College Football Bowl Picks - Military Bowl:

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman

Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6)

VS.

2:30 PM, ESPN, Dec. 29, Washington, D.C.

Why Watch: Besides the fact that it’s a bowl presented by a military company with precision missiles, Maryland and East Carolina exciting teams capable of putting up a lot of points, both averaging better than 30 points an outing. The Terrapins are trying to escape some late season turmoil after the firing of long-time head coach Ralph Friedgen, who will get one last chance in the bowl game. The Pirates are well capable of pulling the upset against the Terps, having beaten ACC member N.C. State earlier this season.

Who to Watch: Pirates quarterback Dominique Davis couldn’t have thrown for 36 scores this season without the help of wideout Dwayne Harris. Harris brought in 93 catches for 1,055 yards and 10 scores. He also serves as the Pirates kick returner. For Maryland, safety Kenny Tate will be counted on to slow down the Pirate offense. Tate finished second on the team with 94 tackles and eight for a loss. He also finished with three and a half sacks and three interceptions. At 6-foot-4 220, Tate is an intimidating piece to the Terps defense.

How it’s Going Down: The Terps had quite the turn-around from a 2-10, 2009 season, to a near ACC title game appearance. Much of their success came from the emergence of quarterback Danny O’Brien, who took over full-time in the fourth game of the year. ECU’s Davis has thrown for 36 scores, and rushed for another nine, but has been prone to a few mistakes. What’s been prone to even more mistakes, though, is the Pirates defense, which gave up 42 points or more nine times this season. The Terps should be able to get their running game going easily against the Pirates awful rush defense. Pick: Maryland 43 – East Carolina 34