Maryland will face No. 23 North Carolina State within the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30, the colleges introduced Sunday. Coach Michael Locksley has taken the Terrapins to back-to-back bowl video games, exhibiting this system has made progress over his four-year tenure.
Maryland
Maryland will face N.C. State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl
The bowl recreation pits Maryland in opposition to a former ACC foe, much like when the Terps met Virginia Tech within the Pinstripe Bowl final season and cruised to a 54-10 victory. Maryland and N.C. State have performed 70 instances and are even within the sequence with a 33-33-4 file.
The Terps relish the “probability to go down in our outdated footprint of ACC nation and play a rival, like an N.C. State, who’s a very good group,” Locksley stated. “Clearly, we’ve bought an awesome historical past of taking part in some nice video games in opposition to them.”
Locksley stated he referred to as Danny Morrison, government director of the Charlotte Sports activities Basis, to inform him the Duke’s Mayo Bowl was “positively one of many video games that we needed to be part of.” Charlotte offers followers within the D.C. space a recreation that’s a couple of six-hour drive away.
This bowl has garnered widespread consideration for its “mayo bath” in lieu of a Gatorade bathe for the profitable coach. Locksley stated he’s “all-in” with the prospect of being coated in mayonnaise after a win.
Maryland began the season 6-2 earlier than falling right into a stoop in opposition to harder opposition in November. The Terps closed the common season on a excessive notice by routing Rutgers, however they didn’t defeat any Massive Ten groups that had a profitable file. The Wolfpack (8-4) had an identical end, dropping to Boston Faculty and Louisville earlier than ending with a win over North Carolina. N.C. State misplaced beginning quarterback Devin Leary in October after he tore his pectoral muscle.
The Terps are led by third-year beginning quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who just lately earned second-team all-Massive Ten honors. He ranks third within the convention with 253.4 passing yards per recreation, and regardless of coping with a nagging knee harm, Tagovailoa broke the varsity’s profession passing file (7,658 yards and counting). Tagovailoa has been working towards and is predicted to play in opposition to N.C. State, Locksley stated.
To Locksley, the extra practices heading into the bowl recreation are crucial for the group’s improvement.
“When you get into the bowl cycle, like we’ve been in a position to do the final couple of years,” Locksley stated, “it’s type of the wealthy get richer.”
Somewhat than being at house with the season over, coaches get just a few additional weeks to work with their gamers, and Locksley stated, “these practices, you possibly can’t put a price ticket on them for the youthful gamers.”
Within the Pinstripe Bowl final 12 months, some underclassmen performed important roles, and the sport in opposition to N.C. State may very well be comparable. Two veterans have stated they won’t play and a wave of gamers have introduced their choices to switch.
Maryland receivers Dontay Demus Jr. (233 receiving yards this season) and Jacob Copeland (376 yards) have introduced they are going to declare for the NFL draft and never play within the bowl recreation. Demus returned from a torn ACL to play a fifth season for the Terps, however he wasn’t as productive as he was previously.
After the common season finale, a number of Terps introduced their intentions to switch. Probably the most important loss was tight finish CJ Dippre, a sophomore who tallied 314 receiving yards and three touchdowns this season. Many of the departing gamers didn’t have main roles this 12 months, and generally seniors depart searching for a college the place they’ll play the additional season of eligibility given due to the coronavirus pandemic. (The NCAA gave all gamers this waiver in 2020, however colleges will not be required to accommodate that further season.)
Maryland additionally might want to fill at the very least one void in its teaching employees this offseason. Co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Miller is predicted to turn into offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Charlotte, in accordance with an individual acquainted with the transfer. Miller will return to the town the place he spent a part of his childhood and the place his mother and father stay. Charlotte, which performs Maryland subsequent fall, has not introduced Miller’s hiring, however Locksley stated Sunday that Miller is not going to stick with the Terps via the bowl recreation.