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Miami will take on unfamiliar foe Oklahoma State in a familiar setting, the Cheez-It Bowl. The bowl game’s name may not sound familiar, but its former titles, the Russell Athletic Bowl and Champs Sports Bowl are.
ACC bowls: North Carolina vs. Texas A&M to Orange Bowl, Miami to Cheez-It Bowl, NC State to Gator Bowl & Wake Forest to Duke’s Mayo Bowl, sources told @Stadium
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 20, 2020
It’s a far cry from Miami’s Orange Bowl hopes, but the ‘Canes still get an opportunity to end 2020 on a high note with a win against a quality opponent.
As usual, Oklahoma State’s offense is potent, averaging 38-points per game. Despite leading rusher Chuba Hubbard opting-out for the remainder of the year, head coach Mike Gundy’s teams are used to competing in high-stakes matchups and for their conference championship title.
Mike Gundy announces Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard has opted out of the rest of the season and will prepare for the NFL draft pic.twitter.com/TJsC8dqafN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 12, 2020
The Hurricanes and Cowboys have only met once before in 1991, with Miami easily winning the game 40-3.
The way Miami’s season has developed may remind some of 2016, a year in which they got off to a hot start, yet fell short in crucial matchups. That team also landed itself in an Orlando bowl game, then named the Russell Athletic Bowl, beating West Virginia by a score of 31-14.
The game may appear underwhelming for fans, but beating a ranked-Power 5 team is positive under any circumstance. Additionally, bowl wins are hard to come by for UM, winning just once in the last decade.
Regardless of the prior expectations, a win here would help fans and players move past the North Carolina loss and send the seniors out in a good light.