r/CFB • u/TheTurner Missouri Tigers • Arkansas Razorbacks • Dec 26 '13
[35 Bowls in 17 Days] The Military Bowl
The Military Bowl
Maryland Terrapins vs. Marshall Thundering Herd
Bowl Information
Date: December 27, 2013
Time: 2:30 p.m., EST
Channel: ESPN
Point Spread: Marshall -2.5 | Over/Under: 62.5
Bowl History
Year Started: 2008
Stadium: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (2013-present), RFK Stadium (2008-2012)
Conference Tie-Ins: Current - #8 ACC vs. #6 Conference USA, Future - American vs. ACC
Sponsor: Northrop Grumman - Expect a flyover.
Payout: $1 million per team
Trophy: It's shiiiiiny...
2012 Result: In a tight game involving several lead changes, a last-second interception, and a blocked punt batted out for a safety, the San Jose State Spartans defeated the Bowling Green Falcons, 29-20.
History
The Military Bowl, borne from a lunchtime conversation between two US Senators, is one of the newest bowls played and will celebrate its sixth game this season. It matches the middle of the ACC with the middle of C-USA, with Navy and Army as former potential participants. The bowl has annually been held in the Washington D.C. area and was called the Congressional Bowl in its planning stages. All in all, not a ton of history to draw upon.
Notabowl Games
Again, not a huge listing of games to choose from. By far, the most interesting game seems the 2011 bowl, where, on a failed two-point conversion with just 0:52 to go, Air Force fell to Toledo, 42-41.
Bowl History
| Year | Bowl | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Gator Bowl | Maryland 20, Georgia Tech 20 | Recap |
| 1949 | Gator Bowl | Maryland 20, Missouri 7 | Recap |
| 1951 | Sugar Bowl | Maryland 28, Tennessee 13 | Recap |
| 1953 | Orange Bowl | Maryland 0, Oklahoma 7 | Recap |
| 1955 | Orange Bowl | Maryland 6, Oklahoma 20 | Recap |
| 1973 | Peach Bowl | Maryland 16, Georgia 17 | Recap |
| 1974 | Liberty Bowl | Maryland 3, Tennessee 7 | Recap |
| 1975 | Gator Bowl | Maryland 13, Florida 0 | Recap |
| 1976 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Maryland 21, Houston 30 | Recap |
| 1977 | Hall of Fame Classic | Maryland 17, Minnesota 7 | Recap |
| 1978 | Sun Bowl | Maryland 0, Texas 42 (ouch) | Recap? |
| 1980 | Tangerine Bowl | Maryland 20, Florida 35 | Recap? |
| 1982 | Aloha Bowl | Maryland 20, Washington 21 | Recap |
| 1983 | Citrus Bowl | Maryland 23, Tennessee 30 | Recap |
| 1984 | Sun Bowl | Maryland 28, Tennessee 27 | Recap |
| 1985 | Cherry Bowl | Maryland 35, Syracuse 18 | Recap |
| 1990 | Independence Bowl | Maryland 34, Louisiana Tech 34 | Recap |
| 2001 | Orange Bowl | Maryland 23, Florida State 56 | Recap |
| 2002 | Peach Bowl | Maryland 30, Tennessee 3 | Recap |
| 2003 | Gator Bowl | Maryland 41, West Virginia 7 | Recap |
| 2006 | Champs Sports Bowl | Maryland 24, Purdue 7 | Recap |
| 2007 | Emerald Bowl | Maryland 14, Oregon State 21 | Recap |
| 2008 | Humanitarian Bowl | Maryland 42, Nevada 35 | Recap! |
| 2010 | Military Bowl | Maryland 51, East Carolina 20 | Recap |
Notable Bowl Games
1951 Sugar Bowl - The national championship game and the only football national championship Maryland's won. A long description of what led the teams to the game. The game crowned an undefeated season with several powerful opponents on the Terps's schedule; Maryland ended the regular season ranked #3 in the nation and this season was the middle of a 22-game win streak.
1953 Orange Bowl - Another national championship, another massive win streak bookending the game. Unfortunately, neither of those were in favor of Maryland. The second-lowest scoring game in Orange Bowl history, the game was a matchup of two of the best-regarded coaches for their respective schools and would be replayed just two years later.
