Miami has arrived in Boise. Who would have ever thought that would be said this season? Things have gone completely sour for the Miami Hurricanes in 2006, so much so that this will be head coach Larry Coker's final game at the helm. Miami (6-6) meets Nevada on New Year's Eve in the MPC Computers Bowl.
Part of Coker's staff has already vacated the Coral Gables offices, with offensive coordinator Rich Olson taking over the same position at Arizona State. Then there is of course, Randy Shannon, the defensive coordinator who will take over as the head coach as soon as the clock reaches triple zero at Bronco Stadium.
Miami was sent into a tailspin after losing at Georgia Tech, 30-23. The Hurricanes went were sent into a four game spiral which nearly had them miss out on the postseason, if it weren't for an upset win against Boston College on Thanksgiving night. It would have been the first time since 1997 that Miami missed the postseason—during the probation years.
It will be interesting to watch and see if the Hurricanes come out and play for Coker in his final game. One has to think that it will be questionable, especially after what happened last year in the team's bowl game—a 40-3 loss in the Peach Bowl against LSU. Many say, that was the start of Coker's goodbye.
The Miami offense has been the Achilles' heal this season, always seeming to get up and down the field, but never being able to finish off drives. On the ground, the Hurricanes were led by freshman tailback Javarris James, who ran for 767 yards—the most by a freshman running back since Clinton Portis back in 1999. But it was the fourth straight season that Miami failed to have a 1,000-yard rusher. At the QB position, sophomore Kirby Freeman will start once again in the bowl game, after starter Kyle Wright broke his thumb. Freeman only got Miami into the end zone four times in the team's final three games.
One thing that Miami has done well this season is play defense. The Hurricanes finished the season with the nation's fifth best total defense, giving up only 252 yards per game, and the fourth best run defense, allowing just 66 yards on the ground. Needless to say, it's not that unit's fault the team lost six games this season.
Nevada will look for one of its biggest wins in program history—even with Miami having a down year. The Wolf Pack are coming off of a wild 2005 bowl game, in which they beat UCF in the Hawai'I bowl, 49-48. All-time in bowls, they are 3-3.
On offense, QB Jeff Rowe is the biggest threat for Nevada, as he is capable with his arm and legs. RB Rob Hubbard is the team's best running back, as he is able to run straight up and down when his game is on. Defensively, Nevada has been brilliant of late, as they have posted back-to-back shutouts late in the season. But against good offensive-minded teams, the Pack have struggled. Against Hawai'I, Arizona State, and Boise State, Nevada gave up 131 points combined, which makes their season averages a little misleading. For the season, the Wolf Pack give up just 19 points a game.
If a motivated Miami team landed in Boise on Wednesday, then things could get ugly on the blue turf. .
Cotton Bowl
Nebraska vs. Auburn
Talk about one of the bigger non-BCS matchups of the 2006 bowl season, and this one seems to fly under the radar. Nebraska meets Auburn in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day.
Pitting two classic teams from two classic conferences, this year's Cotton Bowl is very intriguing. Nebraska was able to get themselves back to near the top of the Big 12 this season, coming one win a way from a conference title, as they lost to Oklahoma in the title game. But winning the Big 12 North is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
If it wasn't for QB Zac Taylor's three interceptions and one fumble against the Sooners, the ‘Huskers could certainly be in a BCS bowl game instead of Dallas. But it's certainly a good step in the right direction once again for Bill Callahan. And even more, Nebraska can end up 11-2 with a win over Auburn.
When it's working right, the Nebraska offense relies on great diversity by backing a hard-nosed run game with the accurate passing of QB Zac Taylor. Neither of those qualities was evident, however, in the Big 12 championship game, when Taylor misfired 27 times, with three interceptions, and the Huskers produced just 84 yards on 21 rushing attempts. Nebraska entered the game against Oklahoma ranked 18th nationally in both passing and rushing.
Defensively, the Cornhuskers had nothing to be ashamed of when they met Oklahoma, as they held a very powerful ground attack to just 42 yards on 28 carries.
Auburn meanwhile still remembers loud and clear its disappointing loss to Wisconsin in last year's Capital One Bowl. The offensive injuries really slowed where this Auburn team could have ended up, as QB Brandon Cox, RB Kenny Irons, and TE Cole Bennett were all injured at some point this season. Cox did play a big role in the Alabama win, throwing the game winning 22-yard touchdown pass.
On defense, Auburn may be undersized and young, but at times have been exceptional. The pass rush has been the best part about the defense, picking up 27 sacks on the season—good for 2 nd in the SEC in that category. .
Douglas Kroll can be reached at dckroll@hotmail.com
