After a humbling 23-0 loss to then-No. 19 Iowa on Saturday, Maryland football sits at 4-3 on the season, still needing two more wins to reach bowl eligibility.
The Terps are 17-point favorites against Illinois this weekend, and if they can pick up that victory, Matt Canada’s team will need only one win in its remaining four games to qualify for the postseason. Despite a tough schedule, most experts predict Maryland will make a bowl game.
After the Terps were projected to play in the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium across the board last week, here’s where they stand in the eyes of the experts after week eight of the college football season.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field (Dec. 26 at 5:15 p.m. in Detroit, Michigan) vs. Western Michigan
This would be a return to the Quick Lane Bowl for the Terps, who played in the game in 2016 and lost to Boston College 36-30. This game usually includes one of the worst bowl-eligible teams in the Big Ten against one of the worst bowl eligible teams in the ACC, but Bonagura thinks the ACC won’t have enough .500 teams.
So, enter Western Michigan, a team that is currently 6-2 and a perfect 4-0 in the MAC. The Broncos, who are just two years removed from a perfect 13-0 season, have won six games in a row since falling to Syracuse and Michigan to start the season. If Western Michigan can continue its winning ways and get to 10 wins, they may be flying further than the Quick Lane Bowl for postseason play.
ESPN’s Mitch Sherman: New Era Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium (Dec. 27 at 5:15 p.m. in New York City) vs. Syracuse
Despite Maryland’s loss to Iowa and Syracuse’s near-loss to lowly North Carolina on Saturday, Sherman still thinks the Terps and the Orange will match up in the Bronx.
Sports Illustrated: SERVPRO First Responders Bowl at the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas) vs. North Texas
Eric Single of Sports Illustrated is the first person to send the Terps to Dallas, in what would be an intriguing matchup with North Texas. The Mean Green are 6-2 on the season, and were still in solid position to play in a New Year’s Six Bowl before a 29-21 loss to UAB on Saturday. This team, of course, is famous for its awesome punt return trick play against Arkansas, and with its campus in Denton, Texas located less than an hour away from Dallas, it would be a very pro-North Texas crowd.
Sporting News: No bowl game
Ouch.
CBS Sports: New Era Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium (Dec. 27 at 5:15 p.m. in New York City) vs. Virginia
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports again has the Terps headed to New York, but this time to face Virginia. The Terps last played their old ACC rival in 2013, a 27-26 Maryland victory. But this Wahoos team is on a roll, at 5-2 after back-to-back convincing wins over Miami and Duke, and can still play its way into the ACC Championship game.
SB Nation: No bowl game
Not cool.
College Football News: SERVPRO First Responders Bowl at the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas) vs. North Texas
They agree with Sports Illustrated, and thinks the Terps will head to the Lone Star state.
Orlando Sentinel: New Era Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium (Dec. 27 at 5:15 p.m. in New York City) vs. Miami
Brant Parsons of the Orlando Sentinel also thinks the Terrapins will play in Yankee Stadium, but he has them matching up with a different ACC foe. After flirting with a perfect season and making it to the ACC Championship game last season, the Hurricanes are 5-2 this year and are coming off a loss to Virginia. And to make things worse, the team is dealing with a serious quarterback controversy.
I’m not sure the Canes will slip low enough in the ACC Standings to play in this bowl game, but if they do, it would be the first meeting between the two teams since Sep. 5, 2011 in prime time, when Maryland kicked off the Randy Edsall era with a huge win over Miami on national TV.
Stadium: College Football News: SERVPRO First Responders Bowl at the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas) vs. Marshall
Stadium’s Brett McMurphy has the Terps heading to the heart of Texas, but his projections have Maryland matched up with Marshall. The Thundering Herd are 5-2 on the season, and last took on the Terrapins in the 2013 Military Bowl — a 31-20 Marshall victory.
Action Network: Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field (Dec. 26 at 5:15 p.m. in Detroit, Michigan) vs. Pitt
Steve Petralla of the Action Network also has the Terrapins heading back to Detroit, although he sees a Maryland-Pitt matchup. The Panthers joined the ACC after the Terps left, so the two teams never faced off in the conference. Maryland is 3-2 all-time against Pitt, with the last showdown coming all the way back in 1992. However, the Panthers are 3-4 this season, and have a tough road to six wins.