Dec. 10, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland football team continued its bowl game preparation Monday, as the Terps took to the practice field in anticipation of their trip to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 28.

Maryland will take on the 8-4 Oregon State Beavers of the Pac-10 Conference in AT&T Park at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be telecast nationally on ESPN and broadcast over the Terrapin Sports Radio Network.

In its fifth practice since accepting the bowl bid, Maryland continued installing its gameplan for the showdown with Oregon State. The offensive and defensive scout teams gave the Terrapin regulars a taste of the OSU playbook so the Terps could get a better feel for the Beavers, who are an unfamiliar foe.

"Today was a tough practice," said Coach Ralph Friedgen. "It died a little bit at the end. We practiced pretty well today, and then I don't know if they just ran out of gas, but I talked to them after practice. One of the problems with our team is being able to finish. We can't just go for so many periods and then lose our focus and have a bunch of mistakes."

The Emerald Bowl will mark the first meeting between the schools, and Maryland's first with any Pac-10 school since a 21-20 loss to Washington in the 1982 Aloha Bowl. The bowl will be only Maryland's second trip to the state of California in 115 years of football. The Terps lost to No. 4 UCLA 12-7 in 1954.

This year's team finished 6-6 after the Terps overcame a myriad of injuries to clinch a second-consecutive bowl berth. Friedgen gave the team the week off to heal following its impressive 37-0 victory over NC State (Nov. 24).

The team practiced three times last week, and is slated to take the field again on Tuesday before breaking for the fall semester final exams.

The Terps will practice on Sunday, an off day for exams, and then take a few more days away from the field before hitting the gridiron on Thursday, Dec. 20 and Friday, Dec. 21.

"I've been very pleased with how we've looked so far," Friedgen said. "So far we've had five practices and they've been tough physical practices. Our kids have approached it in a very positive way."

The team is slated to depart for San Francisco on Dec. 22 where they will have nearly a week to prepare for Oregon State. The team plans to return on Dec. 29.

Quite a few Terps will have a diploma in hand for the bowl game. Seniors Lance Ball, Andrew Crummey, Isaiah Gardner, Matt Goldberg, Joey Haynos, Brendan McDermond, Dre Moore, Chris Roberts and Christian Varner, as well as juniors Obi Egekeze, Erin Henderson, and Richard Taylor, are graduating this month. They are expected to take part in graduation ceremonies on Dec.19-20.

Emerald Bowl Tickets: Tickets for the game are available through the Terrapins Ticket Office at 1-800-IM-A-TERP or by clicking here. The ticket office is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maryland fans wishing hotel reservations in San Francisco, should contact the Terrapin Club at 301-314-7020.

Emerald Bowl Kickoff Party: The Terps will hold an Emerald Bowl Kickoff Party on Wednesday at the Gossett Team House. The event, sponsored by the department of athletics and the Maryland Gridiron Network (MGN), is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and conclude at approximately 7:30 p.m., just prior to the tip-off of the men's basketball game vs. Ohio at Comcast Center. All Terp fans are invited to attend the bowl celebration, which features light snacks, a cash bar and a tour of the Gossett Team House. Entry to the event is free. Coach Ralph Friedgen will address the crowd, providing a breakdown of the Dec. 28 matchup with Oregon State, and answering questions from fans. Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow will also address the crowd.