Another Preview…Do the winners get brand new Sonatas?
Miami (7-5) vs. Notre Dame (7-5)
Dec. 31, 2 ET
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
History
One of the oldest bowls, first played in 1935 at a high school stadium. The biggest news about this year’s game is the warnings regarding making a run to the border. Although, given what we know about Miami fans the warning may also be for the good people in Juarez. Consult our research department on this one if you want more bowl trivia, I ran out of time this week.
This will also be a resumption of the famous “Catholics vs Convicts” games from the 80’s… minus the awesome haircuts and so forth.
Miami Hurricanes
Al Golden has been thrown into a situation where he will coach a very talented team for one game, before the talent level drops off going into next year. Miami will be very dependent on their defense in this game to try and slow down the Notre Dame passing attack, which isn’t that daunting of a task due to injuries, but Miami will need to cut down on the turnovers and not give Notre Dame good field position. Look for Jacorry Harris to play but Stephen Morris could see time as well. This was Miami’s worst season since 1997. And yes, that was a lot of fun to type.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame will be without QB Dayne Crist, but back-up Tommy Rees leads them into Sun Bowl on a 3 game winning streak. After sitting at 4-5 with losses to Navy and Tulsa not many thought Notre Dame wuld even be playing in a bowl game. What was once a storied program with a big time rushing attack now ranks 95th in the country in rushing. Overall they have the 61st ranked offense. Brian Kelly might have found something at the end of the season and is looking to get Notre Dame back to a top program.
It was the defense that really led them to the three game win streak, as there wasn’t a touchdown scored for 12 straight quarters. When was the last time Notre Dame could say that… and not mean their own offense?
Who Are We Picking?
- Eric- Miami
- Jay- Notre Dame
- Jeff- Miami
- Jim- Miami
- Joe- Notre Dame
- Mali- Notre Dame
Both teams are looking to put a bright spot on disappointing seasons, but boy how the mighty have fallen. This was considered a normal season for Notre Dame over the past decade, and they were happy to finish with a 3 game win streak, and Miami finished with their worst season since 1997. I went with Notre Dame, just based on purely momentum and how the teams finished the season. Look for this to be a defensive struggle, maybe a 13-7 type game.
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