While many students are anticipating a much-needed vacation in sunny Miami, away from the State College cold and distant memories of finals, some Penn State students are traveling to Miami for a different reason. They're going home for the holidays.

Kate Gampfer (sophomore-philosophy) said that since the bowl location was announced, a lot of her acquaintances have been looking for a free place to stay at her home.

"Everyone wants to be my friend right now," she said. "It's a bit overwhelming, but I'm having three of my friends come down for the game."

Gampfer said her friends from Florida have suddenly been doing a much more thorough job keeping in touch lately.

"I've definitely gotten a lot of comments from the Florida State fans at home," Gampfer said. "There have been some hostile remarks made about Penn State football and Florida State beating us, but I don't really see that happening."

Andrew Hagen, a Miami native, said he would be able to attend the game and cheer on the Lions with three of his friends.

"My dad has some connections at the Orange Bowl, so I was able to get tickets through that and didn't have to stand in line up here to get a wristband," Hagen (sophomore-meteorology) said. "Three of my friends are coming down to stay at my house for the game."

Like Hagen, Katie Joyce (freshman-international studies) is also sharing her home with a friend who plans on attending the bowl game.

"I'm having one of my friends from Penn State come down," Joyce said. "Then we're going to the game with the rest of my friends from Miami who all go to Florida State."

Joyce said her Florida State friends have not let up on "talking smack" since the bowl information was released.

"My entire Facebook wall is filled with them making fun of me," Joyce said. "The day Florida State beat Virginia Tech, my cell phone didn't stop ringing the entire night."

Gampfer said she got a wristband for the ticket lottery Wednesday, but she added that even if she couldn't get tickets through the school, she'd be willing to get them online.

"Since I live here, I save a lot of money because I don't need a hotel," she said. "So I'm definitely willing to spend a little more on the tickets if that's the case."

Gampfer said she thinks many students will enjoy spending time in Coconut Grove, which houses a lot of Miami's well-known clubs and bars. She added that the cost of living is high in Miami, so students should expect to pay more while visiting.

Hagen said that although he was hoping he'd get a trip to Pasadena, Calif., to watch Penn State play for the National Championship this winter break, he's glad he won't have to travel far to see the game.

"I would have tried to go no matter where we played," he said. "But it'll be fun to have it in my hometown with my friends. We just wanted to be able to go and see them play."