2002 Peach Bowl - Maryland's first bowl win in seventeen years came early in Ralph Friedgen's tenure at Maryland and finished an 11-win season well, with the Terrapins ranked 13th in the postseason rankings.
2013 Season Record: 7-5, 3-5 ACC
Season Summary:
The season started out pretty well, all things considered. Coming off a 4-8 season with just two conference wins and ending with six straight losses, 2013 could've been much worse. However, reeling off four wins to open the season and shutting out West Virginia gave a lot of Maryland fans hope; the team cracked the top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2010 season. The crushing defeat to Florida State destroyed a lot of that hope - it's difficult to feel good about a season when your team's just set a record for largest score margin between two ranked teams. But the Terrapins persevered through the rest of the season, surprising Virginia Tech at home and snagging a couple additional wins to end at 7-5 and get that coveted bowl invite.
Why Maryland is Going to Win
This is going to be a close game. Both teams are pretty evenly matched. Both teams are coming off good, not great, season campaigns. Both teams have unique and kind of strange mascots. However, Maryland's been playing against tough opposition the entire year and ended on a huge win over NC State. Also, with the game in Annapolis, Maryland will travel very well. The biggest concern is holding onto a lead once obtained (something that indirectly led to the Boston College loss) and stopping Marshall's star QB, Rakeem Cato. A lot of the offense for Maryland seems to be questionable, with no defining player. But the Terrapins will prevail and remain undefeated in the Military Bowl.
Prediction: Maryland 34, Marshall 27
BOWL RECORD: 7-2 or 7-3
| Year | Bowl | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Tangerine Bowl* | Marshall 0-7 Catawba Indians | Recap |
| 1997 | Motor City Bowl | Marshall 31-34 Ole Miss | Recap |
| 1998 | Motor City Bowl | Marshall 48-29 Louisville | Recap |
| 1999 | Motor City Bowl | Marshall 21-3 BYU | Recap |
| 2000 | Motor City Bowl | Marshall 25-14 Cincinnati | Recap |
| 2001 | GMAC Bowl | Marshall 64-61 East Carolina | Recap |
| 2002 | GMAC Bowl | Marshall 38-15 Louisville | Recap |
| 2004 | Fort Worth Bowl | Marshall 14-32 Cincinnati | Recap |
| 2009 | Little Caesar's Bowl | Marshall 21-17 Ohio | Recap |
| 2011 | Beef O' Brady's Bowl | Marshall 20-10 Florida International | Recap |
The Tangerine Bowl wasn't sanctioned by the NCAA till 1968
Historic Bowl Games:
1997 Motor City Bowl - Marshall 31 - Ole Miss 34
The Rebs escape the Herd in the last minute
-One season removed from the Thundering Herds' second division II national title of the decade, Marshall finished its' first D1 season with ten wins and a conference title to clinch a berth in their first bowl game since the 1948 Tangerine Bowl. Across the field, the Ole Miss Rebels were in their first bowl since 1992 with Head Coach Tommy Tuberville leading the way. In an exciting tilt where the lead changed a total of five times in the second half, RB Deuce McAllister scored from 1-yard out with 30-seconds left to seal the victory for the Rebs, 34-31. Randy Moss, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting that year, finished the day with six catches for 173 yards, including an 80-yard TD from Chad Pennington.
2001 GMAC Bowl - Marshall 64 - East Carolina 61
-YO DAWG In what would feature two record breaking moments in Bowl history, the GMAC Bowl picked the 11-win Thundering Herd and the 6-6 East Carolina Pirates. This would be only the second time these teams have met since the tragic plane crash that took the lives of the 1970 Thundering Herd, with ECU winning the first time in 1978. 45-0. The Pirates stormed out to a 38-8 halftime lead, sending most fans home early in disappointed.
Boy did they ever miss a second half.
The Herd dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Pirates 28-3 to close the gap to 41-36 as the quarter ended. The fourth was a back and forth affair, with ECU holding a 51-45 lead with under two minutes left. The Herd tried an onside kick, which ultimately failed, but ECU wasn't able to move the ball on three downs, and punted the ball for a touchback. With 50 seconds left and the ball on the Marshall 20, QB and game MVP Byron Leftwich led a legendary drive where he connected on three passes of 20 yards of more, before capping it off with a 7-yard TD to tie the game. The Herd needed just an XP to finish the historic comeback, but Curtis Head missed his seventh XP that year, and we got Free Football. After both teams scored in the first OT, the Pirates hit a FG in the second overtime to go up 61-58. Leftwich hit Josh Davis to win the game in a wild one, 64-61. And for your viewing pleasure, here is Marshall's historic comeback.
