Navy @ Arizona State preview

KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL STORYLINES

1. Navy and Arizona State head to San Francisco for their first meeting on a high note, having knocked off archrivals in their respective regular-season finales. The Midshipmen took care of Army for the 11th straight time while the Sun Devils defeated fellow bowl-bound Arizona in Tucson.

2. As usual, Navy showcases a formidable ground game. It produced 275.6 rushing yards per game, sixth in the country. Arizona State also faced the third-ranked rushing unit in Oregon. Although the style and talent level between the Midshipmen and Ducks are not the same, it is worth noting that the Sun Devils gave up 406 yards on the ground against Oregon.

3. Junior Marion Grice was a potent force in the running and passing game for the Sun Devils, posting remarkably similar numbers in both realms. Grice had 520 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground while gaining 406 yards and eight TDs through the air. His 17 scores leave him one shy of moving into the top five on Arizona State's all-time single-season touchdown list.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Arizona State -14.5

ABOUT NAVY (8-4): The vaunted rushing attack sputtered early as the Midshipmen began the year 1-3. However, things turned around once freshman Keenan Reynolds took over under center for the injured Trey Miller. Reynolds threw for three touchdowns in his first start Oct. 12 at Central Michigan. He finished the regular season with 628 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns while passing for 884 yards and eight TDs. From the time Reynolds took over late in an overtime affair against Air Force, Navy went 7-1. The Midshipmen made eight straight bowl game appearances before falling short in 2011. They have lost four of their last five bowl games.

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12): It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Sun Devils in coach Todd Graham's first season. After opening 5-1, they lost four straight to the best the Pac-12 has to offer, only to rebound with consecutive wins to finish it out, including a wild 41-34 victory over the Wildcats. Arizona State scored 24 straight points in the fourth quarter of that one. It was actually the only game all season in which sophomore Taylor Kelly failed to throw for a touchdown. Kelly ranked third in the Pac-12 in passing efficiency this season, helping the Sun Devils score 36.4 points, also third-best in the league. Defensive tackle Will Sutton was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and will be instrumental if Arizona State is going to slow down Navy's option attack.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 38, Navy 27