The Maryland Terrapins, who finished tied for third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will not be traveling very far from home in what will be the school’s seventh bowl in Ralph Friedgen’s ten seasons. Instead of heading south to sunny Florida or even somewhat cooler Nashville, the Terps (8-4, 5-3 ACC) will be busing over to nearby RFK Stadium to face East Carolina (6-6, 5-3 CUSA) in the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman on Wednesday, December 29.

Yes, you read that correctly.

After overcoming a 2-10 season by finishing with an 8-4 record and featuring the ACC Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year (freshman quarterback Danny O’Brien), the Terps will be rewarded with the sights and sounds of a middle of the week, late December bowl game, held in a deteriorating stadium. The third-best team in the ACC free-fell their way to the eighth bowl selection after teams with equivalent or worse records jumped over them in the process, mostly due the Terps’ poor home attendance at Byrd Stadium this season.