Miami Beach Bowl to continue tradition

The Miami Marlins’ home run sculpture will become a touchdown sculpture for the Miami Beach Bowl.

Marlins Ballpark will host a team from the American Athletic Conference in the annual new bowl game beginning in December 2014. The opponent will usually come from the MidAmerican Conference, the Sun Belt Conference or Conference USA, and the deal with Marlins officials runs six years, through the 2019 season.

Organizers anticipate the Miami Beach Bowl will be played shortly before Christmas.

Football hasn’t been played on the site since the Orange Bowl was torn down in 2008. Marlins Park opened early last year.

“These are hallowed grounds,” Marlins president David Samson said. “This is where the Orange Bowl was. The tradition of college football here should continue.”

North Carolina State

Brandon Mitchell is back, just in time for the Wolfpack’s most difficult test of the season. The starting quarterback broke his left foot in the season opener against Louisiana Tech. The Wolfpack won, 40-14, but it came at a price. Mitchell was lost for the past five weeks, but expects to start against Florida State. “I’ve played in big-time games against teams that won national championships and my teammates have beaten Florida State before so we have a lot of confidence,” he said.

Florida State

Third-ranked Florida State will be without running back James Wilder Jr. against North Carolina State. Coach Jimbo Fisher said that Wilder wasn’t cleared after getting a concussion last week. Wilder got the concussion in a 51-14 win against Clemson and was considered day to day.

Nebraska

Quarterback Taylor Martinez probably will play Saturday against Minnesota, but whether he starts will be a game-time decision. Coach Bo Pelini said that Martinez’s availability will be determined by how his injured left foot responds to a week’s worth of practice. Martinez has missed three games in a row because of turf toe.

Maryland

Quarterback C.J. Brown won’t play against No. 9 Clemson because of the lasting effects of a concussion. Brown got the concussion Oct. 5 against Florida State. The fifth-year senior returned last week against Wake Forest but was ineffective and pulled from the game.

Elsewhere

Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla, who left the secondranked Ducks earlier this month following a one-game suspension for violating team rules, was in custody after his arrest on drugrelated charges in Eugene.