Talk about twists.
Everyone in College Park was ready for the drive down Interstate 95 for a game in Charlotte, N.C. against Navy after the Terrapins lost to Wake Forest last weekend.
But by yesterday morning, everyone was sold on Orlando, Fla. – which is where the Terps will travel for their Dec. 29 game against Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl. So how’d it get to that point?
During halftime of Saturday’s oh-so-exciting ACC Championship game, ACC commissioner John Swofford announced that the Gator Bowl did not have to take Georgia Tech if it lost (which it did), basically voiding the one-win rule, which the ACC instituted this year.
At that point, it was safe to say the Terps would have been invited to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl if the Yellow Jackets lost – Clemson to the Gator, Georgia Tech to Champs Sports, Boston College to Music City.
So once Georgia Tech lost, it was time to start booking hotels in Charlotte, right? Wrong.
In a stunner, the Gator Bowl officials immediately invited Georgia Tech back to Jacksonville, Fla. Why would they do this, especially after a pathetic crowd attended the ACC Championship game and they were given permission to skip over the Yellow Jackets? Reports surfaced that the ACC reached an agreement with the Gator Bowl to pay them the amount of any unsold tickets that were allotted to Georgia Tech’s fans.
Talk about confusing.
Regardless, that leaves the Terps in the Champs Sports Bowl, and it’s a great fit for them. Instead of a game against Navy and the triple-option running attack, the Terps get Purdue, a team they are much more suited to play.
While it’s not as convenient as a drive to Charlotte, don’t think fans won’t dish out a few extra bucks to fly to sunny Orlando for a few days.
“This is a bowl that’s been on people’s minds here in Maryland … for several weeks, especially since the end of the regular season,” Athletics Director Debbie Yow said.
“We accepted it immediately.”
And something tells me the team will enjoy its bowl week at Disney World and Universal theme parks a bit more than it would have at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. Just a hunch, though.
When coach Ralph Friedgen told his team of the bowl game, he said the players “let out a loud cheer.”
“They’re really excited about it,” he said. “They’re looking forward to it.”
At the beginning of the season, the Terps were a team most people thought could make a bowl game in Boise, Idaho or San Francisco – at best. At the end of the season, the Terps were a team most people thought would land in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Being invited to the Champs Sports Bowl is like, well, an early holiday present for the team and its fans.
Talk about a good situation for the Terps.
Contact sports editor Andrew Zuckerman at zuckermandbk@gmail.com.
