North Carolina State (8-4, Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. Maryland (7-5, Big Ten), Dec. 31, noon ET, ESPN
LOCATION: Charlotte, North Carolina
TOP PLAYERS
N.C. State: LB Drake Thomas. Thomas had 90 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for a strong, veteran defense.
Maryland: QB Taulia Tagovailoa. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes with four rushing scores. He also gone three straight games without an interception.
NOTABLE
N.C. State: The Wolfpack peaked at No. 10 in the AP Top 25 this season before losing preseason ACC player of the year Devin Leary at quarterback to injury. But the Wolfpack closed the regular season with Ben Finley — N.C. State’s fourth starting QB this season — leading a win at rival North Carolina.
Maryland: The Terrapins started 3-0 and 6-2 before losing three straight games. They ended that streak by shutting out Rutgers to close the regular season and earn a matchup with a team it saw often in the ACC before leaving for the Big Ten.
LAST TIME
Maryland 41, N.C. State 21, Nov. 30, 2013.
BOWL HISTORY
N.C. State: Third appearance in a bowl game in its home state going back to the Belk and Meineke Car Care games, eighth in 10 seasons under Dave Doeren and 35th bowl bid going back to last year’s canceled Holiday Bowl.
Maryland: First appearance in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, second straight postseason trip and 29th overall.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
