28 win for the Wolfpack.

Still the Miami Hurricanes have to be happy with the turnaround they achieved from last year's disappointing 5-7 season. This will be Miami's 23rd postseason appearance in 26 seasons and 32nd bowl game overall. They have a 18-13 record and won their last bowl game, the MPC Computers Bowl, on New Years Eve 2006 over Nevada. California has been to 18 bowl games, going 9-8-1. In their five straight bowl appearances prior to this season, the Bears have gone 4-1, including last season's victory over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

The teams have not met since a home-and-home series over two years in 1989 and 1990 with Miami claming both games. Prior to that, they had met once before, back in 1964, which was Cal's only win in the short series.

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