Can Maryland wrap a second-straight season with a bowl victory? And how does a mayonnaise dunking really work? Answers to those questions and more in the final “Terps Top Three” of the season.
Breaking the tie: The Terrapins (7-5) wrap their 2022 campaign in Friday’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl (noon, ESPN) with a familiar friend in No. 23 North Carolina State (8-4).
The programs have met 70 previous times dating back to 1909, with most of those coming from Maryland’s time with the Wolfpack in the ACC. All of those matchups weren’t enough to give one side an advantage — the series is evenly split at 33-33-4, with the Terrapins winning the last meeting in 2013, their final game in the ACC, 41-21.
It would be the first back-to-back postseason wins for Maryland since 2002-03, when the Terrapins won the Peach and Gator Bowls in successive seasons.
Different look on offense: Bowl game opt-outs and transfers will hit the Terrapins hard in the receiving corps. Tight ends CJ Dippre and Weston Wolff have already found new homes via the portal in Alabama and South Florida, respectively, and Rakim Jarrett, Dontay Demus Jr. and Jacob Copeland will all prepare instead for the NFL Draft. The trio of wide receivers combined for 1,080 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season.
Expect then senior receiver Jeshaun Jones and sophomore tight end Corey Dychess to receive the bulk of quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa’s attention through the air, with reserve receivers Tai Felton and Octavian Smith Jr. getting a bump in playing time.
Bowl game reps benefitted someone like running back Roman Hemby last year, whose play in the final weeks and in the Pinstripe Bowl carried over into a stellar 2022 campaign, where he emerged as one of the better backs in the Big Ten.
N.C. State has been more impacted by injuries than departures. After a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Devin Leary in October and recent injury to reserve MJ Morris during a one-point loss to Boston College Nov. 12, the Wolfpack were down to redshirt freshman Ben Finley in the final weeks of the season.
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren isn’t naming a starter in advance of the bowl, only saying that both Morris and Finley are available and practicing ahead of the game.
Another injured N.C. State star, receiver Devin Carter, only played in eight games this season due to injury and is transferring after posting nearly 2,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in his five seasons with the Wolfpack.
It’s got twang: For as much as college football has become increasingly corporate and devoid of some of its more light-hearted aspects, it’s nice to see some zaniness exist during bowl season. And the Duke’s Mayo Bowl is certainly happy to oblige in that regard.
The Greenville, South Carolina-produced condiment has a cult following among mayonnaise adherents. Now in its third year as title sponsor of Charlotte’s annual bowl game, the fun extends to the postgame celebrations for the victor, who receives a water-cooler sized bath of Duke’s following the win.
After Wisconsin won the game in 2020, then-coach Paul Chryst didn’t partake. Last year’s winning coach, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, became the first to take the creamy plunge. As for this year? Both Maryland’s Mike Locksley and N.C. State’s Doeren have committed to the condiment cascade if their school wins.
For those that think mayonnaise isn’t something that can be poured that easily out of such a large container: You’re right. The Athletic reported last year that a slight bit of water is added to the Duke’s to make it the right consistency for the post-game pour, but that the key to thinning it out is lots of stirring.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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