What: Poinsettia Bowl
Who: Navy (8-4) vs. Utah (8-4)
Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
When: Dec. 20, 9 p.m.
WagerWeb.com line: Utah -8.5 (O/U: 65.5)
Players to watch: Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada leads the team in rushing with 782 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has scored a rushing touchdown in eight consecutive games ... Utah running back Darrell Mack rushed for 1,128 yards and 10 touchdowns, while averaging 4.9 yards per rush. He averages 21 carries per game this year.
Overview: The 2007 bowl season kicks off in San Diego on Thursday night with what appears to be an evenly matched game between the Midshipmen and the Utes.
Navy leads the nation in rushing offense at 351.5 yards per game, while the Utes have surrendered just 84.3 yards rushing per game in their last seven games.
The Middies have seven players who have rushed for at least 463 yards. Utah is 35th in rushing defense overall (130.0 yards per game) and has allowed just 12 rushing TDs. The Middies have been held under 300 rushing yards just twice. Utah has given up 150 rushing yards four times - and lost all four.
And Navy's offensive approach - the triple option - won't change even though coach Paul Johnson has left for Georgia Tech (Johnson won't coach either Navy or the Yellow Jackets in their bowls).Navy promoted assistant coach Ken Niumatalolo on Dec. 8, one day after Johnson left after six seasons to take the Georgia Tech job. Athletic director Chet Gladchuk specifically selected Niumatalolo because of his familiarity with the option.
"I don't care whose offense we call it," Niumatalolo said. "We're going to use it because it works. I've been involved with this offense for 20 years. I've called the plays for this offense before. I learned a lot from Paul about the various wrinkles and how to make adjustments."
Navy led the nation in rushing in four of the last five seasons, including a NCAA-record three straight times since 2005. This season, Navy had the most attempts (746), net yardage (4,218) and rushing touchdowns (51) in Division I-A.
Utah has allowed 20 points or fewer in each of its last six games. The Utes own the nation's third-lowest points-against average at 15.6, trailing only Virginia Tech (15.5) and Ohio State (10.7).
Navy was eighth in scoring at 39.9 points per game this season. The Midshipmen went 6-1 when they scored at least 35 points, and they never finished with fewer than 24 points.
Navy enters the bowl on a four-game winning streak, capping the regular season with its most-lopsided victory by beating Army 38-3 on Dec. 1. Navy seeks its first five-game win streak since a six-game run from Nov. 19, 2005-Sept. 16, 2006.
The lowdown: Utah and Navy have never met. ... Navy is 119th, or last, in the nation in passing offense at 93.5 yards a game and last in the nation in pass-efficiency defense with a 163.7 rating and 106th in passing-defense yards. . ... Utah's bowl record is 9-3. ... Navy has played in four consecutive bowl games, going 2-2. ... Only Boston College (seven) has a longer bowl winning streak than Utah (six).
The pick: Navy to cover.
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