No. 23 NC State battles Maryland in this year's Duke's Mayo Bowl, and before we get into the meat and potatoes of the matchup between the Wolfpack and the Terrapins, let's answer the question on everybody's mind. Yes, the winning coach will have a Gatorade bucket of mayonnaise dumped on their head after the game. Both NC State's Dave Doeren and Maryland's Mike Locksley have agreed to carry on the tradition started by South Carolina coach Shane Beamer last season, and we're all better off for it. Bowl games are meant to be fun rewards, and any time we can add an extra layer of silliness to the proceedings, that's what we should do.
The Wolfpack enter as a ranked team, but it's been a somewhat disappointing season. Seen as a dark horse ACC contender to start the season, they began the year with a 5-1 record before injuries derailed things as NC State went 3-3 down the stretch. Maryland opened the season with six wins in its first eight games but lost three of its final four, with the lone win being a 37-0 rout over Rutgers to finish the regular season.
How to watch Duke's Mayo Bowl live
Date: Friday, Dec. 30 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Bank of America Stadium -- Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Maryland vs. NC State: Need to know
This game is for all the marbles: These programs are very familiar with one another; Maryland was a member of the ACC alongside NC State before joining the Big Ten in 2014. They've played 70 times, though this will be the first meeting since Maryland's last ACC season in 2013. That was Dave Doeren's first year in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Terps greeted him with a 41-21 victory which left the series even at 33-33-4. So not only does the winner of this game get the illustrious title of Duke's Mayo Bowl champion, but they'll take the lead in the series history -- and who knows when these two will meet again.
Questions about the Wolfpack offense: MJ Morris began the season as NC State's third-string QB, but he's expected to start the bowl game. Devin Leary was the team's original starter, but he went down with an injury during the season and has since transferred to Kentucky. Jack Chambers stepped in as Leary's replacement, but the offense struggled before Morris took over. Morris then got hurt and missed State's final two games of the regular season, but he should be good to go for this one. Of course, he won't have the same coach calling plays as offensive coordinator Tim Beck left to take the head coaching job at Coastal Carolina.
The 2022 season followed the script for the Terps: The Terps were not a difficult team to predict in 2022. They were favored in eight of their 12 games and went 7-1. The lone loss was a 31-29 home loss to Purdue. In four games as an underdog, they went 0-4. That's bad news for them in this spot, because after opening as 2.5-point favorites, the Terps have since become underdogs due to the number of opt-outs they've had on the offensive side of the ball.
Duke's Mayo Bowl prediction, picks
As I wrote above, when Maryland is favored, it wins. When it's an underdog, it loses. It's an underdog in this matchup because it will be without Rakim Jarrett, Dontay Demus, Jacob Copeland and C.J. Dippre on offense. Those four combined for 118 catches for 1,094 yards and nine touchdowns. While the team's leading receiver, Jeshaun Jones, is expected to play, that's a lot of production the Terps have to replace, and Taulia Tagovailoa has always been a QB who spreads the ball around instead of relying on a favored target. While I have concerns about the Wolfpack offense, there's a reason the coaching staff is as high on M.J. Morris as it is. He's a talented player with big-time potential, and perhaps we see glimpses of it in this game. Prediction: NC State -1
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