BOWLING???

So, apparently after everything this team went through all year (injuries, quarterback controversy, bad playing, bad play calling, losing close games they should've won and winning games they should've lost), the Terps are going to a bowl game. Wow.

At the beginning of the year, the common thought was that 6 wins wasn't going to do it--an ACC team needed 7 wins to get into a bowl. But, no one took two wins against top-ten teams into account. With those (Rutgers and BC), even though neither team will be in the top ten at season's end, the Terps are sitting pretty.

So, are they going to participate in the last game on Boise State's 'Smurf Turf"? That was the general opinion coming into the Thanksgiving weekend. But after this weekend, it looks like San Francisco (Emerald Bowl) is a distinct possibility and Charlotte's Meineke Car Care Bowl is a maybe...but that is a big MAYBE.

So let's start at the top and work our way down to see where the Terps could spend the end of the Holiday season...

Boston College and Virginia Tech will play in Jacksonville for the ACC Championship, with the winner getting a BCS Berth in the Orange Bowl. If Virginia Tech wins, odds are good that they will be the ACC's only BCS team (Clemson, after losing to BC and barely winning this weekend is out). But, if BC beats VaTech, there is a possibility that VaTech could slide in as a BCS at large berth (I don't have the time or energy to type out what needs to happen for that to work out because it's all guess work, and there's plenty of it).

Three things to know:

1) The rule with picking teams for bowls is that no bowl can pick a team before another team that has at least two more conference wins. So, Maryland (3 ACC wins) can't be picked before Wake Forest (5 wins) or anyone better than that.

2) The order of picks for the ACC Bowls are as follows (city in parenthases): Orange (Miami), Chick-Fil-A (Atlanta), Gator (Jacksonville), Champs Sports (Orlando), Gaylord Hotels (Nashville), Meineke Car Care (Charlotte), Emerald (San Francisco), Humanitarian (Boise).

3) The standings of bowl-eligible teams (as of 11/26) is as follows:
1) Virginia Tech 11-2 (9-1)
2) Boston College 10-3 (6-3)
3) Virginia 9-3 (6-2)
4) Clemson 9-3 (5-3)
5) Wake Forest 8-4 (5-3)
6) Florida State 7-5 (4-4)
7) Georgia Tech 7-5 (4-4)
8) Maryland 6-6 (3-5)


My guess is that VaTech beats BC, sending them to the Orange Bowl. Like I said, BC doesn't have enough juice to get an at-large BCS bid. In fact, since no one wants to pick a team without fans to travel to the bowl game, BC doesn't even get an invite to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. If they could fall to Boise, they would.

For the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, they'll get the team everyone wants: Clemson. They are a good team (one win from the ACC Championship game), and life in South Carolina is football. You're not going to find a team that travels much better than them so any bowl that can take them will. Chick-Fil-A has the first shot.

Gator Bowl is filled (took BC because Matt Ryan makes them a better draw than Virginia or Wake), but don't be shocked if UVa fills in this slot. I just don't see it happening.

Champs Sports Bowl (Terps last year) is next, and they can choose between Virginia and Wake. They can't take anyone else because GaTech and FSU have 4 wins to UVa's six. Neither the Cavs nor the Demon Deacons are a good draw, but with one more win and fans that pretend to care, UVa gets the call.

That's bad news for Wake, because no one wants to invite them. Their five wins are two more than only Maryland's three, so they can go after either FSU or GaTech. I think FSU goes first. The Gaylord Hotels Bowl is in Nashville which is close to Tallahassee and Seminoles will take the town over.

Meineke is in Charlotte. Charlotte is in North Carolina. So is Wake Forest. It's a home game. Everyone (that cares) will go. Add all that to the fact that Chan Gailey got fired this morning and that will kill GaTech's chances of getting picked because it's a program in disarray and history says bowls don't like that, and Wake goes to Charlotte. Hope it's fun--I won't be watching.

Next is the Emerald Bowl...Florida State was there last year, so even if they fall this far (they won't) they wouldn't get asked again--they would end up in Boise. Instead, it's between the Terps and the Yellow Jacket. Same rule applies: Why pick a coachless team when you can pick a team that travels well, is getting healthy, beat the aforementioned coachless team, and has two wins over top-ten teams? You don't. Terps go to San Francisco. It's my favorite city in the country. You'll love it. I'll see you there.

Georgia Tech goes to Boise for the last game on the Blue Field. That's depressing. It'd be more depressing if I had to announce it.

So here's the low down on the Emerald Bowl:

The ACC's opponent is the 5th Pac-10 Team chosen. It's a little premature to pick that team because the front of the Pac is a little crowded, but watch for Oregon State, UCLA and Arizona. UCLA went last year, though, so odds of them are going are slim. But, it's a California school going to a California bowl, so chances are a little better.

And like I said before, San Fran is a great city. Buy tickets. You'll be glad you did. December 28th, 5:30, in a baseball stadium. Rice-A-Roni for everybody.