The Naval Academy favors the spread option offense, a hybrid of the wishbone and run-and-shoot formations. This offense treated Hawaii well from 1987-95 before being put out to pasture with the firing of Bob Wagner.
"We're the true West Coast offense," Navy head coach Charlie Weatherbie said, then smiled. "This offense came from Hawaii which is about as far west as you can get I do believe."
California employs the popular version of the West Coast offense.
While the Rainbows struggled mightily going from the option to a predominantly passing attack under new head coach Fred vonAppen this past season, the Golden Bears are the perfect model of what this offense can do.
"We pattern ourselves after the Green Bay Packers," said Cal quarterback Pat Barnes, who hit 250 of 420 passes for 3,499 yards and 31 touchdowns. His 150.1 rating was the best in the Pac-10.
"When this offense is on, it's very difficult to stop," Barnes said. "We try to mix it up, blending the short passes with the longer routes.
"I love it. I think it will definitely help me if I'm fortunate enough to have a career in the NFL because so many teams run it. I'm glad I stayed my last year in college because it gave me time to get a better feel for it."
Navy quarterback Chris McCoy has learned a lot as well in his two years under the watchful eye of offensive coordinator Paul Johnson. Granted, the junior won't be a coveted NFL quarterback as Barnes will be in the upcoming draft, but he's just as effective in his option role.
"In some ways, this game will be the battle of the quarterbacks," Cal head coach Steve Mariucci said. "Certainly, these are different offenses, but the decision making in both are key.
"When you're talking about the West Coast offense, decision making is the most important thing a quarterback has to do. In that option offense, it's the same thing. And that's one of the things that makes Chris McCoy so good. He knows when to hand it off, when to keep it and when to pitch."
McCoy is the first quarterback in Navy history to rush for 1,000 yards. The last Midshipman to accomplish that feat was running back Napoleon McCallum in 1985.
McCoy gain 1,228 yards on the ground and completed 49 of 109 passes for 759 yards and six touchdowns. He also has a talented fullback to hand off to in Omar Nelson, who rushed for 857 yards and eight touchdowns.
"This offense is run, run, run, which I really like," Nelson said. "It's also a tough offense to stop because we go out there and give teams something they're not used to. I'm glad the coaches brought in this system because it's helped us to be successful."
As much as running backs enjoy the spread, the same can't be said of the wide receivers. Cal tandem Bobby Shaw and Neil Benjamin appreciate the option attack, but prefer the pass-oriented West Coast offense.
"I couldn't play in a system like that, not at all," said Shaw, who led the Pac-10 in receiving with 58 catches for 888 yards and nine touchdowns.
"If that were the case, I would have gone to Oregon State and I wouldn't be here now," he said. "Our offense is like the opposite side of a coin to what Navy does."
Benjamin, who pulled down 45 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns this season, agreed.
"I don't know, I'd kind of feel like a small lineman in that offense," Benjamin said. "It may be a little difficult for the guys who really feel like receivers."
Still, you can't argue with the spread option's success.
Before Johnson brought it to Hawaii, the Rainbows never averaged more than 30 points and 400 yards a game as they did from 1987-93. They also made their only two postseason appearances with the Aloha Bowl in 1989 and the Holiday Bowl in 1992.
It has worked well at Navy, too.
Just a few years ago, the Midshipmen posted back-to-back 1-10 seasons. Now, they are making their first postseason appearance since 1981 by finishing fifth nationally in rushing (283.6 yards a game) and 22nd in scoring (31.8 points a game).
"The spread is just so different," Mariucci said. "Normally, you have 11 people chasing and flowing to the ball. But you can't do that now.
"You have to have somebody on the fullback, somebody on that quarterback and somebody on the pitch man. You have to be disciplined because if somebody misses their responsibility, it goes down the field."
Going down the field is something Cal has been good at most of the season. The Golden Bears are sixth nationally in passing (321.5 yards a game) and 13th overall (457.6). Those eye-popping numbers definitely have Weatherbie's undivided attention.
"They put the danger in the West Coast offense," Weatherbie said. "They can strike quickly from anywhere on the field. We have faced a few teams this year that use a similar style, but nothing this explosive."