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WVU, Miami to Renew Rivalry

West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard (3)during the first half/ second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia fans will be treated to a little “Back to the Future” when their beloved Mountaineers — ranked No. 16 by the College Football Playoff Committee, but No. 14 by the Associated Press and No. 12 by the Coaches — to take on the Miami Hurricanes of first-year head coach Mark Richt.

WVU (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) closed out its regular season with a 24-21 victory over Baylor at Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday while Richt’s Hurricanes (8-4, 5-3 ACC) ended the regular season with a four-game winning streak, but has not played since knocking off Duke by a 40-21 score the day after Thanksgiving.

“On behalf of West Virginia University, Shane (Lyons), President Gordon Gee, our entire football program and our fans, we are proud to come to Orlando,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “It’s been seven years since West Virginia has been there. But, I know our players are excited about it and what is ahead of us.”

This will mark the 20th meeting between the two former Big East rivals with the team from the Sunshine State having dominated the first 19 with 16 wins and three losses.

However, the programs have not met on the gridiron since a 22-20 Miami win on Oct. 2, 2003. The Hurricanes, along with Boston College and Virginia Tech, elected to leave the Big East following that season and join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Not too much,” Holgorsen commented when asked about his team’s history against the Hurricanes. “I know there is a lot of history with Miami. Obviously, Miami has great tradition. I think the matchup is a great one.”

Fans will remember Richt as the former head coach at the University of Georgia, which took on the Mountaineers at the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl. A game won by the Mountaineers by a 38-35 on a game-clinching fake punt in the final two minutes of the contest. Richt left the Georgia at the end of last season while the WVU team he will face is under the leadership of Holgorsen, in his sixth season.

Miami will be making its fifth appearance in the bowl — tying NC State for most all-time — but only its third since the game moved to Orlando. The Hurricanes hold a 2-2 record in the bowl. Their last appearance in the bowl came in 2013 when they were topped by a Teddy Bridgewater-led Louisville team, 36-9.

The Mountaineers’ only prior appearance in Orlando came by way of a 23-7 loss to a then-led Russell Wilson NC State team in 2010.

Miami is led by junior quarterback Brad Kaaya, a consensus four-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports. The  California native completed 61.2 percent of his passes (237 of 387) in 2016 for 3,250 yards and 23 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

WVU will counter with the play of senior signalcaller Skyler Howard, who in his final season in Morgantown completing 60.8 percent of his attempts (230 of 378) for 3,194 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The Mountaineers will also head to Orlando with a backfield which features three different players with 100-yard rushing performances.

Junior college transfer Justin Crawford leads the way with 1,168 yards and four touchdowns on 157 carries while senior Rushel Shell has chipped in 514 yards and five scores on 107 totes of the pigskin. Rounding out the group will be a pair of freshmen that has given Holgorsen some big carries over the course of the season. Kennedy McKoy has 466 yards and three touchdowns on 72 carries while Martell Pettaway has contributed 400 yards and one score on only 46 carries since burning his redshirt in the win at Iowa State.

The game will be played at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at Camping World Stadium (65,000) in Orlando. WVU will be making its third consecutive bowl appearance and 35th overall.

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