College Football Bowl Preview (Part I)

Military Bowl (December 27 2:30 p.m. ET)

Marshall vs. Maryland

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Military Bowl, played for the first time in Annapolis, MD, features some home-town flair. The University of Maryland is a short trip from the state’s capital, meaning the Terps should be well-represented in the stands. However, their opponnet, the Marshall Thundering Herd, are from the same general region and should also attract fans to the game. This is another matchup between a BCS conference and a non-BCS conference.

Maryland, playing its last season as a member of the ACC, hopes to go out on top before moving to the Big Ten. The Terrapins finished 7-5 and lost to both Clemson and Florida State, the only two ranked teams on their schedule. Dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown lead the Terrapins on offense. His ability to both run and throw keeps opposing defenses guessing as to what he’ll do next. Maryland does struggle to run the ball, averaging just 144.6 yards per game. That ranks 87th in the country. The Terrapins scored an average of 26.7 points per game, ranking 79th in the country.

On defense, Maryland was in the middle of the pack, giving up 24.8 points a game. For Marshall, this game marks the first bowl game since 2011. The Herd won nine games this year behind a stellar offense that had no trouble racking up yards and points.

Marshall ranked seventh in scoring offense this year, putting up 43 points per game. Its 291.2 passing yards per game and 211.1 rushing yards are both top-20 ranks. Quarterback Rakeem Cato put up some amazing stats, with 3,579 yards and 36 touchdowns. His two top targets are Tommy Shuler and Gator Hoskins, who combined for 1,814 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. I expect the Marshall offense to be too much for Maryland to handle and take over the game.

Prediction: Marshall 40   Utah State 24