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Nevada faces Maryland in Humanitarian Bowl

Dec 30, 2008 - 12:37 PM Nevada (7-5) vs. Maryland (7-5), 4:30 pm EST

BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- The Humanitarian Bowl matchup won't have much local appeal when Nevada faces Maryland on the blue turf Tuesday.

Still, Boise State fans know about enough about Nevada, the Broncos' rivals from the Western Athletic Athletic Conference.

Led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the WAC Player of the Year, the Wolf Pack boast the No. 2 rushing offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 291.4 per game.

Nevada running back Vai Taua (1,420 yards) and Kaepernick (1,115 yards) were the two leading rushers in the WAC this season.

The Wolf Pack (7-5) nearly derailed Boise State's undefeated season, as the Broncos held on for a 41-34 victory in Reno on November 22. Kaepernick's 31-yard pass into the end zone was knocked down as time expired.

Nevada will be playing in the Humanitarian Bowl for the second time in three years. In 2006, the Wolf Pack suffered a 21-20 loss to Miami in Larry Coker's final game as Hurricanes coach.

Maryland (7-5) heads to Idaho as perhaps the most schizophrenic team in the country. The Terrapins were 4-1 against ranked teams this season, but also lost to Middle Tennessee State and suffered lopsided defeats to Virginia (31-0) and Florida State (37-3).

The dismal performance against the Seminoles came with Maryland still in contention for the ACC's Atlantic Division title. The Terrapins dropped three of their final four games after a 6-2 start.

Chris Turner, who had an up-and-and-down campaign for Maryland, was intercepted twice in each of the Terrapins' last two games.

Da'Rel Scott, the ACC's third-leading rusher, will be looking to bounce back after running for just 19 yards in Maryland's regular-season finale, a 28-21 loss to Boston College.

The Terrapins lost to Oregon State, 21-14, in last season's Emerald Bowl, ending their three-game bowl winning streak.