Military Bowl 2010: 10 Things You Need To Know About Maryland vs. East Carolina
On December 29th, the Maryland Terrapins will face the East Carolina Pirates in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
While far from the most anticipated of this year's bowl games, the Military Bowl should provoke some interest and intrigue among fans of both football programs as well as casual college football observers.
Here are ten things to know about these two teams headed into their clash just two days before New Year's Eve.
ECU: Pirates Plunge To Middle of Conference USA
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This time last year, East Carolina was sitting on top of Conference USA, with a date with Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl looming to close out a successful season in 2009.
This year, at 6-6 overall, including a 5-3 mark in C-USA, the Pirates find themselves aiming a bit lower in the bowl season.
2010 was something of a transition year for ECU after going 9-5 the last two seasons and watching former head coach Skip Holtz, the son of coaching legend and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, take off for the top job at South Florida.
Hence, the Pirates will look to end the season on a high note after giving up a combined 107 points in back-to-back losses to Rice and Southern Methodist.
Maryland: Time To Fear The Turtle
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Maryland enters the Military Bowl with a surprising 8-4 record, just one year removed from going 2-10.
The Terps finished second in the ACC's Atlantic Division with a conference mark of 5-3, with a shot at reaching the ACC title game until a loss to Florida State on November 20th.
Maryland bounced back from that loss to the Seminoles by beating North Carolina State, 38-31, thereby knocking the Wolfpack out of the conference championship.
As such, the Terrapins enter their bowl game with plenty of positive momentum.
Dominique Davis: ECU's Stupendous Swashbuckler
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With the nation's seventh-ranked passing attack, East Carolina will likely fly rather than run to D.C. for the Military Bowl.
Leading the way, as he has all season, will be quarterback Dominique Davis.
The junior from Lakeland, Florida threw for a whopping 3,699 yards and 36 touchdowns against 14 interceptions, placing him sixth in the NCAA in total offense.
Expect Davis to throw early and often for the Pirates against the Terps.
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Danny O'Brien: Young Terp Takes The Reigns in College Park
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Danny O'Brien deserves a great deal of credit for Maryland's terrific turnaround from last season to now.
The freshman from North Carolina proved to be rather precocious for the Terrapins, tossing for a steady 21 touchdowns against only six interceptions while earning a quarterback efficiency rating of 135.20.
O'Brien, like the rest of the Terps team, comes into the Military Bowl riding a wave of positive play after putting up a career-high 417 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season finale against NC State.
All-Purpose Attackers: Dwayne Harris and Torrey Smith
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Aside from outstanding quarterback play, both teams partaking in the Military Bowl bring with them skill players capable of scoring in different ways.
ECU's Dwayne Harris and Maryland's Torrey Smith both play primarily wide receiver while handling return duties for their respective teams.
Harris racked up 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air, comparing favorably to Smith's 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns, though Smith accumulated his numbers with just 65 catches as opposed to Harris' 93.
Though neither player has managed a non-receiving touchdown this year, Harris and Smith have three return touchdowns apiece on their resumes.
In other words, expect both of these guys to score against the other's defense, perhaps in more ways than one.
Tony Logan: Maryland's Human Joystick
6 of 10While Smith mans the kickoff returns for the Terps, Tony Logan lights up the field on punts.
The five-foot-ten junior from Piscataway, New Jersey returned two punts for touchdowns this year while averaging 18.77 yards per punt return, good for third-best in the nation.
In other words, East Carolina would be smart to send its punts sailing out of bounds against Maryland.
SOS: Pirates' Defense Is Among The Nation's Worst
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If Tony Logan doesn't take one to the house against ECU, chances are someone else for Maryland will.
The Pirates are dead last in the NCAA in total defense, giving up 478.83 yards per game, and third-to-last in points allowed at 43.42 points per game allotted to their opponents.
In fact, the Pirates have yielded at least 40 points in each of their last six games, including 62 to Rice and 76 to Navy.
In other words, ECU's defense isn't exactly an immovable object.
Ralph Friedgen: Strengthening a Tenuous Grip on The Terps
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Following a dismal 2-10 season, Ralph Friedgen looked to be firmly planted on the coaching hot seat in College Park.
However, an 8-4 record this year has the Fridge back in the good graces of Maryland's boosters, for now.
Despite a solid win-loss record of 74-49, the Terps' football team has performed somewhat erratically since Friedgen took over in 2001.
A win in the Military Bowl would give Maryland nine wins in 2010 and set the Terrapins up for a big season in 2011.
Or, if the sine wave of Friedgen's tenure continues as it has, a down year and an ousting for the head coach.
Ruffin McNeill: Green Coach in Greenville
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The kind of inconsistency that Friedgen has seen on a year-to-year basis has plagued Ruffin McNeill's ECU squad from game to game.
After spending 10 years on Mike Leach's staff at Texas Tech before landing his first head coaching gig at East Carolina, his alma mater, as Skip Holtz's replacement.
McNeill's success at improving the Red Raiders' defense during his tenure as Leach's defensive coordinator suggests that he should be able to make similar progress with the Pirates' paltry D.
Conclusion: Maryland Takes The Military Bowl in a Shootout
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All things considered, the Military Bowl should be one of the more entertaining games of the 2010 bowl season, especially for lovers of high-scoring affairs.
Maryland is middle-to-upper-middle class in most phases of the game, while ECU's offense is as good as its defense is bad.
Hence, expect both teams to light up the scoreboard at RFK Stadium in late December.
The difference will likely come down to defense, wherein the Terps should be able to slow down the Pirates' high-powered attack just enough to come away with the victory.
Prediction: Maryland 49, ECU 38
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