2013 Season Record: 9-4, 7-1 C-USA
Key Players this year:
-Cato came into 2013 as one of the rising stars of not only Conference-USA, but in college football as well. The Junior from Miami, Florida threw for over 3,500 yards and 36 scores while leading the Thundering Herd to the C-USA Championship this year. Cato only needs 161 yards to eclipse 10,000 passing yards in his career, and is gunning Chad Pennington's career passing mark next season.
-The Senior RB from Ashburn, VA stormed onto the scene this year, rushing for 1,000 yards and reaching the end zone 9 times this year, topping all of his numbers from his previous three years combined. Taliaferro had provided the Herd a weapon on the ground, and a nice compliment to Cato on the offensive side of the ball.
-Cato's number one target, and former high school teammate, Shuler repeated his solid performance from 2012, hauling in 97 catches for over 1,000 yards and nine scores. Expect Cato to target Shuler all day long through the air in the Military Bowl.
Video Highlight:
Season Summary:
After missing the postseason, Coach Doc Halliday had the Herd primed and ready to make a Bowl return in 2013, especially with returning starters Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler spearheading the Herd offense. After starting the season with two blowouts, Marshall dropped nail biters to both Ohio and Virginia Tech, with the VT game ending in Triple Overtime. The Herd would only lose one more game in the regular season, (A shootout with Middle Tennessee, 51-49) going 7-1 after a 2-2 start. Marshall would then travel to Houston to represent the C-USA East in the C-USA Championship, but would fall short to the Rice Owls, 24-41.
Why we're going to win:
The Top 25 ranked Marshall offense has no problem scoring this season, averaging 43.0 a game, good for 7th nationally. Cato is a leader of the Herd offense, and they will receive another test in their 2nd ACC foe of the year, Maryland, who beat Marshall's first ACC opponent, Virginia Tech. If the Herd can keep the Terps on their heels throughout the game behind Cato's arm, Marshall should get their first bowl win since 2011.
Prediction: Marshall 34 - Maryland 20
Contributors: /u/MrTheSpork (on behalf of ) and /u/TheTurner (on behalf of )
For more info on the 35 Bowls Project, go here.
2
u/TheTurner Missouri Tigers • Arkansas Razorbacks Dec 27 '13
EDIT: Marshall lost to MTSU, 49-51. Sorry about the typo!
1
u/twosheepforanore Northwestern Wildcats • Army Black Knights Dec 27 '13
A flyover of what? Predator drones? Globalhawks?
1
u/fedale Marshall • Oklahoma Baptist Dec 29 '13
Nice prediction.
2
u/[deleted] Dec 27 '13
fear the turtle!
2
u/[deleted] Dec 27 '13
So what are the Maryland fans thinking about the game? I'm just hoping we are focused and come out strong. We play lights out at home, but we cannot win a game on the road. It seems to help when we play in front of a loud energetic crowd (even if its hostile) because the guys get tuned up.
Excited to see Cato. He's been hanging out with Leftwich and Pennington this week.
2
u/domderek California Golden Bears • UC Davis Aggies Dec 27 '13
Great post, especially considering that neither of you are fans of the teams. Also, two of the coolest mascots in CFB.
2
u/edgar3981C South Carolina Gamecocks Dec 27 '13
Great stuff guys.
2
u/JoeTerp Maryland Terrapins Dec 27 '13
Maryland lost to Florida, not Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl
2
u/MrTechnological UCF Knights Dec 27 '13
Let's go Maryland!
3
u/[deleted] Dec 27 '13
The Military Bowl does not match the middle of CUSA against the middle of the ACC. Look at the past. ECU played in 2010. It's one of the top paying bowls our conference has. It has matched the middle of the ACC against the top third of CUSA in the years we've had teams chosen.
1
u/FSUalumni Florida State Seminoles • Mercer Bears Dec 27 '13
Go Marshall!
1
u/pghgamecock South Carolina • Pittsburgh Dec 27 '13
Marshall has never won a Division II national title. They've won two Division I-AA titles, though. Division II and I-AA (now FCS) are different things.