College football bowl season continues with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl showdown between Maryland and North Carolina State.
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No. 23 N.C. State Wolfpack (8-4) vs. Maryland Terrapins (7-5)
@ Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC
How to Watch:
- Date: Friday, Dec. 30th
- Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Channel: ESPN
Betting Stats:
- Spread: NCST -2
- Over/Under: 46.0
Matchup:
Earning a bid to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl following its regular-season victory over UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State secured a matchup against an old conference foe turned Big Ten challenger. The series between the Wolfpack and Maryland is split at 33 wins apiece, with the winner of this year’s official bowl game of the Sickos Committee destined for bragging rights until the two schools face off again years down the line.
The aforementioned victory over the Tar Heels was a sweet ending to an otherwise sour regular season for N.C. State, which fell well short of its aspirations of contending for an ACC title. Injuries, failure to capitalize on the biggest stages, and coaching all played a part in the Pack’s shortcomings, but the win over a hated rival put the resilience of this year’s squad into perspective. “Next man up” was the name of the game — whether it was Ben Finley stepping in as the Pack’s fourth starting quarterback in 2022 or rotation players like Devan Boykin with season-defining moments.
The Terrapins know a thing or two about coming up short of expectations as well, failing to crack into the Big Ten East’s esteemed top three of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. With losses to all three, as well as Big Ten West champion Purdue and a poor showing in Madison, Wisconsin against the Badgers, Maryland fell below .500 in conference play and sputtered to a stop in the season’s largest moments.
The beauty of bowl season is that all of those shortcomings are behind these student-athletes, who now have the opportunity to bring some hardware home to their respective schools and cap off their 2022 campaigns with a win over an old rival. N.C. State is primed to seek vengeance for last year’s bowl disaster that saw a Wolfpack squad stripped of its opportunity for a 10th win due to a late, Covid-19 induced, dropout from UCLA. Alternatively, Maryland and head coach Mike Locksley have been changing the culture on campus, and a potential win would do that much more in getting the Terrapins back on the map.
The Terps vs. the Pack, Locksley vs. Dave Doeren, stellar offensive vs. stifling defense — all for the opportunity to bathe in Duke’s mayonnaise. A bowl victory would do wonders for both of these programs, who have been rather down on their luck this season. There’s no better time and place to right the ship than Friday at noon in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Players to Know:
Michael Allen – N.C. State, RB
2022 stats: 263 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, longest rush — 36 yards
Finishing the year as one of the Pack’s most surprising breakout players offensively, Allen jumped right into the backfield in place of a consistently injured Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and provided the power punch to Jordan Houston’s shifty movement. Allen’s big-play prowess has been essential to the success of N.C. State’s roulette wheel of quarterbacks, and coming into a bowl matchup with the Wolfpack’s starting signal caller yet to be identified — he’ll be called on again to provide consistent offensive output.
Drake Thomas – N.C. State, LB
2022 stats: 90 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 4 passes defended
A massive snub to this year’s All-ACC First Team, Thomas missed the cut by eight votes resulting in relegation to the second team despite being the third highest vote-recipient for defenders in the ACC Players of the Year Awards. Regardless, Thomas finished fourth in the conference in tackles for loss, 13th in sacks as a linebacker and 11th in total tackles. Having declared for the draft after the conclusion of the regular season, the consensus N.C. State legend is sure to go all out in his last time donning the red-and-white.
Taulia Tagovailoa – Maryland, QB
2022 stats: 2,787 passing yards, 21 total touchdowns, six interceptions
As important as Locksley has been to the aforementioned shift in Maryland’s football culture, Tagovailoa has served as the perfect vessel under center for the team’s success. His 2022 campaign earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team and solidified his place in Terrapin history as the program’s all-time leader in career passing yards (7,658), career passing touchdowns (50), and career completion percentage (68%). Even though the Terrapins will be without a handful of top-tier offensive playmakers, fully expect Tagovailoa and Maryland’s potent passing attack to give the Wolfpack secondary troubles.
Ami Finau – Maryland, DT
2022 stats: 29 total tackles, five tackles for loss
One of the Terps’ best defenders in 2022, Finau earned himself an honorable mention to the All-Big Ten selections. Plugging up the middle in key matchups throughout the year, including a season-high six tackles and a TFL against Penn State and five solo tackles and a TFL against Purdue, Finau has proved reliable in large moments. A bowl game to finish the year is as large as it’ll get for Maryland this season, and with his resume when it matters most — expect Finau to make an impact in the trenches.
Key Injuries:
Devin Leary: N.C. State, QB: Transfer portal
Rakim Jarrett: Maryland, WR: Opt-out
Jacob Copeland: Maryland, WR: Opt-out
Dontay Demus Jr: Maryland, WR: Opt-out
Deonte Banks: Maryland, DB: Opt-out
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