Emerald Bowl Interview With Mollie Rose

The Miami Hurricanes and the California Bears will be facing each other in the 2008 Emerald Bowl this Saturday night in  San Francisco at AT&T Park.  D Wizzle  wanted to know more  about the 'Canes so he  asked  Mollie Rose, a sports and entertainment reporter and interviewer from Miami, to give us the scoop on  the U.

Hi Mollie. how are you doing today? 

HI D,  I'm good. Things have been very busy here in Miami. I was producing a piece for a non-profit yesterday, recently wrapped up working on a commercial, and I'm just now getting a chance to relax for the holidays and looking forward to watching the 'Canes in the Emerald Bowl this weekend.

 Miami is an underdog going into the Emerald Bowl against Cal.  Cal will have all the fans from the Bay Area rooting them on and the cold weather could affect the Miami players.  How do you think they will do on Saturday night? 

Miami has been in this type of situation before and came  out on top. Cal and Miami are both great teams. But the 'Canes are on an up year, after a difficult rebuilding season in  2007.  As for the cold, I don't think it's going to affect the 'Canes'  game. In the past, when the 'Canes have had weather problems , the temperatures were in the low 30s or below and the current forecast for San Francisco on Saturday night won't be that low.  Rain is possible that night and this might hurt the Cal passing game so I would say the weather and the circumstances might even give an advantage to the 'Canes.

The  superstar  on offense for Cal is is  RB Jahvid Best. He is a speedster and a threat to go all the way every time he has his hands on the ball.  How was Miami's D against the run this year?

Miami has had some problems against the run this year, but I would bet the extended prep time for this bowl game will help. Cal has some very talented athletes, but  Best is surely one of the best players they will face. I believe  the Miami coaches have prepared the 'Canes for this. Cal is a great team and it's going to be a great game, that's for sure!

Who are some of the key players we should be watching for on Miami?

The top players everyone's talking about are Glenn Cook, Jason Fox, Javarris James (cousin of NFL RB Edgerrin James), and Graig Cooper. They are some of the great leaders for the 'Canes. Jacory Harris, Sean Spence, Aldarius Johnson and Marcus Forston, all true freshman, are already playing well beyond  their age. Fans in Miami will be keeping an eye on all of these players this Saturday.

QB Robert Marve has been suspended for the game so Harris, who you just  mentioned,  will start. How will this affect the offense?

Marve and Harris have rotated series for series all season and the two are interchangeable, I don't see this having much of an impact.  Although Jacory split time with Marve throughout the season, he showed a lot of promise when he was leading the offense out there on the field and I don't think he'll miss a step this Saturday.

Of all the  Miami players you interviewed  this season when you did the "Getting To Know The U"  segments  for the Miami Herald website,  which interview did you enjoy doing the most?

Ooh, that's a tough one.  Everyone I had a chance to interview was great. They are really a professional group with great personalities. The good thing about "Getting To Know The U" is that it gives fans a chance to get to know the players personally and gives a little insight as to what the players enjoy doing off the field. I can't really pick a favorite, I like them all! 

Thanks Mollie for taking  time out of your busy schedule  to answer  a few questions about  Miami. This should be a great match up on Saturday night!

Thanks for checking in with us down here in Miami. As for Saturday night, Go 'Canes!