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by DCist Contributor Brett Gellman
It's hard to imagine that Maryland was two wins away from potentially playing in the Orange Bowl in sunny Miami. It's also equally hard to imagine that the team would be shipped out West to play on the infamous blue turf of Boise State University in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.
Yet the worst case scenario transpired as the Terps dropped its last two games of the season to Florida State and Boston College, ultimately finishing with a 4-4 record in the ACC — and tickets to Idaho.
While five teams in the conference finished their season with an identical record as the Terps, Maryland had no other choice except to play in Boise. The bid for the inaugural EagleBank Bowl — which would have meant home-field advantage for all intents and purposes — was ruled out by Maryland's final exame schedule. And the Terps participated in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco a year ago.
Even with so many teams competing for bowl pecking order, the notion of competition, at least in the ACC, is a little preposterous. Clemson was invited to the prestigious Gator Bowl with a paltry 6-5 record. That didn't sit too well with Florida State fans, as the Seminoles had a better overall resume. Unfortunately for the 'Noles, money — not your record — is what ultimately counts, and Clemson is known for their well-traveling fan base.
As for today's game, scheduled for a 4:30pm ET kickoff, the Terps (7-5, 4-4 ACC) will be taking on the Nevada Wolf Pack (7-5, 5-3 WAC) of the WAC Conference in what will (thankfully) be the ACC's final game in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Photo by Hi I'm Chris
Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott will have a difficult time on the ground as Nevada possesses the nation's second best run defense. Scott will have to channel the success he had earlier in the season now that the speedy sophomore is finally healthy, but he could have trouble finding some holes not only because of the Wolf Pack's strong defensive skills but also because of the Terps' own underachieving offensive line.
If the Terps want to come out of Boise victorious they'll have to rely on throwing the ball. The Wolf Pack's pass defense is the worst in the country, giving up nearly 321 yards per game.
Fans, however, should be sure not to overlook Nevada just because they're in a non-BCS conference.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the WAC offensive player of the year, threw over 2,400 yards, 19 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. Kaepernick is also quite the mobile threat as he scrambled for more than 1,000 yards and collected another 16 touchdowns on the ground.
Prediction: 38-31 Nevada. The Wolf Pack's shotgun pistol formation will give the Terps all sorts of defensive problems judging from Maryland's past games against mobile quarterbacks. Then again, with former defensive coordinator Chris Cosh departing before the bowl game, linebackers coach Al Seamonson will step in as interim DC and could possibly inject new life into the struggling unit.
The Terps won't be able to get the running game going, which means QB Chris Turner will have to rely on wide receivers Danny Oquendo and Darius Heyward-Bey (in what could very much be his final game in a Maryland uniform) against a very weak Nevada pass defense.
All and all, Nevada's potent offense may ultimately be too much for the Terrapins which will lead to a Wolf Pack victory.
Today's game takes place at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30pm. ET and will be televised on ESPN. Watch parties are being held at Nick's Riverside Grille in DC and Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda.
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Someday DCist will discuss college basketball again. The last post I remember seeing was a brief preview of the Gtown/Maryland game, and then nothing. You'd think a once-in-a-decade game would warrant at least a blurb afterwards. Maybe Gtown beating the #2 in the country will bring some (any?) attention back to local hoops, since DCist typically does good coverage of sports.
Terps by 71
Freidgen usually preps his team well for bowls. I think the Terps win it 27-20.
Ooh, the Humanitarian Exhibition Game. Hey, how about that.
ksf4: DCist will be discussing college hoops very soon. Right now some of the sports writers are gone, the other sports writers didn't follow the game, the site's working with a skeleton crew, and the upset happened to fall right in the middle of bowlgames and holidays. The Weekend section will feature basketball content soon, promise.
Victorious. FREDTERP
Congrats, fredterp. HCE
Clemson is known for their well-traveling fan base
I'm sure this really is part of the calculations, but is it really true that a South Carolina team can pull in more fans than FSU even when the game is being played in Florida? That's some rabid fandom . . .