Terps' Bowl Location Depends on Ball State

Three weeks after it controlled its postseason fate, the Maryland football team now faces the prospect of having its bowl destination hinge on one decision by a less-heralded program in Muncie, Ind.

Maryland is the leading ACC candidate to be selected to play in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 30. But rather than select an ACC school, the bowl's executives are trying to pair two undefeated teams, Boise State and Ball State, because they feel the matchup would generate more national appeal.

Kevin McDonald, the executive director of the Humanitarian Bowl, said the biggest remaining obstacle is whether Ball State is willing to play in the bowl even though it would face Boise State on its home field. He expects an answer by Friday.

"This is a compelling game that fell in our laps," McDonald said. "More and more momentum is gaining."

The Humanitarian Bowl has the eighth selection of teams from the ACC, and the conference would have to give McDonald its approval to choose Ball State. McDonald said he has spoken with ACC officials and does not expect the conference to oppose the move.

Michael Kelly, the ACC's associate commissioner for football, said in an interview that that there would need to be a "suitable and acceptable" bowl alternative for the affected ACC program, namely Maryland or Wake Forest.

If Ball State and the Mid-American Conference agree to send the Cardinals to Boise, the Terrapins could take an at-large slot in another bowl. Those bowls could include the Motor City Bowl in Detroit; the Texas Bowl in Houston; the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.; or the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.

Those are likely the only other possible destinations for Maryland. The Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte has selected North Carolina, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The Emerald Bowl in San Francisco is not expected to select Maryland because the Terrapins played there in 2007.

Maryland officials spent yesterday exploring the possibility of playing in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium, even though the Dec. 20 game against Navy would conflict with final exams. School officials felt the matchup would be an ideal scenario to create strong local interest, but they determined late yesterday afternoon that far too many players would be affected because of exam conflicts.

The EagleBank Bowl holds the ninth and final selection of ACC teams, and with 10 ACC teams eligible for a bowl, EagleBank Bowl representatives seemingly would have a choice between two teams. But one EagleBank Bowl official said the ACC might simply assign a team to the EagleBank Bowl.

At this point, the official said, the bowl's organizers simply want to be able to start marketing an ACC team. Because this is the EagleBank Bowl's first year of existence, bowl organizers have said it is imperative that the bowl do well financially. Which specific ACC team they get is becoming less important as the days pass.

If the Ball State-Boise State matchup falls through, Maryland could play Boise State on its blue field. But Boise State also could travel to San Diego to play Texas Christian in the Poinsettia Bowl, in which case Maryland would face a team such as Nevada in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Officials on all sides said they would prefer that bowl destinations be determined by Friday. For Maryland, that remains unlikely because Ball State won't play in the MAC title game against Buffalo until Friday night.

Terrapins Note: Danny Pearman, Maryland's tight ends and special teams coach, will take an assistant coaching position at Clemson, a source within the Terrapins program said. Pearman, a Clemson alum, has a long relationship with new Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, whom Pearman worked with at Alabama in the 1990s.

Staff writer Steve Yanda contributed to this report.