Poinsettia Bowl Pits Navy Against Utah

SAN DIEGO - The third annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will feature a matchup between the Utah Utes and Navy Midshipmen on Thursday, December 20 at 6 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium. The game kicks off the 2007-08 bowl season and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Utah finished the regular season 8-4, 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference. The Utes have won its last six bowl games, dating back to 1999, which is the second-longest postseason win streak in the nation. San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl marks the fifth-straight bowl appearance for the Utes.

Utah is led by junior running back Darrell Mack, who recently became the ninth Ute to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He is ranked 31st in the nation in yards per game (102.5). Utah finished in the top five nationally in scoring defense this season, despite losing All-American Eric Weddle to the San Diego Chargers in the 2007 NFL draft.

Navy finished their season with an 8-4 record after its victory over Army on Saturday. The Poinsettia Bowl marks the first time in school history that Navy has gone to five straight bowl games. The Naval Academy's appearance in this year's Poinsettia Bowl will mark the third time they have played in a bowl game in San Diego. The Midshipmen defeated the BYU Cougars 24-17 in the first Holiday Bowl in 1978. They beat the Colorado State Rams 51-30 in the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl in 2005.

The 2006 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl featured a 37-7 TCU Horned Frogs victory over Northern Illinois Huskies. Tickets for the can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 619-220-TIXS (8497), or by visiting www.poinsettiabowl.net.