Maryland vs. Auburn in Music City Bowl; Virginia Tech to Military Bowl
A little more than a week after wrapping up the regular season with a rousing victory to ensure a winning record, the Maryland football team celebrated again Sunday upon learning it would play in the Music City Bowl for the program’s third consecutive postseason appearance under Coach Michael Locksley.
Seeking a bowl victory for a program-first third consecutive year, the Terrapins (7-5) will play Auburn (6-6) at 2 p.m. Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. They previously won three straight bowls under Ralph Friedgen, but those triumphs came in 2002, 2003 and 2006.
“Obviously it elevates our program,” Locksley said of a berth in a higher-tier bowl game. “We want to play games as close to Jan. 1 as you can [and get] those extra practices, but also it elevates the way in which our program is viewed. I think it’s great for us.”
Virginia Tech (6-6) will face Tulane (11-2) in the Military Bowl at 2 p.m. Dec. 27 in Annapolis. The Hokies will be making their 29th bowl appearance in 32 years. They did not qualify for a bowl last season, their first under Coach Brent Pry. Virginia Tech’s previous appearance in a bowl came in 2021 — a 54-10 loss to the Terps in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Advertisement
Three other schools from Virginia learned their bowl destinations Sunday. Liberty, No. 23 in the final College Football Playoff ranking, claimed the Group of Five’s berth to a New Year’s Six bowl: In the Fiesta Bowl at 1 p.m. Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz., they will meet No. 8 Oregon (11-2). James Madison (11-1), in its second year as a Football Bowl Subdivision program, accepted a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl to play Air Force (8-4) at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 23 in Fort Worth. And Old Dominion (6-6) will play Western Kentucky (7-5) in the Famous Toastery Bowl at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 18 in Charlotte.
Maryland enters the Music City Bowl following a 42-24 win at Rutgers in which Taulia Tagovailoa threw for a season-high 361 yards to become the Big Ten’s career leader in passing yards (11,256). Tagovailoa also directed the decisive drive against Nebraska that led to Jack Howes’s field goal as time expired in a 13-10 road victory that secured bowl eligibility for the Terps, whose season began with five wins followed by four losses.
But Maryland is guaranteed to finish above .500 for a third straight year for the first time since 2001 to 2003, the first three seasons under Friedgen. Last year, Maryland won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, beating North Carolina State, 16-12, on Dec. 30 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
“I knew that because of our team and the way this team has fought, having an explosive offense at times, defensively being one of the more improved defenses, that we would be attractive to a lot of different bowls with the type of players we have,” said Locksley, who added that he anticipates Tagovailoa, a redshirt senior, to play in the Music City Bowl, although it’s unclear which of his teammates may opt out. “If you look at the pecking order in which they are able to select, it speaks volumes to what the Music City Bowl thought about our program.”
The Hokies were a draw for Military Bowl officials because of the fan base’s reputation for traveling well. They closed the regular season with a 55-17 win at Virginia to secure the Commonwealth Cup and bowl eligibility; Kyron Drones threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
Virginia Tech will be making its third appearance in the Military Bowl. It last played in the game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2018, when it lost to Cincinnati, 35-31.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeAcH2RaGdsZ52Wv7q4wKebZpqfrLlus8CmnGaumae0qrrImmStnZOdeq21wZ6prbFdn7q2ec6lm2acn6K2r7XOp2Y%3D