When Jamari McCollough first heard the Terrapin football team was headed to Boise, Idaho, to play in the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 30, he needed some answers.
The destination was unfamiliar to the junior cornerback, and he didn't know much about the opponent, Nevada.
The only sure thing for McCollough was the quirky blue Astro Turf at Boise State's Bronco Stadium.
"When I first heard it, I was a little upset," McCollough said. "I didn't even know where Idaho was."
The blanks have started to fill in for McCollough, who is looking forward to snow tubing in Boise and knows the Wolf Pack have one of the nation's top rushing attacks based out of the "pistol" formation. But the biggest question still looms: Can the Terps pull off an eight-win season and build momentum for next year by knocking off Nevada (7-5, 5-3 WAC)?
The game will close a wild end to the season for the Terps (7-5, 4-4 ACC), who will end up playing in Boise after losing three of their last four games to fall out of ACC Championship contention. Following the departure of two assistant coaches, a shot at redemption entails a nearly 2,400-mile, cross-country trek to meet a team with an unusual offense that features the quarterback taking a shortened shot-gun snap with a traditional I-formation behind him.
"We can end this thing the way we want to end it," said defensive tackle Jeremy Navarre, one of 30 Terp seniors whose career will end in Bronco Stadium. "We have a second chance."
Despite holding out hope until the end for an invitation to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the Terps seem excited for a chance at postseason play. Coach Ralph Friedgen asked the entire team if they wanted to play in Boise. Although many players called the question a formality, every player raised his hand.
"I think that everyone knows the bowl shuffle wasn't fair, in reality," quarterback Chris Turner said. "We don't look at ourselves as the [ACC's] eighth-best team. We can get eight wins, and that's a good season."
The Terps, who have been one of the nation's most inconsistent teams this season, hope to regain some respect after limping down the stretch. The offense is focusing on running the ball behind a senior-laden line bent on closing with a good performance. The defense hopes to make interim defensive coordinator Al Seamonson look good in his audition to get the job permanently.
They'll play a team that lost by a touchdown to No. 9 Boise State this season and features the WAC offensive player of the year, dual-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
"We've worked so hard throughout the winter and the summer for this opportunity," linebacker Alex Wujciak said. "It's not going to be hard to put it all on the line one more time."
Unlike the bowl games the last two years, the Terps will get to spend Christmas at their homes. The team will fly to Boise Dec. 26, and players from outside the area can fly in separately that day.
Then the Terps will spend a few days experiencing the local culture before trying to close the legacy of a team that beat four ranked opponents but won just one road game on a positive note.
"I'm just happy I'm not going to be sitting at home on Christmas break watching other guys play," Navarre said. "You've just got to take what you can get."
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