After defeating Indiana 44-17, Maryland football is now one win away from bowl eligibility as they shift their attention in week six to their first ranked opponent of the season, fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Despite the 5-0 start, Maryland found themselves just outside of the updated AP and coaches top 25, unofficially checking in at 26th nationally in both polls after drawing 81 votes in each poll. Still, the hot start continues to elevate Maryland’s postseason expectations as the program looks to reach a third consecutive bowl game for the first time in twenty years.
Heading into week six, we look at the latest roundup of bowl projections for Maryland.
Action Network: Citrus Bowl vs. Ole Miss
CBS Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Missouri
College Football News: Music City Bowl vs. Ole Miss
College Football Network: Citrus Bowl vs. Kentucky
ESPN (Bonagura): ReliaQuest Bowl vs. LSU
ESPN (Schlabach): Music City Bowl vs. Ole Miss
Saturday Tradition: Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee
247Sports: Citrus Bowl vs. Alabama
Athlon Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Missouri
For reference, the Big Ten bowl tie-ins are:
–Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 23 at 7:30 in Las Vegas
–Quick Lane Bowl, Dec. 26 at 2 PM in Detroit
–Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Dec. 26 at 9 PM in Phoenix
–Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 28 at 2:15 PM in New York City
–Gator Bowl, Dec. 29 at noon in Jacksonville
–Orange Bowl, Dec. 30 at 4 PM in Miami
–Citrus Bowl, Jan. 2 at 1 PM in Orlando
Missouri, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee have been repeated projected opponents in recent bowl projections, though Kentucky is the newest name with Maryland consistently projected to face an SEC foe.
Nonetheless, with still half a season left and plenty to sort out, Maryland will look to check off a more imminent box in their first game against a ranked opponent. Maryland will look to disrupt the top of the Big Ten as they look to pull off the upset in Columbus this weekend.
“We’re excited about the challenge. As I said before, the opponents gotta be faceless and nameless,” Locksley said following Saturday’s win. “We won’t prepare any differently for Ohio State than we did this week. And that’s what this standard is all about. Keep trying to plug away and you know what, players make plays and coaches got to do a good job of putting them in position to do it. And who knows, maybe we’ll go up to Columbus to see how it plays out.”
Three up, three down: Maryland vs. Indiana
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