Foster Farms Bowl 2014: Maryland vs. Stanford TV Info, Spread, Time and More

Both Stanford and Maryland finished with 7-5 records in power conferences, but you would never know it by looking at the point spread.

Stanford from the Pac-12 is a heavy favorite over Maryland from the Big Ten, and it will attempt to unleash its dominant defense on an overmatched Terrapins squad. Whether a middle-of-the-road Maryland offense can respond remains to be seen.

Here is a look at the essential information for the showdown.

2014 Foster Farms Bowl

Matchup: Maryland vs. Stanford

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 30

Time: 10 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN 

Spread: Stanford -14 (via Odds Shark, as of Sunday at 11 a.m. ET)

Injury Report (via USA Today)

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Sean Christie	OL	08/11/2014	is expected to miss the entire season	Out	knee
Stefon Diggs	WR	12/24/2014	is probable for the Foster Farms Bowl Tuesday against Stanford	Probable	kidney
Nnamdi Egbuaba	LB	08/31/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	shoulder
Daniel Ezeagwu	DB	10/15/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
A.J. Hendy	CB	08/30/2014	will miss the entire season	Suspended	knee/disciplinary
Alvin Hill	DB	09/27/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	leg
Taivon Jacobs	WR	09/01/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Levern Jacobs	WR	08/30/2014	will miss the entire season	Suspended	disciplinary
Quinton Jefferson	DL	09/22/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	knee
Evan Mulrooney	G	08/28/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	illness
Albert Reid	RB	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Foster Farms Bowl Tuesday against Stanford	Questionable	knee
Caleb Rowe	QB	10/19/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Cavon Walker	LB	09/22/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	foot
Juwann Winfree	WR	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Foster Farms Bowl Tuesday against Stanford	Questionable	disciplinary

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Brandon Fanaika	OL	08/31/2014	is expected to miss the entire season	Out	undisclosed
Ty Montgomery	WR	12/24/2014	is questionable for the Foster Farms Bowl Tuesday against Maryland	Questionable	shoulder
Ikenna Nwafor	DL	08/23/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	undisclosed
Thomas Oser	C	08/31/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	undisclosed
Aziz Shittu	DE	10/17/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	undisclosed
Lane Veach	LB	08/31/2014	is expected to miss the entire season	Out	undisclosed

Preview

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

While Stanford was able to reach a bowl game, it fell short of the Rose Bowl because of struggles against the impressive teams on its schedule. 

The Cardinal lost to USC, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oregon and Utah, and any criticism launched their way was justified. However, they at least partially responded to that criticism in a loud way in the regular-season finale at UCLA with a 31-10 win.

David Shaw discussed some of the ups and downs for his team, according to Stats LLC, via ESPN.com: "They're excited. They understand what this is. They understand this is something that we earned by how we played, positively and negatively. Now it's a chance to go back and play one more game in a great stadium. And hopefully in front of a loud home crowd."

As for Maryland, it lost to West Virginia and was blown out by Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin. That same type of struggles-against-good-teams criticism would be fair regarding the Terrapins as well.

Maryland could struggle once again against quality competition in this bowl game because of Stanford’s elite defense.

The Cardinal finished the season second in points allowed, fifth in total defense, 11th against the run and seventh against the pass, and they had their way with the majority of offenses they faced this season.

The Terrapins will attempt to counter with quarterback C.J. Brown, who led his team in rushing attempts (148), rushing yards (569) and rushing touchdowns (seven). However, he struggled in the throwing department and was eighth in the Big Ten with 173.6 passing yards per game.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

If Maryland is going to pull off the upset, superstar wide receiver Stefon Diggs has to step up. He has been out since Nov. 1 but should return as the Terrapins' top weapon with the speed to break a game open in one play.

Still, Maryland fans hoping to see Diggs returning kicks again may be in for a disappointment, according to Matt Zenitz of The Baltimore Sun:

With a limited Diggs for a portion of the year and a lack of an established running game outside of Brown, Maryland finished the season 73rd in passing, 105th in rushing and 67th in scoring. Those are not exactly the types of numbers the program needs to compete with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten.

Maryland isn’t the only team in this bowl game with a middling offense, though.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

The Cardinal were last in the Pac-12 with 386.5 yards per game, but they were better down the stretch. Stanford tallied 854 yards in the final two games thanks largely to a rushing attack that passed 200 yards on the ground in each one.

Running back Remound Wright scored six touchdowns in that two-game stretch, while quarterback Kevin Hogan added 92 yards of his own on the ground.

That could be a problem for a Maryland defense that allowed more than 200 rushing yards a game and struggled to contain the offenses of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Maryland’s defense struggled for much of the season against quality competition and finished 84th in the country in points allowed per game. The Cardinal are just hitting their stride on the offensive side and should be able to put up enough points for their stellar defense against a vulnerable Maryland group.

The return of Diggs will help the Terrapins keep this one closer than the point spread indicates, but Stanford, with its defense and red-hot offense, is simply a mismatch in this one. Chalk one up for the Pac-12. 

Prediction: Stanford 28, Maryland 17

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