2016 Russell Athletic Bowl, Miami vs. West Virginia: Date, time, location and everything to know

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The Russell Athletic Bowl is a pretty good game. Its bowl tie-ins come from the power leagues, so it usually features talented teams. It’s played in a warm-weather climate, and it’s not such a critical bowl that teams play a buttoned-up style. This year, Miami will get to play close to home against West Virginia, per ESPN.

The result can be beautiful, like last year’s fireworks-packed bonanza between Baylor and North Carolina, where the Bears won 49-38 at the end of a game that included 1,249 yards of total offense. (Of those, 762 were Baylor’s, and the Bears rushed for a hilarious 645 yards, which is impossible.)

The Russell Athletic Bowl has plodded through a 26-game history under a few different names. It was the Blockbuster Bowl for a few years, starting with the inaugural game in 1990. It’s done a stint as the Carquest Bowl (1994-1997), the Micron PC Bowl (1998-2000), the Tangerine Bowl II (2001-2003), the Champs Sports Bowl (2004-2011) and now, finally, is named after the athletic apparel company.

Date and time: Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Stadium: Orlando Citrus Bowl

Last year’s score: Baylor 49, North Carolina 38

Last year’s attendance: 40,418

Teams with the most all-time appearances: NC State, 5

Teams with the most all-time wins: Florida State and NC State, 3

Miami (8-4, 5-3 in ACC)

Mark Richt’s first season in Coral Gables got off to a hot start in 2016. The Canes were 4-0 entering a showdown against archrival Florida State. The Seminoles won 20-19, kicking off a four-game losing streak for Miami — with losses to UNC and Virginia Tech taking them out of the ACC Coastal conversation. However, the Canes rebounded by winning three straight to bring their record to 8-4. It was lower than expected, but a decent win total for Richt’s Year One.

Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya’s numbers are solid -- more than 3,200 passing yards along with 23 touchdowns. However, his seven interceptions and flashes of inconsistencies throughout the season might have hurt his NFL Draft stock just a little bit.

Richt’s first year at Miami didn’t go quite as well we expected, but there’s still a ton left to be done inside this first season. Miami’s 2017 recruiting class is currently ranked near the top of the country, so it’s important for him to keep as much as that South Florida-heavy class as he can.

West Virginia (10-2, 7-2 in Big 12)

West Virginia stayed unbeaten into October, and the Mountaineers looked like a quiet Playoff contender after dispatching Texas Tech (and specifically Texas Tech’s offense) in Lubbock. But the ‘Eers lost games shortly thereafter to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, the latter a blowout on a Saturday night at home. That ended whatever Big 12 hopes they might have had, and any New Year’s Six or Playoff hopes right along with them.

WVU’s an interesting team. The defense is better than it’s typically been under Dana Holgorsen, but the offense has some warts. Junior running back Justin Crawford had a great season, but QB Skyler Howard wasn’t consistent, and the offense bounced up and down with him. The defense was more up-then-down, starting the year hot but tailing off considerably over the final few weeks. OU torched it for 56 points in Morgantown, which wasn’t a great look.

So, here the ‘Eers are. They’ve had a strong year overall. It didn’t turn out to be a Playoff year, but they’ve still got a chance to end on a good note and win 11 games. That’s a pretty good place to be.