Navy (7-5, independent) vs. San Diego State (7-5, 5-3 Mountain West), 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Line: San Diego State by 2½.
Series Record: San Diego State leads 3-0.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
This is essentially a home game for San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium, which is either a short drive from campus or a quick trip on the trolley. It's also a Navy town, so the Midshipmen will get their share of support. It's a rematch of the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl, which San Diego State won 35-14.
KEY MATCHUP
Navy's triple option offense vs. San Diego State's 3-3-5 defense. Navy leads the nation with 345.1 yards rushing per game and San Diego State's defense allows 145.6 yards rushing.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Navy: QB Keenan Reynolds is the key to Navy's triple-option attack. He has 62 career touchdowns, the most by a quarterback in NCAA history. Just a junior, his next TD will give him as many as Ron Dayne, the Wisconsin Heisman Trophy winner, and two more will pull him even with Indiana great Anthony Thompson and Texas star Cedric Benson.
San Diego State: RB Donnel Pumphrey is 88 yards short of breaking SDSU's single-season rushing record of 1,842 set by George Jones in 1995. Pumphrey ranks fourth in the nation with 146.25 yards rushing per game.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Aztecs are playing in their school-record fifth straight bowl game while the Midshipmen are trying to win a bowl game in back-to-back years for just the second time in school history. Navy beat Middle Tennessee in last year's Armed Forces Bowl. ... Navy is in the Poinsettia Bowl for the fourth time while the Aztecs are in their hometown bowl a third time ... SDSU leads series 3-0. ... Aztecs have won eight straight games against service academy teams, the longest active streak in the nation, one ahead of Notre Dame and Rutgers. ... Middies have just a 10-day turnaround between win against Army and Poinsettia Bowl. ... Navy's Ken Niumatalolo became the winningest coach in school history when Navy beat Army for the 13th consecutive year, 17-10 on Dec. 13.