MARYLAND (7-5) vs. NEVADA (7-5)
Today: 4:30 p.m. Where: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho | TV: ESPN | Radio: FM-106.7, FM-105.7, AM-1300
MARYLAND
STARTERS
Offense
QB 10 Chris Turner
TB 23 Da’Rel Scott
FB 39 Cory Jackson
WR-X 82 Torrey Smith
WR-Z 8 Darrius Heyward-Bey
TE 13 Dan Gronkowski
LT 74 Bruce Campbell
LG 76 Jaimie Thomas
C 60 Edwin Williams
RG 72 Phil Costa
RT 77 Scott Burley
Defense
DE 40 Jeremy Navarre
NT 92 Dion Armstrong
DT 90 Travis Ivey
LEO 55 Trey Covington
SLB 48 Moise Fokou
MLB 33 Alex Wujciak
WLB 34 Dave Philistin
CB 6 Anthony Wiseman
FS 1 Terrell Skinner
SS 29 Jeff Allen
CB 14 Nolan Carroll
Special teams
K/KO 39 Obi Egekeze
P 35 Travis Baltz
KR 82 Torrey Smith
PR 17 Danny Oquendo
STATISTICAL LEADERS
PassingC-AYardsTD-INT
C. Turner201-3472,31811-10
J. Steffy10-181150-2
RushingAtt.YardsTD
D. Scott1959596
D. Meggett794224
ReceivingRec.YardsTD
Heyward-Bey385615
D. Oquendo293712
Schedule
DateOpponentTime/score
Aug. 30DelawareW, 14-7
Sept. 6at Middle Tenn.L, 24-14
Sept. 13CaliforniaW, 35-27
Sept. 20E. MichiganW, 51-24
Sept. 27at ClemsonW, 20-17
Oct. 4at VirginiaL, 31-0
Oct. 18Wake ForestW, 26-0
Oct. 25N.C. StateW, 27-24
Nov. 6at Virginia TechL, 23-13
Nov. 15North CarolinaW, 17-15
Nov. 22Florida StateL, 37-3
Nov. 29at Boston CollegeL, 28-21
Todayvs. Nevada#4:30 p.m.
#Boise, Idaho
Coach
Ralph Friedgen Eighth season, 63-36
The Terrapins are playing in their sixth bowl under Friedgen, though this is probably the most unfulfilling postseason trip because Maryland was two wins from a division title. Friedgen becomes the third person in program history to coach 100 games and the first since Jerry Claiborne (1972-1981).
NEVADA
STARTERS
Offense
QB 10 Colin Kaepernick
RB 34 Vai Taua
WR-Z 4 Marko Mitchell
WR-X 14 Chris Wellington
WR-F 89 Mike McCoy
TE 85 Virgil Green
T 50 Mike Gallett
G 65 Brad Eskew
C 61 Dominic Green
G 63 Kenneth Ackerman
T 73 Alonzo Durham
Defense
DE 55 Dontay Moch
DT 94 Mundrae Clifton
DT 95 Nate Agaiava
DE 99 Kevin Basped
SLB 52 James Johnson
MLB 54 Jerome Johnson
WLB 33 Brandon Marshall
CB 45 Antoine Thompson
SS 49 Jonathon Amaya
FS 17 Uche Anyanwu
CB 32 Isaiah Frey
Special teams
K/KO 13 Brett Jaekle
P 13 Brett Jaekle
KR 84 Brian Fludd
PR 45 Antoine Thompson
STATISTICAL LEADERS
PassingC-AYardsTD-INT
Kaepernick184-3362,47919-5
N. Graziano15-301450-2
RushingAtt.YardsTD
V. Taua2131,42014
Kaepernick1521,11516
ReceivingRec.YardsTD
M. Mitchell561,0119
M. McCoy404202
SCHEDULE
DateOpponentTime/score
Aug. 30 Grambling StateW, 49-13
Sept. 6Texas TechL, 35-19
Sept. 13at MissouriL, 69-17
Sept. 27at UNLVW, 49-27
Oct. 4at IdahoW, 49-14
Oct. 11New Mexico St.L, 48-45
Oct. 18Utah StateW, 44-17
Oct. 25at HawaiiL, 38-31
Nov. 7at Fresno StateW, 41-28
Nov. 15San Jose StateW, 41-17
Nov. 22Boise StateL, 41-34
Nov. 29at La. TechW, 35-31
Today vs. Maryland#4:30 p.m.
#Boise, Idaho
Coach
Chris Ault 24th season, 198-90-1
The innovator of the pistol offense and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Ault is in his third stint as coach of the Wolf Pack. He played quarterback at Nevada and has served as coach or athletic director (and, at times, both) in Reno since 1976. Nevada is 1-4 in bowl games under Ault, including a loss two years ago to Miami in the Humanitarian Bowl.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Maryland offensive line vs. Nevada front seven
Maryland’s strength was supposed to be its offensive line. It didn’t quite work out.
Instead, the senior-laden bunch pass-blocked well for 10 games but performed erratically in the running game. After physically overwhelming some lesser opponents early in the season, the Terps couldn’t run in the season’s latter stages and became one dimensional.
Now Maryland must contend with the nation’s No. 3 rushing defense - as well as the nation’s worst passing defense. So while Chris Turner could fling the ball around all day, the Terps would be well-served to establish a running game and salvage something from a unit that, outside of all-conference center Edwin Williams, was pilloried this season.
If the Terps’ veteran linemen can play well and create space for Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett, they will leave College Park on a memorable note.
NUGGETS
Maryland
- Nevada is yielding an average of 321.1 passing yards, which could create favorable conditions for quarterback Chris Turner. The junior would move into fifth on Maryland’s single-season passing list with a 300-yard day. He ranks seventh on the Terps’ career passing list with 4,276 yards.
- Torrey Smith could set the ACC’s single-season kickoff return yards record by halftime. The redshirt freshman has 990 yards, second in league history to Duke’s Tijan Redmon, who had 1,065 in 1995. Nevada averages 37.8 points, so Smith could emerge as a record-holder quickly.
- Senior linebacker Moise Fokou’s strong season has received relatively little acclaim, but a strong case could be made that the former walk-on and transfer from Frostburg State is the Terps’ best defensive player. Fokou was the only player in the ACC who entered the postseason with at least 72 tackles and five sacks; his athleticism helped him improve in his second year as a starter.
Nevada
- Colin Kaepernick is tied for 25th all time among major-college quarterbacks for rushing yards in a season. The sophomore has 1,115 yards; he would become only the 19th QB to reach 1,200 yards if he matches his average of 93 yards. Air Force’s Beau Morgan set the single-season record of 1,494 in 1996.
- The Wolf Pack’s prolific offense is rarely silenced, even for short stretches. Nevada has scored in 44 of 48 quarters this season. The Wolf Pack had a streak of 28 straight quarters with a point snapped in their regular-season finale against Louisiana Tech. The only other two teams to blank Nevada for a quarter are Missouri (twice) and Boise State.
- While hardly huge defensive ends, Dontay Moch and Kevin Basped create plenty of headaches. Nevada ranks fifth in the nation in tackles for loss and eighth in sacks, and that pair pops up in the top 30 individually in both categories. Basped led the WAC with 10 sacks.
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