Quick Lane Bowl Preview: Maryland vs BC
12/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football, umterps Spotlight
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland football program is set to make its third postseason appearance in the last four seasons as it faces former ACC foe, Boston College, in the Quick Lane Bowl Monday, Dec. 26, in Detroit, Mich. The game is set to be broadcast live on ESPN at 2:30 pm ET.
Quick Hitters
- The Maryland football team will make its 27th all-time bowl appearance, accumulating a record of 11-13-2. The Terps have been victorious in five of their last eight bowl appearances.
- The Terps are making just their second bowl appearance in the city of Detroit, last playing in the Motor City when they defeated Syracuse, 35-18, in the 1985 Cherry Bowl. Maryland quarterback Stan Gelbaugh was named MVP, accounting for three touchdowns and 223 passing yards.
- Maryland and Boston College briefly overlapped in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the Eagles joined the conference in 2005 before Maryland's departure after the 2013 season. The Terps are 3-8 all-time against Boston College, with one of their most memorable wins coming in 2007 when they knocked off Matt Ryan's 8th-ranked Eagles, 42-35.
- First-year head coach DJ Durkin has led a youth movement in College Park, starting seven true freshmen at different points throughout the season. The seven true freshmen starters is tied for the most in all of FBS with South Carolina. Not included in the figure is true freshman punter, Wade Lees, who has started all 12 games this season.
- DJ Durkin is 4-2 during his coaching career in bowl games, including a 28-20 victory in the 2014 Birmingham Bowl when he served as Florida's interim head coach. Durkin also coached alongside BC head coach Steve Addazio at Florida in 2010.
Maryland Offense: By the Numbers
3 - Quarterback Perry Hills had a remarkable turnaround in his senior season, throwing just three interceptions on 162 pass attempts (1.8%). The figure falls in stark contrast to 2015, when he threw 13 interceptions on 180 pass attempts (7.2%). Maryland has done well protecting the ball in the air this season as a whole, throwing just eight interceptions, in comparison to last season when it led the nation with 29 interceptions.
6 - Sophomore D.J. Moore caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season against Nebraska (11/19), tying for the 11th-most in a single-season and most since Stefon Diggs had six in 2012. Moore also tied Vernon Davis (2003-05) and two others for 15th in Maryland history with nine career touchdown grabs.
8.9 - Sophomore running back Ty Johnson has been nearly a “human first down” this season on the ground, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. The mark is currently on pace to be the best average in 63 years and second-most in Maryland history (min. 75 rush attempts), falling just behind Chet Hanaluk's epic 9.8 yards/carry season in 1953.
9 - Sophomore Ty Johnson made a habit of breaking loose for huge plays in conference play this season, totaling nine plays of at least 40 yards or more in nine league games. Including two rushes of 55 and 47 yards, respectively, against Rutgers, eight of the nine big plays have been rushing attempts. Johnson averaged 10.9 yards on 13 carries against Indiana, becoming just the eighth player in Maryland history to average 10 yards/carry in a single game (min. 10 carries). He also made history against Purdue when he rushed for 204 yards on just seven carries - the best yards/carry (29.1) mark for a 200-yard rusher in FBS over the last 20 years.
20 - Sophomore D.J. Moore currently leads all Maryland receivers with a reception in 20 consecutive games dating back to Oct. 3, 2015. It is the longest streak for a Terrapin receiver since Torrey Smith pieced together a 30-game streak from Nov. 6, 2008 to the final game of his career on Dec. 29, 2010. Moore totaled 124 reception yards against Nebraska (11/19), marking his second 100-yard game of the season. He needs just 46 yards to reach 1,000 reception yards for his career.
66.7 - Senior quarterback Perry Hills continues to lead the Big Ten Conference in completion percentage (66.7) and ranks second in passing efficiency (146.8). Hills is currently on pace for the third best single-season completion percentage in Maryland history. Scott Milanovich is the only quarterback in Maryland history to have a completion percentage of at least 64 percent in a season, achieving the feat three times (1993, 1994, 1995).
126 - Senior wide receiver Levern Jacobs' recent success has vaulted the veteran up Maryland's career receptions chart, moving ahead of Russ Weaver (1992-94) with 126 career catches. Jacobs also moved into 12th in career reception yards (1,473), most recently passing James Milling (1984-87).
205.5 - The Maryland rushing offense has averaged 205.5 yards rushing this season, which currently ranks third in the Big Ten Conference and 40th nationally. If the Terps can maintain that pace against Boston College, it will be the most rushing yards/game in a single-season for the Terps since 2001 (220.7).
Maryland Defense/ST: By the Numbers
1 - The Maryland defense allowed just one 300-yard passer during the regular season (Michigan's Wilson Speight). For comparison's sake, the Terps allowed at least three 300-yard passers over the last five seasons and four in 3-of-5 seasons.
Additionally, Maryland has given up just 215.8 passing yards/game. If the Terps can stay under 218 passing yards/g, it would be just the second time in the last nine seasons they achieved the feat.
4 - The Maryland defense ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 2.75 sacks/game this season, and has been bolstered by 10 sacks over its last two games. Junior Jesse Aniebonam leads the Terps with 9.0 sacks in 2016, which is tied for 14th on Maryland's all-time single-season sacks list. Aniebonam is one of just four Maryland players in the last 15 years to reach 9.0 sacks in a season.
15 - Junior linebacker Jermaine Carter, Jr. pieced together one of his best games as a Terrapin against Rutgers (11/26), posting career-highs in tackles (15) and sacks (2.0). The 15-tackle day helped Carter eclipse the 100-tackle mark for the second consecutive season. He also made a spectacular individual play in the third quarter against Rutgers, when he stripped a wide receiver of the ball for the forced fumble/fumble recovery. Carter has recorded 27 tackles over his last two games.
20.0 - The Terrapin defense had success disrupting the backfield over its last two games, totaling 20.0 tackles for loss against Rutgers (12.0) and Nebraska (8.0) combined. Maryland had combined for just 18.0 tackles for loss in its five games prior to Nebraska. Jesse Aniebonam and Shane Cockerille lead the way with 3.0 tackles for loss each over the last two games.
83 - Senior wideout Teldrick Morgan broke loose for an 83-yard punt return against Rutgers (11/26), marking the first return touchdown of Morgan's career. The 83-yard punt return was also the fifth-longest in Maryland football history, and was the second return of at least 83 yards in the last two seasons (William Likely vs. Bowling Green - 85 yards, 2015).
88 - Junior defensive lineman Jesse Aniebonam has amassed 13.0 tackles for loss for a total of 88 yards. The 88 yards ranks eighth in Maryland single-season history, putting Aniebonam ahead of notable names like Shawne Merriman (87 - 2004), E.J. Henderson (86 - 2002) and current Jacksonville Jaguar Yannick Ngakoue (81 - 2014).
211 - Junior linebackers Shane Cockerille and Jermaine Carter, Jr., both eclipsed the 100-tackle mark against Rutgers and have combined for 211 on the season. They are the one of just two tandems in the Big Ten to tally more than 100 tackles (Illinois), and were rewarded with Honorable Mention All-Big Ten nods. Cockerille, who converted from a quarterback/fullback in the offseason, ranks third in the Big Ten in tackles (9.0/g) and Carter ranks sixth (8.6/g).
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