The seventh annual Emerald Bowl kicks off tonight at 8:00pm ET at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. The Hurricanes from the University of Miami (FL) and the California Golden Bears are the participants in this ESPN televised battle. College bowl picks at Sportsbook.com have the Golden Bears listed as a -8.5 favorite.
The Hurricanes made improvements in Randy Shannon's second year on the sidelines, going from 5-7 last year to 7-5 this season. Offensively, Miami put up seven more points per game this year over last. The Hurricanes also progressed in conference play, finishing at 4-4 and in fourth place in the ACC's Coastal division. Their regular season was highlighted by a five game winning streak that included victories over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.
Miami is averaging 27.9 points per game on the season and allowing 24.2 points per game in return. Their defense has limited teams to just 312. 9 yards per game, but has had trouble in the red zone as opponents have scored almost 94 percent of the time against them inside of it.
California secured an 8-4 record in Jeff Tedford's seventh year as head coach. Their 6-3 mark in conference play resulted in a fourth place PAC-10 finish, a three spot improvement over last season. The Bears come into the Emerald Bowl having won two games in a row (Stanford and Washington), however, they have not won three consecutive games all season long.
California's offense, which averages 33.3 points per game, is led by sophomore running back Jahvid Best. The 19 year old Vallejo, California native rushed for 1394 yards in the regular season and averaged a ridiculous 8.0 yards per carry while scoring 13 touchdowns.
Emerald Bowl Betting Trend: California is 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games as a favorite with a spread between 8 and 10.5.
Sportsbook.com's Miami vs California 2008 Emerald Bowl Betting Odds:
Miami Hurricanes +8.5 (-105), Over 50 (-110), +270 (Money line)
California Golden Bears -8.5 (-105), Under 50 (-110), -330 (Money line)
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